Nigeria Times

By Mohammed Haske

On the 4th of November 2011, the two major towns of Damaturu and Potiskum in Yobe State were on fire following coordinated bombing and shooting attacks on police and other facilities in the State. 

Residents of the two towns for several hours could not fathom what was happening as they ran in different directions for dear lives. 

At the end of the pandemonium which were confirmed to have been attacks caried out by Boko Haram, no less than 150 persons lay dead and several buildings were razed. 

As the Boko Haram terrorists were turning Yobe State upside down, its members were also causing havoc in Maiduguri as they attacked the convoy of the then governor, Kashim Shettima and two of their suicide-bombers attempted to blow up the military Joint Task Force headquarters in Maiduguri in a botched suicide attack on the same day.

All these happening in one day, gives an idea of the kind of terror the people in the Northeast part of the country were being subjected to before the coming of the current administration.

Markets, schools, worship centres and other public buildings became no go areas for several months for fear of bomb and gun attacks.

Those who have no compelling reasons to stay in any of the five Northeastern states of Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe and Yobe Stats hurriedly stalling economic activities in those states. 

Access to education and medical care became a tall order as security even such places could not be guaranteed. 

The Boko Haram were having a field day as they were even threatening to match to Abuja to bring down the central government. 

The situation was so bad in 2011, that the Boko Haram terrorists had moved from attacking ordinary residents to threatening the highest symbol of constituted authorities in the states, the governors.

Spokesman for Boko Haram at the time, Abu Zaid, threatened that the Boko Haram would hunt down the governors of Borno, Bauchi and Gombe if they fail to apologise to them. “We would not relent in our efforts of searching for them until they come out publicly and apologize,” he was reported to have said.

Then Bauchi State governor, Malam Isa Yuguda and his former counterpart in Gombe State , Danjuma Goje were so stricken with fear that they had to buy spaces in national dailies to apologise to the terrorists as demanded.

The two publicly appologised  Boko Haram, for any rights violations suffered during the military crackdown on its leaders in 2009.

Said Yuguda, “I apologise to the members of Jama’atu Ahlussunnah lidda’awati wal Jihad for perceived injustices caused them as they have the full rights to be protected by the law,” 

While Goje said: “As a true Muslim, who believes in peace and brotherhood, I hereby tender my public apology to the organisation for any wrong done to it in the course of performing my duty as the then governor of Gombe State”.

The Borno State governor on his part offered amnesty to the terrorists as a way of placating them.

Adamawa too had its bitter taste of the nasty experience with frequent attacks and shootouts, bomb attacks on police stations,  banks worshippers centers, etc..

But with the coming of the current administration the people of the Northeast no longer live in fear.

Adamawa has become safe and peaceful while economic activities and spiritual functions have resumed fully. 

The people of Damaturu, Potiskum, Geidam and other towns constantly attacked  y terrorists in the past, have put such gory incidences behind them.

The atmosphere of peace  and calm is even more pervasive in Gombe and Bauchi states where the insurgents have been completely flushed out.

In most parts of Borno, normacly has also returned.

Most of the rural areas vacated for fear of attacks are now occupied.

The suicide bombers have been frustrated as their attempts have been detected and stalled.

Abduction of young women and girls at random has also been stopped.

The people of the Northeast are immensely grateful to President Muhammadu Buhari who made it a priority to secure and return peace to the terrorism ravaged states of the Northeast. Every time one travels to the Northeast, one cannot help but notice the hope on the faces of residents.

Haske a public affairs analyst wrote this piece from Yola.

By Bukola Olasanmi

President Muhammadu Buhari is a man of his words. During the 2015 elections, he promised to do three things, improve on the economy, tackle corruption and address the insecurity in the country.

He has since assuming office started the fight against corruption from which millions of dollars have been recovered by the government and many serving and former public officials brought to book.

The current administration by the introduction of the Treasury Single Account and Bank Verification Number, BVN, also blocked major conduits for corruption.

The economy has also been on a steady rise since the stabilisation of the exchange rate, increased investment in the agricultural sector and stability of the banking system.

While much has been achieved in the areas of improving the economy and fighting corruption, the focus of this piece will be on security and how the current administration has succeeded where others feared to tread because of the impact it has had on all citizens especially the masses.

Before the coming of the current administration, the level of insecurity was so high that Boko Haram terrorism extended to all the states in the Northeast except Taraba, that life became a living hell for the people of Yobe, Bauchi, Adamawa and Gombe States.

More than 20 local councils in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States were captured by Boko Haram and placed under the administration of terrorists.
Major towns within the axis like Potiskum, Buni Yadi, Biu, Madagali, Gwoza, Garkida, Bama, Baga, Monguno, Benisheik etc. all lost their peace as the insurgents could invade any at will and sack residents.

It was so bad in the country that the Boko Haram terrorist hoisted their flags at Gwoza, excised it from other parts of Nigeria and declared their caliphate there. They did not stop at that but extended their nefarious activities to other states outside the Northeast like Kano and Abuja targetting high profile personalities like the emir and the Inspector General of Police and sensitive buildings like the United Nations building in Abuja and the headquarters of the Department of State Security. States like Niger, Plateau and Kogi State precisely, Okene and Koton Karfe, began to feel the negative impacts of the terrorists.

Extending their tentacles became so easy that the insurgents began planning to settle and extend their reign of evil to Lagos. But as Mr. President took over the mantle of leadership and kept to his words to secure Nigerians, he directed that the operational headquarters of the fight against insurgency move to the theatres of operation. From that moment, things began to change.

The terrorists, seeing the depth of intelligence put into security and the commitment of the government towards fishing them out, fled from Abuja to other places.

The effective monitoring and surveillance mounted in Kaduna, Niger, Kogi and Plateau made the terrorists in those states to also flee. Most of them were later confirmed to flee to reinforce their fast diminishing strongholds at Sambisa forest which was being battered and their members were being pushed to the fringes of the Lake Chad.

The Northeastern states of Bauchi, Gombe, Adamawa and Yobe that were being traumatized by the terrorists began to heave sighs of relief as the Buhari administration, through reinforced coordination and strategies sacked the terrorists elements in those states and people began living their normal lives.

The livestock market at Potiskum has since bounced back attracting traders and other business interests beyond the shores of Nigeria while Mubi has retained its verve with schools and other activities resuming in full swing.

With sustained efforts, the Boko Haram miscreants and ISWAP activities have been confined to few border communities in Borno State. Even within Borno, places that were hitherto tormented by the terrorists like Gwoza, Izge, Biu, Benisheik and Konduga, have been liberated and kept free from their operations. 

No doubt, President Buhari has kept his promise of eradicating terrorism in all these states and what is left today is the remnants of the terror group in parts of northern Borno. Nigerians are happy that President Buhari has not disappointed them with his promises to make Nigeria secure for citizens. 

The level of economic activities within the states liberated from terrorism has quadrupled and many who were displaced in various parts of the country have returned to their communities. 

Food security has been enhanced with the increase in the production of farm produce that are found only in those states. The general atmosphere in Nigeria has been that of fresh air and the people are happy that they have been enabled to pick up the pieces of their lives. General Buhari’s credentials as a man of integrity has been enhanced with these achievements.

Olasanmi is a journalist and wrote from Abuja.

By Idoko Ainoko

I recall there was a time in Nigeria that Zamfara state in North-West Nigeria was on the verge of annihilation. Blood flowed freely, and the then-governor once threatened to resign as the Chief Security Officer of the state.

Things were so bad that it seemed there would be no end in sight. I recall that on a particular visit to the state, the level of wanton destruction was phenomenal so much so that it elicited a nationwide campaign for peace to reign in Zamafara State and for the state government to indeed rise to the occasion in securing the lives and properties of the people.

In all the ensuring security challenges in the state, the irony was that the then governor of the state was an APC member and the chairman of the Governors Forum. So, it was ordinarily expected that he would have led by example by bringing the much-needed peace in the state. But the activities of bandits reigned supreme, and the people of Zamfara state were left at the mercies of bandits whose nefarious activities almost brought the state to its knees.

The essence of this piece is how the present governor of the state Bello Matawalle has been doing exploits in tacking the activities of bandits in the state that hitherto held sway. Saying that the governor of Zamfara state has done well would be an understatement. Also saying that he has indeed set worthy examples for other states tackling insecurity is stating the obvious.

I am most impressed and wish to state that Zamfara state should indeed serve as an example for how to tackle insecurity in the country. The governor realized that politics has no place in the security of lives and properties. As a first, we must recognize that when it comes to governance, there is no place for ethnicity, religion or party politics.

This, in my opinion, was the strategy employed by the governor of Zamfara state and the result is what we all see today as the success story in the fight against banditry and insecurity in Zamfara state. I also gathered that another strategy the governor employed is the fact that he sought the support of the federal government as a partner in addressing the security challenges in the state.

This much he did by extending cooperation to the Nigerian security agencies deployed to the state in his capacity as the Chief Security Officer of the state. And guess what, he did this without all the cameras rolling. I recall that I have once stated that amongst political office holders in Nigeria, there are indeed silent achievers. Those that get the job done and all you see is results and those that are loud in the media and with nothing to show for it.

What makes the case of Zamfara more interesting is the fact the governor of Zamfara is not of the ruling APC, but the opposition PDP, but he didn’t allow party politics to becloud his sense of reasoning on delivering the dividends of democracy to the people.

I think that other state governors should learn from the exemplary leadership displayed by Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamafara State. I stand to be corrected if all governors take a cue from him. I am sure we would not be where we are today in terms of addressing the various security challenges in the country.

It is also my considered opinion that those that love to grandstand on the pages of newspapers and television stations should understand that leadership transcends beyond filling the pages of news and mopping up airtime of television stations. Leadership entails sensitivity to the plight of the people and taking those proactive steps towards translating their hopes and aspirations into tangible reality.

Governor Bello Matawalle is not a professor in any field but so far has shown that just like Chinua Achebe had rightly posited, the man of the people is not about Harvard, Cambridge or Oxford degrees but the man that understands and speaks the language of the people. And that is what Nigerians needs at this critical point of our existence. We need leaders at state and local government levels that are closer and feel the pulse of the people; we need leaders that would put the interest of the people first and above everything else.

The Governor of Zamfara State has indeed raised the bar for other governors, especially in North-East Nigeria facing the Boko Haram insurgency. The lesson that must be learnt is that you can’t fight insecurity with ethnic sentiments because you are fighting an enemy of humanity and insecurity respects no ethnicity or religious group.

Other governors in the country must learn and admit this bitter truth if they are desirous of sustainable developments in their states. They should learn not to play to the gallery, but instead, confront the starkness of reality before them and strive to proffer the much-needed solution. I can bet that if Governor Bello Matawalle were to be of the ruling APC, he would have been grandstanding and point accusing fingers while innocent people continue to lose their lives.

I am impressed with the way Governor Bello Matawalle has handled the insecurity in Zamfara state and how he has also turned the once restive state into a centre of attraction with the relative peace and tranquillity been enjoyed by its citizens.

I do hope that the likes of Governor Babagana Zulum would be sincere enough to learn from the example of Zamfara state in dealing with the insecurity in their states. As they say, nobody has a monopoly of knowledge, and the end should always justify the means. The overarching objective should remain the security of lives and properties. And the Zamfara example is indeed one worthy of emulation.
His Excellency is free to learn from his colleague!

Ainoko a public affairs analyst wrote this piece from Kaduna.

By Leonard Aluor

One of the Major planks of the economic direction of the Buhari led administration is alleviating the poverty of the teeming masses. It should be noted that one thing Buhari has going for him is his popularity amongst the talakawa in this country. There seem to be a magnetic aura that has glued the masses of this country since his foray into partisan politics in 2003 and his eventual emergence in 2015.There is no magic that has informed than the fact that all his life he(Buhari) has led a spartan life in spite of being privileged to have attained status that easily clamp him amongst the elite class in this country. He is a man who despite fate has thrust him to the echelon of public office in the country, he didn’t soil his hand with the till of such offices, he instead have always used those offices to embark on project that have direct bearing on the teeming masses. The people naturally will gravitate towards such a leader.

So when in 2015 through a contraption that saw to the collaboration of progressive elements from the north and the southwest, the leadership mantle of the country fell on the lap of this man of the people.Another opportunity presented itself for the masses to become central to government policies again in the country. President Buhari being a man of the people that he is, didn’t waste time in swinging into action on policies that will have direct bearing on the teeming majority and one of the strategies employed is National social investment programme(NSIP) comprising of Npower, school feeding programme, trader moni, conditional cash transfer (CCT) etc. Through this social investment programme(a feat unprecedented in the annals of this country) over a million household were pulled from the brinks of acute poverty and miseries throughout.

Buoyed by the feat of such ingenious intervention, the Buhari government in the bid to institionalize the social investment programme decided to create a ministry to coordinate such activities for more effectiveness and improved impact.

The lot to man such an all important office fell on no other person than the amiable amazon by the name Umar sadiya farooq. No one else could have been better placed to man such an office other than this honest and youthful amazon who typically embodies the true hallmark of Buharism which are honesty, transparency and integrity. Little wonder why in the face of provocative and frustrating smear campaign which reeks of yellow journalism by some fifth columnists in the Nigerian press, she has pressed on with candour and a zest only her mentor and father figure our indefatigable President Buhari possesses. Needless to say that prior to now that fate has been preparing her for this all important task. Before the advent of APC, she was the women leader of CPC one of the legacy party that came together to form APC. The elements that made up the then CPC were people who have indissoluble belief in the cause to salvage this country with Buhari as the rallying point. The CPC itself is a splinter group from the ANPP when it became apparent that the latter has being taken over by corrupt cash and carry Nigerian politician who the transparent aura of Buhari repels and are willing to do anything in the book to get him out of the way in their inordinate quest to retain the platform to further their nest of annexing this country for pillage. Those who kept faith with Buhari in the CPC worked tirelessly with little or nothing out of the passion to see this country pulled out of the woods which the rudderless leadership clamped on the country since 1999 was pulling her into. Sadiya Umar farooq was a shining star in the lot and it is the crucibles of transparency, integrity and passion for the people she acquires in those days of yore she has brought to bear in this all important aspect.

Her appointment couldn’t have come at a better time. She swung into action immediately after she was sworn in by visiting various epicentre of disasters delivering the goodwill messages of the FG and providing relief materials as a form of succour to those who have lost valuables to disaster. She also worked assiduously to remove various bottlenecks that has greeted the various NSIPs in the past and the programmes gained wider reach and had deeper impacts in the life of the people. Since the beginning of this pandemic, her job has been more cut out and she has warmed herself more brilliantly to them by overseeing the various interventions of the govt to the teeming viz the school feeding programme, palliatives and the conditional cash transfer. It must also be emphasised that those programmes has been executed in a more transparent and vigorous manner devoid of manipulations from politicians and their hangers on that has bedevilled the programme in the past. Just like many laudable programmes of this administration, the enemies of this country has planted so many malicious and mendacious stories in the press to impugn the integrity of the woman and make a mince meat of her yeoman’s effort while also smearing those laudable programme. But this wonderful amazon has remain undaunted in her single-minded quest to deliver her mandate of genuinely lifting the ordinary people from the miseries of penury.
In line with the policy of the Buhari administration to lift as many people as possible out of poverty. It also should be added that as important as that ministry is, just like the first term when the idea was conceived. It has been greeted by limited resources. Despite the assiduous effort of the umar sadiya farooq led humanitarian affairs ministry to reach as many homes with her as possible especially during the lock down occasioned by the pandemic. It is however sad that majority couldn’t benefit due to fact that the main target of the programmes abinitio were the vulnerables and poorest of the poor. This was naturally meant with bickerings and cynicism from some elites in the country. What many of them fail to realize that social and welfare programmes is a novel approach to governance in this country and it may not be as perfect as envisaged at the inception. It is however not wise to throw away the baby and the bath water because it is a work in progress. The Buhari administration came at a time that can be adjudged as the worst in terms of revenue generation. The previous government in this country were profligate spent thrift who had no presence of mind to save and invest for the rainy day but instead like the prodigal son squandered and pilfered the abundant resources of this country in the most rapacious manner. But the Buhari administration at her inception vows to clear the augean stable and reroute the nation on the path of progress. It is cheering to note that it is winning in this effort as the nation is a huge construction site in spite of her lean resources. With resourceful and integrity personified personae like Sadiya umar farooq manning various posts, this nation is poised for greater exploits in the future and laudable programmes like the NSIP that her ministry is coordinating will have wider impact.

Aluor wrote this piece from Television Nigerian, Abuja.

By Kolawole Abe

There is no gainsaying that Nigeria just like some other parts of West Africa today is ravaged by insurgency. This insurgency fuelled mainly by the ouster of Muhammar Ghaddafi of Libya in October 2011 by imperialism backed local forces and the subsequent civil war that broke out in that desert country led to rise of many Islamic terrorist group with huge weapons that are being sold allover the region fuelling terrorism. Apart from the proliferation of arms, many of these local terrorists are also trained by elements of al-queda on guerrilla warfare in order to establish Islamic states in whatever country their devilish act in thriving.

Boko haram is the local branch of ISWAP which is a variant of ISIS that once held some Asian countries by the jugular just like their local variants are scheming to do here. Since the defeat of ISIS along the border of Syria and Iraq, the searchlight of those elements has being the west African region leading to the formation of ISWAP meaning the Islamic state of west African province.

Boko Haram was founded in 2002 by mohammed Yusuf as an Islamic sect in maiduguri. It subsequently grew in leaps and bound within the state and became a darling of politicians who incessantly rode on her popularity to power. The group started having problems with those politicians as a result of failed promises and unmet expectations. By 2009, it started a violent cause out of discontentment against the dishonesty of politicians and their main targets then were public properties and officials. This inadvertently led to the arrest and incarceration of her founding leader. The leadership lot later fell on Abubakar shekau who is the present leader who in turn introduced a more radical ideology that sought to carve out an Islamic state through violent means. This led the group not to target just public buildings and officials alone but others that they consider infidels for not subscribing to the Islamic religion. This ofcourse was met by resistance from the state. That of course angered the insurgent and their targets extended to even their kinsmen who they consider infidels for not being at home with their cause. The activities of this dare devil organisation festered so much so that they had strong presence in the whole of the North and rumour were rife that they already had plans to extend their network especially to the southwestern part of the country. The whole of the North play regular host to their activities unfettered and its attendant loss of lives and properties. It got so bad that even the Louis edet police House in Abuja wasn’t spared, the inspector General of police then escaped death by a whisker while some of his officers weren’t so lucky. The United nations office, this day dome, nyanya motor park, a Catholic Church were some of the building that played host to their activities (to mention a few) in the nations capital. States like kano, kaduna, Jigawa in the northwest, while kogi, Niger, plateau were also hotbeds apart from the northeast that happened to be their base as at then.

By the time the Buhari government emerged. It has gotten so bad that part of the reason why the GEJ government lost reelection was her seeming lacklustre approach to ending the activities of the insurgent. Subsequent probing of the office of the national security adviser was later to reveal that his government (Jonathan) saw the war more as a cash cow than a cause which must be defeated.

The enormous goodwill the Buhari government had while coming in on the back of his military background meant that the task though herculean is one that can’t be approached with kid glove. Especially when the plank of his policy was hung on the tripod of security, economy and infrastructure. The Buhari government swooped into action immediately through the directive of the president in his inaugural speech that the theatre of command be moved from Abuja to maiduguri which was the hotbed then. That was followed by his visits to other west African States affected by the activities of the insurgent to galvanise a region wide collaboration in order to tackle the insurgency. In the course of the meeting the president made a pledge of 100 milliondollars to the region wide effort and ordered an immediate release of 19million out of it to kick-start the military activities that will rout out the insurgency out of the region. What followed was the sack of the National security adviser and the service chiefs and their subsequent replacement. The resultant effect of the president’s Pro active approach to the festering activities of the insurgent was their pushback from other region in the country to the North East within a space of six months. States like kano, kaduna and Abuja who were regular host of the insurgent began to heave a sigh of relief because the insurgent were completely routed out from there. It was in the process of the heated military activities that it was discovered that the insurgent was already building a sleeper cell in kogi from where it planned to annex other part of the country mainly the southwest states. Today through the single-minded and Pro active approach of the president, Bokoharam/ISWAP activities has been aggressively decimated. It has been debased from hoisting its flag in about 27 local govt in Yobe, maiduguri and adamawa to just operating from the lake Chad, and also from targeting buildings and large gatherings to pocket of bombings aimed at soft targets. Just yesterday, they were described by the president as a horde of scavengers who loot for food and other groceries out of desperation. We may not have achieved the president’s promise of completely routing them out of the country but even Northern states like adamawa, gombe, Yobe etc now go to bed with their two eyes closed because Boko Haram isn’t as potent as it was before Buhari emerged. There is definitely more to be done, but that must not in anyway displace the amount of effort that has been put into completely routing the insurgency from our country.

Abe is a human rights activist and former PRO, NANS.