Nigeria Times

By Pita Agbese

No insurgent group can operate for long by relying exclusively on its own resources. To operate beyond a few weeks, an insurgent group requires external resources such as money, territory, weapons, intelligence, materiel, and new recruits. It may also need ideological support derived from common ethnic, religious or regional identities. These resources may be given voluntarily, or the insurgent group may acquire them forcefully through looting and pillage. For instance, the insurgent group may be able to raise a huge sum of money from groups in the diaspora with which it shares bonds of ethnicity or religious identities. Such an avenue of funding from Palestinians living outside the Israeli-occupied territories has been crucial for the survival of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). Without cutting off its sources of funding, it is difficult if not impossible to defeat an insurgent group. Thus, the resiliency of an insurgent group is the function of its support base.
Boko Haram, an insurgent group based largely in the North East geopolitical zone and using terrorism as its main insurgent strategy, has been terrorizing Nigeria and its closest neighbors, Chad, Cameron and Niger, since its violent phase began in 2009. It has survived, despite military and diplomatic onslaught by Nigeria and its neighbors, for more than eleven years. Part of its ability to survive has been its clever adaptability to changing circumstances, For instance, by establishing linkages with Islamic terrorist organizations such as Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and the Islamic State, it has been able to draw on weapons, funding and fighters. As important as foreign assistance has been to Boko Haram’s resiliency, it could not have operated without assistance, voluntary or coerced, from its immediate geographical area of operation. It first, much of this assistance was coerced. Boko Haram would raid a village and steal food, looting banks and pilfering other essential commodities. It also killed people, abducted women and children and conscript men and young boys as fighters. Boko Haram has relied on assassinations of targeted individuals and those opposed to its ideology. Terrorizing people in the North East Zone and pillaging their resources allowed Boko Haram to sustain itself. Terrorism and pillaging were particularly useful to the terrorist organization when it seized a large swathe of Nigerian territory even before receiving outside help. Today, it no longer controls much of any territory. The thirteen local government areas that it had seized have been taking away from it.
Although Boko Haram no longer controls any definable territory of the Nigerian federation, it is still able to launch deadly attacks on the Nigerian population and the Nigerian armed forces. As military operations against the terrorist group has mounted, it has resorted to ambushing Nigerian soldiers. It is no longer able to launch spectacular attacks as it did in bombing police headquarters and UN offices in Abuja, but it remains a very deadly force. It has killed scores of Nigerian soldiers in the last few months. Much of its successes against the soldiers has derived from its ability to gather actionable intelligence on troop movements.

There are speculations that Boko Haram gains intelligence on troop movements because of saboteurs within the armed forces. While such rumors cannot be dismissed with flippancy, it must be noted that Boko Haram cannot gather such intelligence and operate with deadly accuracy without some open or tacit support from the local communities where it operates. Whether such support is voluntary or coerced, it must be recognized that military actions alone, short of a scorched-earth policy, would not eradicate the scourge of Boko Haram. As frustrating as it is not to unleash every firepower in the arsenal of the Nigerian armed forces against Boko Haram, that frustration must be tempered with the reality that fighting against Boko Haram in ways that violate Nigerian and international law would be counterproductive.

The only viable option is to engender greater cooperation from the communities where Boko Haram operates. First, it must be clearly demonstrated to the communities that despite sharing ethnic, religious and regional affinities with Boko Haram, Boko Haram’s goals are antithetical to the welfare, peace and security of the zone. What does Boko Haram want and how are its goals and objective in direct conflict with the interests of the people in the region? The terrorist group has spelt out its goals and objectives. It has also vividly made clear through extreme violence, the strategies it uses and intends to use in achieving its set goals and objectives.
Boko Haram’s aims and objectives are quite clear. Its’ leader, Abubakar Shekau, has publicly stated what the group stands for. As he puts it, “we are an Islamic caliphate. We have nothing to do Nigeria. We don’t believe in this name.” Among the most fundamental of Boko Haram’s goals and objectives are following: the overthrow of the Nigerian government and its replacement it with an Islamic State; the rejection of Westernization, including forbidding any participation in Western-style political activity such as voting in elections and running as candidates; and prohibition against engagement in social activities. Boko Haram also rejects Western-style secular education and it seeks to replace secular education with an unspecified Islamic education. The terrorist group is particularly vehemently opposed to girls receiving Western education and it has demonstrated its disdain and its total rejection of Western education by killing students, abducting them and forcefully marrying off the female students, and bombing schools as well as assassinating teachers. Boko Haram rejects the Nigerian government labelling its leaders, even if they are Muslims, as infidels.
Until March 2015 when Boko Haram was forcibly driven out of the Nigerian territories that it had seized, Boko Haram had established what it called an Islamic State in those territories. We therefore have a clear idea of the type of society Boko Haram would create if its goal of overthrowing the Nigerian government was met. It would be a deadly and an ultra-conservative and highly theocratic state. Although it would be said to be an Islamic state, it would have very little resemblance to Islam. While Islam reveres learning and knowledge, Boko Haram’s Islamic caliphate would be anchored on abhorrence to learning and knowledge. It would be a caliphate steeped in ignorance and fear of knowledge. Boko Haram’s caliphate, from what we saw of the territories that it briefly administered, would be a highly autocratic state. It would not be rooted in justice, even for its Muslim population. It would also be a state anchored on prejudice as the non-Muslim population under its control would be subjected to extreme oppression, brutality and brigandage. Shekau himself has justified the abduction of non-Muslim girls proclaiming that Islam gives him right to enslave such abductees.

Most of the victims of Boko Haram’s capricious rule would be Muslims. This is already quite clear. Although proclaiming that it was fighting for Islam, most of Boko Haram’s victims have been Muslims. Yes, Boko Haram has attacked churches and killed hundreds of Christians but a large majority of its victims, in terms of those assassinated and bombed out of existence, have been Muslims. Thus, for Muslims openly and tacitly supporting the terrorist group, the sobering lesson is that if Boko Haram succeeds in its objectives, Muslims would be the worse for it. Muslims would not receive any education at all because while Boko Haram makes vague references to Islamic education, the contents of such education remain inchoate. Moreover, where are the teachers who would provide Boko Haram’s style of Islamic education?
Second, the fact that Boko Haram is willing to bring in foreign terrorists to help it overthrow the Nigerian government should be of concern to people in Boko Haram’s major theater of operation. If Boko Haram succeeds, it would deprive the people of their Nigerian identity without being able to provide a better identity for its inhabitants. A Boko Haram caliphate over Nigeria would be a pariah state. It cannot count on cooperation among its neighbors. It would have to deal with the Western countries whose culture and whose education Boko Haram has rejected, from a very weak position.

What Must Be Done

The Nigerian military needs maximum cooperation from communities in the North-East Zone to be able to decimate, and ultimately, eliminate Boko Haram. Some of the communities have set up vigilantes in the form of civilian joint task forces. This is commendable. Some members of these outfits have paid the supreme sacrifice as they have been killed by Boko Haram. While this level of cooperation is appreciated, it is not enough. The military needs other forms of proactive cooperation. It needs prompt and effective intelligence on Boko Haram to enable it launch attacks on the group and in helping to forestall attacks by Boko Haram. The military also requires the communities to stop aiding and abetting Boko Haram and from shielding Boko Haram leaders and fighters from justice.

It is equally important for people in the North-East Zone to recognize that Boko Haram cannot overthrow the Nigerian government or over-run the entire country. At best, Boko Haram may succeed in capturing and holding a swathe of the country but its ability to extend its territorial control beyond a few local government areas in the North-East is highly circumscribed. We have seen the dastardly acts that pass for Boko Haram’s administration of a conquered territory. I do not think that most people in that part of Nigeria would look forward to that type of violent, oppressive and capricious governance.

While some people may be taken in by Boko Haram’s trenchant criticisms of the Nigerian government as corrupt, it should be noted that Boko Haram does not present any viable alternative to corruption in Nigeria. In fact, a Boko Haram administration, as we have seen in the brief period it governed the occupied territories, is far more corrupt than the Nigerian government whose corruption Boko Haram condemns. It is corruption for the Boko Haram leadership to send young men, other people’s children, to die while Boko Haram leaders stay away from the battlefield.

Communities in the North-East must refrain from cooperating with Boko Haram, openly or tacitly. They also stop seeing members of Boko Haram as their own people. Boko Haram does not see them as their brothers and sisters, fathers and grandfathers and mothers, sisters and aunts. They just see them as objects to be sacrificed to attain their atrocious and immoral goals and objectives.

Prof Agbese is a scholar at the University of Northern Iowa, USA.

By Adamu Bulama

The recent appointment of the governor of Borno State, Prof Babagana Zulum as the Chairman of the newly created North East Governors Forum is indeed a welcome development. It can only be hoped that the vision behind the creation of the forum is achieved given the security challenges in North-East Nigeria.

I have longed advocated for a body that would assist in finetuning strategies that would lead to the implementation of policies that would address the security challenges in the region as well as bring about the much-needed reconstruction of a region that has witnessed phenomenal destruction since the Boko Haram insurgent group began its violent campaign in 2009.

I do not know whose brainchild is this. However, if the motive behind the establishment of the forum is indeed for the best interest of the people and not an avenue to score political gains, then North-East Nigeria would be better for it.

I recall that in some forums, it has been speculated that one of the challenges of the region is the lack of commitment from the political authorities in the fight against the Boko Haram insurgency. It was also posited that there had been a lack of cooperation from the governments of the states in the region with the military authorities in the prosecution of the war against Boko Haram insurgency.

I am glad the North East Governors Forum is coming up now even though there hasn’t been any clear cut mission statement other than the fact that the governor of Borno State was elected as its pioneer chairman for a period of two years and the headquarters of the forum situated in Maiduguri, Borno state.

Suffice to mention the meeting was attended by governors of Adamawa- Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, Gombe- Mohammed Inuwa Yahaya, Borno- Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum, Bauchi- Sen. Bala Mohammed, Deputy Governors of Taraba- Engr Haruna Manu and Yobe, Idi Barde Gubana.

Like I mentioned earlier, this is a fantastic initiative but in all honesty, not the way to go because this is not the time for political grandstanding of any sort given the myriads of challenges in North-East Nigeria, with Borno State the worst hit.

I had expected that the emphasis should be more on asking critical questions on why the activities of Boko Haram insurgents have continued to fester in Borno state, unlike other North-Eastern states that have recorded fewer cases of Boko Haram attacks in the past years. We must ask critical questions because nothing happens in a vacuum. We must also ask questions as to what the governors of other states in the North-East states did that reduced activities of the Boko Haram group in their domains drastically.

Make no mistake, that Borno state remains the only state where Boko Haram has continued to operate raises a red flag. While some have questioned the political authorities in the state, some have also alluded to the fact that there may be some level of conspiracies that have continued to bolster the activities of the terror gang in the state.

This is my challenge and why I have issues with the governor of Borno State, who seems to be more interested in media grandstanding that facing the real issues on the ground. I expected that as a professor, he should have deployed his intellectual proficiency to researching on why Borno State has remained the haven for Boko Haram insurgents.

I also expected that the governor of Borno State ought to have done more by convoking a parley where Borno elites and technocrats would be in attendance to deliberate on the issues affecting the state and proffering a solution to it because as they say all politics is local.

I make bold to state that one of the reasons why the Boko Haram activities has festered in Borno State is a function of misplacement of priorities and living in self-denial. This is on the heels that other states in North-East Nigeria that experienced the nefarious activities of the Boko Haram insurgent group have been able to galvanize the needed support and resumed their normal lives while Borno State continues to make headlines for the wrong reasons.

The fact that the governors of Yobe and Taraba states sent in representatives indicate that they probably have moved on to other ventures in the task of delivering the dividends of democracy to the people. In contrast, Borno State has remained the epicentre of the Boko Haram insurgency despite the efforts of the Nigerian military.

My take is this: Governor Babagana Zulum and others of the Kanuri ethnic stock have either by commission or omission refused to come to terms with reality to understand that the task at hand is to ensure that Borno State becomes uninhabitable for the Boko Haram insurgents, just like other states in North-East Nigeria.

It must be realized that indeed charity must begin at home and home is Borno state because it is no longer tenable why other states in North-East Nigeria have nipped in the bud the activities of Boko Haram, while the state continues to make headlines for the wrong reasons. It is either the governor is accusing the military or undertaking ventures that does not address the issues at hand.

We cannot run away from our shadows because the Boko Haram members are not spirits. We cannot also walk before crawling. That would be the height of self-deceit and essentially my grouse with the governor of Borno State.

I had expected a more proactive approach that would translate the hopes and aspirations of the millions of Borno indigenes that have been displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency. I had also expected that the governor would have drawn from lessons from other states to find a lasting solution to the threats posed by the Boko Haram insurgent group in the state.

Charity must indeed begin and this much governor Babagana Zulum must come to terms with as the Chief Security Officer of the State. I dare say that the solution to the Boko Haram crisis in Borno State lies in Borno State and this much the political elites must admit. They must also acknowledge that the people have suffered untold hardship hence the need for the sincerity of heart and purpose in the governance of the state. I don’t want to believe that the political authorities do not know what to do in the state with regards to bringing the activities of the Boko Haram group to an end.

As mentioned earlier, the establishment of the North East Governors Forum is a good start but not the way to go for now. In my opinion, it should be the overarching medium for the entrenchment of peace and development in the North East region, but not after the Boko Haram insurgency has been adequately addressed in the state and the region.

The various stakeholders in Borno state should begin the process of convoking a summit to address the issues at hand. The religious and community leaders must be called to question, and they must justify the positions they hold in the state. The political leadership must also put the interest of the people at heart in the governance of the state. They must act where they need to and admit their shortcomings over the years instead of engaging in a blame game that serves no good to the deprived and famished people of Borno state.

They must also take a position to end the Boko Haram conflict in the state. Not after all of these are in place, nothing else would make sense to the people of the state that have witnessed years of sorrow, tears and blood. This is possible if only the governor spearheads the process of rebirth. He should look no farther because charity must indeed begin from home. This is my take.

Bulama is a UN trained peace facilitator based in Damaturu.

By Stanley Ogbu 

President Muhammadu Buhari is fast enchanting the hearts of South-Easterners with some improbable gestures through the Nigerian Army. Even the worst critic of the president is falling for his allure. Who wouldn’t? In the last five years, President Buhari has brought steady development and progress to the region, unmatched by his predecessors. 

The groundbreaking ceremony of the Nigerian Army Reference Hospital in Nkwagu Military Cantonment, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State is the latest. While this innovation has attracted widespread compliment, it is just another in a long list of numerous projects to alleviate the plight of the masses in the region.

Since assuming office in 2015, President Buhari has succeeded in changing the ill-perception of sentiment and bias driven against a particular zone. In the South-East, in particular, some forecasted that the president would chastise the region for not supporting his re-election.  

Not minding such intuition and criticisms, however, President Buhari like the true nationalist that he is, has continued to provide succour to the vast majority of the populace and drive projects that would have meaningful impacts on the lives of Nigerians irrespective of region.

The Army Reference Hospital in Abakaliki, according to the Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sagir Musa, is designed to provide easily accessible and adequate health care services to Nigerian Army personnel and their families as well as the host communities.

This means the medical facility will not be for the exclusive access of military personnel, rather would serve the entire host community. 

As a strong critic of the Buhari administration and one who fervently opposed his election, I must admit that the passion this administration has shown in the development of the South-East made me swallow my words, without water. 

I vehemently opposed Buhari’s presidency for three major reasons. Like many others, I was made to believe that his only agenda for the South-East is to deny it of any tangible project and to further make the region insecure, something of revenge for not supporting him.

I was one of those who had misinterpreted the president when he said those that gave him five per cent cannot be expected to be treated equally with others that offered more. Clearly, I blew the statement out of proportion.

However, with the ongoing projects in the South-East under this administration, I admit misjudging the president, hence I’ve begun to review my stand. 

Apart from the Second Niger Bridge which work has gone far and looked promising for delivery, the Buhari administration has shown that it has the interest of all at heart. 

Like the Army Reference Hospital in Abakaliki which construction is to start in earnest, the interventions of the administration in the region through the military, particularly the Nigerian Army, have been most remarkable. 

For one perceived to loathe the South-East, I was shocked when the same president approved the payment of the entitlements of war veterans that fought during the civil war.

The president is using the Army as a tool to touch more Nigerians. The South-East and indeed other parts of Nigerian have profited immensely from its Corporate Social Responsibility since the appointment of Chief of Army Staff, Lt.Gen Tukur Yusuf Buratai. 

The Nigerian Army, in the past half-decade, provided basic social amenities aplenty in the region just as in other parts of the country.  Chiefly among them, potable drinking water, construction of bridges, the establishment of health centre res, provision of clothing and food items to communities. 

According to the Chief of Army Staff, these projects and services are meant to strengthen the existing civil-military relations and turn the minds of Nigerians towards the positive actions of the Nigerian Army towards providing security and development in the country.

More impressive, though, the ventures cut across religious and ethnic barriers in the six geopolitical zones of the country. In the South-East, for instance, Central Primary School in Akpochiro and medical centres in Mbaito, both in Imo State were renovated.

The Nigerian Army took this Corporate Social Responsibility to another level by inaugurating four solar-powered water projects in different settlements in Obeititu autonomous community of Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo State.

A glut of intervention programmes in the six geopolitical zones of the country has aided the army to provide other essential services in the region which includes assisting civil authority initiatives in the provision of essential services like petroleum product distribution, telecommunications, medical and educational services.

The Nigerian Army, in a bid to ensure peace and security in all parts of the country also stepped ahead to settle disputes and conflicts in the South-East. It held a stakeholders peace meeting involving traditional, religious, political and youth leaders with the conflicting communities of Azuofia Edda, Okpuitumo, Ofomana in Osopong community of Abakaliki Local Government Area in Ebonyi State and their counterparts in Ogorude and Ofumuna communities in Obubra Local Government Area of Cross River State. 

On top of that, the Nigerian medical and other corps have also been rendering invaluable services to communities thereby alleviating the suffering of the masses. And in the bid to enhance the cordial relationship with the civil populace, the military commissioned an Armed Forces Radio for swift dissemination of information. The army then established a team to monitor and report human rights violations by soldiers.

Further to that in 2016, it set up a desk to prevent human right violations while ensuring close monitoring of such allegations. More are in the pipeline. For now, let Ndi’Igbo cut the president some slack. He deserves our support. 

Ogbu is a legal practitioner based in Abakaliki.