Peace
With The Beast? Say Mun Kawo Karshensu
Lawrence
Anini was a bandit who terrorized Benin
City in the 80s along with his second in command,
Monday Osunbor. His band of terrorists began robbing busses, banks and stealing
cars. Anini gradually expanded the activities of his syndicate to cities and
states around Benin.
On December 3rd, 1986, Anini was captured at a house, while in the
company of a girl friend. He was shot in the leg and transferred to a military
hospital where the leg was amputated. Ibrahim Babangida, the president at the
time had Anini tried expediently and as is the custom and law in Nigeria, he was
killed by firing squad on March 29th, 1987. And that was the end of Lawrence
Anini, Nigeria’s
terror bandit, who left trails of death and sorrow in his path.
We could
go on to review the story of Mohammed Marwa, aka, Maitatsine, a radical
northern bandit, and how a successful military campaign succeeded in defeating
and killing him in 1980. These are all stories of terrorism in Nigeria’s history
that most of us are familiar with.
Today, the
story of insane terrorism and evil is the Boko Haram, aka “western civilization
is bad,” terrorist saga centered in Nigeria’s north east. Boko Haram
terrorism, headed by a man who goes under the nickname, Abubakar Shekau,
allegedly from Niger republic, has taken the lives of over 6000 innocent
Nigerians, Muslims, Christians, Hausa, Kanuri, Yoruba, Igbo, old and young
alike. The terrorists have never submitted to reason, never proposed a sensible
agenda and have never abated in their campaigns of merciless murder. Well, up
until June 26th.
On June 26th,
a press release that appeared to come from Boko Haram top quarters, for the
first time, asked for a cease fire with the Nigerian government. Ordinarily, this
would read reasonable. But this is no ordinary situation. What prompted this
demand for a ceasefire? We have to go back to May 14th. The current
administration, headed by president Goodluck Jonathan, on May 14th,
in response to a dangerous reality, that the northern extremist terrorists who
had largely been left unchecked though years of rampage, had acquired so much
arms, training, vehicles and guts, that they were attacking military barracks
in Borno state and according to Nigeria’s PDP chairman, Bamanga Tukur, were
even about to declare their first Nigerian state.
In
addition to the declaration of a state of emergency, a full military deployment
was rapidly made and war was declared against this malicious, terrorist
insurgency. The president of Nigeria
has conceded that he might be one of the most disliked leaders in the world.
But with the engagement of Boko Haram in this total war, for once, many
Nigerians said he had done something very right.
By June, Nigeria had
turned over the tables on Boko Haram. And when we say Nigeria, we mean
not only the brave men of the Nigerian army, but the brave men, women and youth
of the federation. Nigeria’s
civilians decided that it was time for them to decide and take control of their
destiny. Against their safety, the youth of the North took up arms. Not the ammunition
type, but sticks, cutlasses, catapults and the like. Now popularly known as the
“civilian JTF,” youths set up more check-points in Borno and Yobe state,
civilian check-points than the military had setup. Nigeria’s civilians joined the war
in full force, routing out Boko Haram terrorists, exposing them. They even went
as far as declaring government officials who they knew were linked to the
terrorism, and going after these.
Northern
parents were not left out. Many revealed and exposed their sons, wives,
husbands, as the case may be. The people said, no. No, to terror. No, to
banditry. No to Boko Haram, miscreants, murderers and robbers, destroying their
native land.
Victory
Such
communal effort and bravery can only result in one thing, victory. Boko Haram
has since been severely decimated. The bandits have run into the mountains,
only daring to come down to scavenge for food.
The terrorists have gotten so desperate, they have gone totally insane.
They now attack school children, seeing them as the great enemy. Nigerians thanked
their Lord and celebrated the victory over terror. We knew Boko Haram can never
return, because terror can only exist where the people do nothing. The northern
youth have woken up and will never, ever do nothing again. Everyone was doing
something, policing their neighborhood. There will forever be no more room for Boko
Haram terror. Perhapos even, Boko Haram had thought us something
more—cooperation, love and peaceful coexistence.
And then the president slapped our faces
On July 8th,
the unbelievable happened. The Jonathan administration announced that they had
agreed to a ceasefire with the beast. Cease fire with terrorists. The news
sounded impossible to believe. Who were they ceasing fire with? But Boko Haram
is being defeated. Why will the victor sign a ceasefire with the vanquished?
What can this mean? Who is the government struggling to protect? Is the
government trying to allow this wicked formation a chance to remain relevant,
to regroup and to continue to be a potential terror threat to the good people
of Nigeria?
As the
civilian JTF began going for top level sponsors of Boko Haram, more names of
possible senior official, government friends and current and ex-government
officials have been thrown about in the streets and in the press. Elite have
been getting scared. An ex governor pleaded with the current governor of Borno
to halt his trip to China and quickly return to facilitate the release of a
party chairman, currently arrested by the military JTF in concert with the
civilian JTF on suspicion of Boko Haram sponsorship. Other top level sponsors
were obviously getting uncomfortably warm, feeling the heat at their toes. It
is only reasonable to suspect that these elite impressed it on the president to
“cease fire,” so they can stay out of the fire.
In a news
report last week, a former Nigerian president at a meeting of Nigerian
presidents, said, “the security situation should be dealt with in house.”
Whatever did this mean? But the question is, what do we the people say and what
do we want?
If I may
submit, on behalf of the brave civilian JTF of North Nigeria, whose shoe-laces,
I am not fit to fasten. We the people reject any form of cease fire with the
beast. We the people will never stop, we will never renege. We will never abate
until all terrorists have been meted the judgment they deserve. We will never
live with murderers. We will never forgive the sponsors of the murderers. For
the sake of those who have died, for the sake of those who are injured, for
those who have lost loved ones, for those who suffer, due to the hunger and
poverty this insane terrorism has caused. For the sake of the brave military
men, who have died saving Nigeria,
not from external war as they signed up with the army to engage in, but rather
in internal senseless terrorism. For the families of the soldiers. The only
peace will be when Boko Haram have met their peace. We implore the government
stay with us on the right side of history.
We the civilian JTF, say: Say Mun Kawo Karshensu
— Not till we bring their end!
Dr.
Peregrino Brimah
For http://ENDS.ng [Every Nigerian Do Something]
Movement
of the March 18th Kano Sabon Gari Bus stop bombing
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