Nigeria Times

By Idris Abubakar

The narrative that the rambunctious and puffy leader of the Boko Haram terrorists group, Abubakar Shekau, has been devastated to the point that he has not only become sober but is pleading for mercy would have been unimaginable in the recent past. 

Indeed when the audio tape of the Boko Haram leader was released by a major news medium, many did not believe it initially until it was confirmed by multiple sources.

Shekau, through media preps and hype has over the years  succeeded in not only terrorising the minds of people, but has succeeded in creating a myth of invincibility about himself. 

But it is true that the Boko Haram leader in a new audio, not only admitted being weakened but cried for mercy seeking protection against the firepower of the Nigerian military.

Shekau in the 1:22 seconds audio, cried that he and his men are facing difficulties  due to what he called the  devilish act and wickedness of the Nigerian military. 

He said, “We deserted Izala people to practice Your true religion; we abandoned Tijjaniyya people to practice Your true religion; we deserted the Shiites to practice Your true religion; we forsook our parents, uncles and aunties to practice Your true religion. 

“It is because of your religion that we placed knife on Your servants’ necks; but today, they are trying to change us from one thing to another. Oh Lord, have mercy upon under [the blessings] Ramadhan; Oh Lord, have mercy on under [the blessings] of Ramadhan,” he said while crying profusely.

The ululations of Shekau is  not without basis.

Since March when Lt. Gen. TY Buratai moved to the theatre of war in Borno State, the fight against insurgency and terrorism took a new dimension with the Nigerian military giving the insurgents hell in each encounter.

The sustained offensive has recorded a series of successes against the Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists fighting on the fringes of Lake Chad region. 

In March, Nigerian troops eliminated not less than 20 top Boko Haram commanders including one Abu Usamah, and over 100 of their fighters who were hiding in Kwalaram, Ngilewa, Sabon Tumbu, Bukarmairam, Wulgo in the Marte and Gamboru Ngala axis as well as in Gorgi, Damboa local government of  Borno State.

The troops followed up on that with the  killing of 105 insurgents in Buni Gari and captured many weapons in April and on the heels of that in May, killed 134 of ISWAP and  Boko Haram members  and  arrested 28 of their informants and overran their camps in Durfada, Allafha, Timbuktu, Bulajibi and Gonikurmi near the Sambisa forest. 

These appear too good to be true but all facts relating to the success have been fact checked and confirmed by security experts, the media and other independent bodies .

The question now is what has made it possible for these successes to be recorded within a short time and in the magnitude attained.

Hitherto, the killing of even tens of insurgents given the asymmetric nature of the fight and the lack of clear demarcation between the terrorists and civilian communities have been celebrated,  but in less than two months, over 500 of the terrorists and not less than 40 of their top commanders and informants have been  taken down bringing them to their knees and begging for mercy. 

The secret has to do with the current leadership of the military and the experience of the person leading the assault on the insurgents at the Lake Chad region.

Buratai undoubtedly is one of the best war commanders and intelligent military tactician Nigeria and indeed Africa has ever had.

Since he began leading the Multinational Joint Task Force against insurgency the pressure tilted on the terrorists.

Pathetic stories of troops fleeing from battle fields in what was known as tactical withdrawal stopped completely. 

Stories about soldiers opening fire on their commanders due to lack of trust or wives of soldiers protesting the deployment of their husbands to the battle front all stopped

Troops and their commanders who have worked directly under Buratai have described him as motivation personified.

Troops tell the story of one of his first appearances in the theatre of war after he was appointed chief of army staff. While addressing soldiers in their camps,  shots, apparently from the insurgents were heard from the nearby bushes and the COAS was said to have given an order for the troops to follow him to take down the ‘irritants.’

Since confirming that the Army Chief is serious about winning the battle due to the zeal and courage he exhibits, troops no longer have cause to doubt the sincerity of their commanders and have been motivated to push harder. 

Seeing that the new helmsman is  not one that would hole himself up in a guest house partying while troops are in the battle field but one that is prepared to be in the battlefield with them, troops regained their confidence and moved with gusto. 

The Boko Haram and ISWAP fighters must noticed the change in the fighting spirit of troops and must have been asking themselves if these were the same set of troops that were scared of confronting them that many of them were said to have even deserted the army out of fear.

The fact is, Buratai, thinks, eats and drinks battles. He sees military engagement and combat as every drill that should be expected by any serious soldier no matter the rank.

Those close to him say he devotes his time to study and  planning war strategies and is meticulous and thorough in execution. 

He is said to have studied all the strategies of war heroes like Chaka Zulu, Khalid ibn Walid, Hannibal, Alexander the Great, Napoleon Bonaparte and others.

War experts and security analysts maintain that given the depth of knowledge and experience Buratai has acquired over the years, that it would be an insult to expect anything less from the current war against insurgency given the nature of the enemy who are mere street urchins trained by a sprinkle of rebels from Chad who serve as their commanders. 

The  Army Chief’s latest innovation is said to be the strategy which involves moving reinforcement while troops are pressing hard against the insurgents which has completely overwhelmed the terrorists. 

President Muhammadu Buhari has indeed made the right choice as far as the military high command is concerned. 

But it is not over until it is over. 

Buratai and the troops  deserve the prayer and support of all Nigerians as we can see that he and his troops are on the last lap of putting a final stop to Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorism.

Abubakar is a security expert and wrote this piece from Shomolu, Lagos.

By Idoko Ainoko

Civil rights activists,the world over, are  known for their fight against social injustice and their bid to make lasting impact on the lives of the oppressed and underprivileged.

They champion causes for the betterment of the citizenry as well as reinforce mechanisms for effective governance in the overall interests of the people and for the development of nations.

In the UK, US and other countries, rights activism was fired by the increaing cases of gross injustice and discrimination against certain persons and when it started,  it was thorough and very serious as it focussed social justice and the fundamental human right. 

Early activists in the US include names such as  Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Rosa Parks, W.E.B. Du Bois , Malcolm X, Jesse Jackson and many others.

These people put their lives on stake to advocate for equality and social justice and sometimes went through terrible experiences to achieve their aims for a better and egalitarian society. 

Early activism in Africa took the pattern of the struggle in black America and was mainly for the inclusion of natives in goverment and widening the political space for the participation of the majority. 

In Nigeria, the likes of Herbert Macauley, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Aminu Kano, Funmi Ransom Kuti and others were at the forefront of the struggle.

Down the line,  they passed the baton to people like JS Tarka, Tai Solarin, Wole Soyinka, Gambo Sawaba and others.

The nature of activism however changed with prolonged military rule when  people began to demand for popular participation in politics. That was when the likes of Beko Ransom Kuti, Ayo Obe, Olisa Agbakogba, Femi Borishade and the likes took to the street to demand for justice for the oppressed.

But over the years, the term activism has been bastardised and reduced to mere political rivalry or complaint over loss during elections or worse still, a process of seeking attention  for appointment.

This process became rampant  during the military era when  settlement of political opponents became the order of the day.

Since then, every Tom, Dick and Harry mounted the rostrum with claims of activism to get attention and once they are settled with juicy political offices, they abandon the struggle and continue with the pursuit of personal comfort.

Unfortunately, the phenomena transcended the military era became the culture in political and civil society circles until President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office in May 2015 and decided to put a stop to such mercantilism.

Those who wanted appointment he insisted had to show merit; anybody that takes the course of blackmail just to seek attention is either ignored or dealt with according to the laws.

On a good day, everybody agrees that the President Buhari led APC government is doing very well.

Within the four years it has been in goverment, the administration has recorded many feats that has moved Nigeria forward.

The administration has made mark in the key areas it had set out to achieve which are, fight against corruption, improving the economy and fight against insurgency. 

Corruption in the public sector has been reduced to the barest minimum with the introduction of TSA and the IPPIS form of payment.

Under the current administration, prominent persons including members of the ruling party have been brought to book for corrupt practices and so much stolen money has been recovered and utilised for public good.

The federal goverment also has been able improve on the economy through the agricultural sector and empowered many farmers while developing the small and medium scale enterprises.

It has also done well in the aspect on security, as it has been able to defeat Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists that were almost taking over the country. 

The administration has done more than that. It handled the issue of the Coronavirus very well which explains why the virus did not get out of hand.

Recently the government also reduced the pump price of fuel and has been paying the poor and vulnerable in the society.  But it seems like the more the goverment impacts positively on the people, the more a certain group  of  persons that call themselves activists are not happy. 

They have chosen not to see anything good about the current administration and will criticise everything even for the fun of it. 

In other climes, activists criticize only policies and actions of government they perceive as wrong but in Nigeria they make no distinction, as they are bent on casting the goverment in bad light.

These are what the Femi Fani kayodes, the Omoyele Sowores, the Ayesha Yusufs, the Shehu Sanis and the Deji Adeyanjus of this world are doing. 

They lack the capacity and painstaking finesse to thoroughly x-ray government policies and actions to offer suggestions, but are quick to pick holes.

Most of these later day ‘activists’ have missed it. They were not around when the struggle for democracy was fought, hence mangle the process and intent for popular struggles. 

They are not concerned about the oppressed or the less privileged, they are only angry that they and their sponsors have lost power. 

Presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina captured their mood rightly when he described them as ‘wailers.’

They are the wailers who must cry to get attention. They are like the proverbial child who screams even when his mother is on her way to the market to get his food.

They wail even when they’re being helped.

Yesufu rode on the back of the ‘Bring Back Our Girls’ struggle for the release of the Chibok girls and when she failed to get an appointment in government like some of her counterparts took her wailing to a level where nobody takes her serious again.

In the case of Sowore, one does not even have to go far to know what is driving him as has himself revealed that what is driving him is his ambition to be president of Nigeria;  and when he couldn’t achieve that, he now turned it into a revolution calling for regime change.

Deji Adeyanju on the other hand is only trying to find his feet but has gone in the wrong direction. That his activism is of the Mercantile hue was exposed when his sponsors took him to Dubai when  he was challenged by some hoodlums during a protest. 

While Fani kayode who was the spokesman for 2015 presidential campaign, has not stopped crying because his party has lost power. His case is similar to that of Shehu Sani who wanted to be given an automatic ticket to the Senate and when the ruling party insisted on a primary election he ran to another party.  Having been defeated in the general elections, he has now ran back to activism.

But it is high time well meaning Nigerians expose these  people and call them to order.

They should be made to realise that Nigeria belongs to us all and that other citizens are not happy with they way they’re trying to distract the current administration from achieving its policies and programmes for the betterment of the citizenry and development of the nation.

Ainoko is a public affairs analyst and wrote this piece from Kaduna.