Nigeria's
Revolution Was Not Televised
A friend of mine was part of the CANAN (Christian Association of Nigerian-Americans)
delegation to implore the US government designate Boko Haram a Foreign
Terrorist Organization (FTO). All he got out of that effort was a cute picture
he has hung up on his office wall, of a hand-shake with a US respected senator.
To all those baffled as to why the US refuses to designate Boko Haram, the
second most notorious global terrorist organization, as a FTO. The answer is
rather simple. It lies within this quote from the president of Nigeria, on the
sponsors and members of Boko Haram:
"Some of them are in the
executive arm of government, some of them are in the parliamentary/legislative
arm of government, while some of them are even in the judiciary, some are also
in the armed forces, the police and other security agencies. Some continue to
dip their hands and eat with you and you won't even know the person who will
point a gun at you or plant a bomb behind your house."
Simply put- the United States does not meddle in
internal political affairs of nations, no matter how bloody their consequences
are. Well, let's say, in principle they don't—because when it comes to morals,
Russia and even China appear to uphold more dignifying standards than the US
these days; but that's a whole different story. The US will never list a group, headed
by known members of Nigerian government and governing elite, as a terrorist
group, most especially when the Nigerian government itself refuses to treat the
masterminds and members as such. The president of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, has on
more than one occasion, admitted that he knows the sponsors of Boko Haram. That
these are people he rules and dines with. With such admission, if the US listed the entire
group as a terrorist group, this will automatically implicate all who know the
members and conceal them, as well as all those who associate with the members
and sponsors of this FTO, which will automatically include the Nigerian
president. This explains partly, the US' hesitation. The minute Nigeria is serious about eliminating Boko Haram,
after qualifying it, its members and sponsors, as killers and enemies of the
state, the US
and indeed many more nations will throw in full support, and the death-loving Boko
Haram will be a thing remembered.
The above stated, can be easily proven by analyzing the
events of the last two months. In early May, Boko Haram was at the top of its
game. Raiding barracks’ and decimating towns. The sect ruled more than half of
Borno state. There was no reverberating global reaction to the culmination of
the reign of massacres and terror. There was predictably no Nigerian response, either.
Just like when Nigeria
experienced some of the worst floods since the time of Noah, there was little
to no international media or government assistance or mere notice of Nigeria’s
predicament. Why waste air time and money on that hopelessly corrupt, suicidal
nation of killers and thieves, I bet the world said.
In Mid May the president was pressed to cut short a visit to
South Africa, as global
media, and the likes of Wole
Soyinka, reacting to the deaths and unchecked terror campaign of Boko
Haram, raised
flags that Nigeria was at war and the president was doing nothing. The
president convened an urgent meeting of top army officials, and declared a
state of emergency and war against Boko Haram.
Facts:
Within weeks of Nigeria
showing seriousness in dealing with this threat, the following occurred:
1. UN: On May 17, 2013,
the UN rights office declared that Nigerian rebels could face war crimes
charges for ‘population cleansing’
2. US:
On June 3rd, the US
declared group tactical and PR leader, Abubakar Shekau wanted, and placed a $7
million bounty on his head.
3. UK: By July 8th, the British
government declared support and membership of Boko Haram and Ansar as criminal.
This declaration automatically froze all UK
assets and UK
related financial support to Boko Haram members and sponsors.
These significant achievements did not go without the clear
demonstration of Nigeria's seriousness in waging its war to crush Boko Haram,
as well as follow up government and citizen actions, including Nigeria's
government on June 4th, proscribing Boko Haram--group, membership and support--under
the Terrorism Prevention Act, and also the media publicity of the efforts of
Nigeria people, the ‘Civilian JTF,’ who, now supported at last by their
government, demonstrated the resolve and brave commitment of the ordinary
people to tackle Boko Haram, with stop-and-search security stops and other
para-military investigations and civilian anti-terrorism engagements.
It all looked good. At last, CANAN could bet the US would soon proscribe Boko Haram; people in Nigeria were
confident that the mountain residing, hungry terrorists on the run would soon
be significantly incapacitated. The youth of Nigeria's north east, with these
words, "Sai Mun Kawo Karshensu," “until we bring their end,” had
resolved to not stop, till Boko Haram was totally eliminated.
A little over a month after Nigeria took serious, the
extremist threat that had claimed over 2000 lives of innocent Nigerians of all
creeds, apparently, as only one media suspiciously published, Boko Haram
pleaded for mercy, and the Nigerian government and head of national security,
quickly and eagerly agreed to a ceasefire with the cult-on-the-run. This was
announced suddenly, to the bewilderment of all, on July 8th. It was so tightly
and perfectly packaged, it seemed like an inside-administration deal. The
civilian JTF and military who are at the forefront of the battle, were
apparently not even consulted in this top level decision.
Nigeria's
Special Duties Minister and chairman of Nigeria's dead-on-arrival Boko
Haram amnesty committee, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, next announced something very
surprising. That Abubakar Shekau was signatory to the worked out ceasefire
between the federal republic
of Nigeria and the
terrorists.
What
Does a Ceasefire Mean?
Here is where it gets confusing. Abubakar Shekau is declared
wanted, not only by the government of the United States, but also by the
Nigerian government and the organization that first declared him wanted,
Muslims Against Terror. Now he is negotiating a ceasefire with Nigeria,
according to Turaki. Does this ceasefire include his turning himself in? Does
this ceasefire not promise him that the Nigerian amnesty committee will now
shield him and his other generals from Nigerian law, from the US' 'wanted'
declaration and from the stipulations of the ‘proscription,’ of Boko Haram,
declared June 4th? Additionally, will he and his generals, under this amnesty,
now be protected from the UK
ban on Boko Haram? This line of thought extends indefinitely. It is no surprise
the military reacted to the ‘ceasefire’ news in disbelief and shock.
I am no expert in these things, but apart from this
ceasefire being a precondition for turning themselves in to the security
services, I am unable to understand how it is possible for a Nation to
negotiate a ceasefire with a wanted, proscribed, murderous gang of urban
bandits. Surrender can be agreed upon, but a ceasefire? And what next for the US, UK
and UN who believed Nigeria
was serious about tackling the terrorists? Sadly, Nigeria’s
leadership and much of the elite, do not realize (or simply do not care) that
there can never be sustained peace without first establishing real justice.
So let us step back and appreciate a summary of what just
happened. A group of Nigerians decided to take the law into their own hands.
They terrorized Nigeria
without relent or remorse. Nigeria
literally did nothing. Its elite were interestingly very safe from the
terrorists. Later Nigeria
begged them to accept placation in the form of an amnesty. The group snuffed at
the plea. Finally, under immense pressure, Nigeria fought back. Just over a
month after fighting back, the murderous group agreed for and was offered peace
and compensation (amnesty).
It has happened before. A similar group, MEND, the Niger
Delta militant group, reigned havoc on Nigeria. In economic warfare which
affected the lives of Nigerians near and far, due to crushing economic hardship
secondary to oil industry vandalization and reduced oil output, the group got
Nigeria to its knees in suffering. Nigeria negotiated a ceasefire with
the group, and gave amnesty settlement for the Niger Delta militants and all
who signed up as jobless youth with a claimed history of terrorism. Today,
leaders of that militant organization, the likes of Asari Dokubo and Tompolo,
who have blood of thousands of Nigerians on their hands, live free in Abuja and
continue to terrorize the nation from their mansions. These ex-murderers are
even part of the government, and have been given military-nature billion dollar
contracts to secure the regions they terrorize.
There is no doubt that certain northerners saw this event as
one they too could copy. These northern elite think Boko can be controlled;
they still do not realize that sure as the sun rises, the evil monster if left
to grow will someday kill them. As long as their family was safe from the
terror of Boko Haram, they supported this group to unleash terror as a means of
either gaining political power, or creating a situation where an amnesty is
worked for, not the good people of Nigeria, but those who sign-up as terrorists,
and to line their(elites) pockets. These elite pressed it upon Nigerian
government to remove force and give so-called amnesty to these killers.
There is much hardship in Nigeria. Millions live below the
poverty line. Nigeria,
a nation blessed with abundant resources in addition to top level oil reserves,
has some of the world’s richest and poorest people. Dangote, world number 46,
and people who have no shoes; really, no shoes, are what make up Nigeria. Nigeria's
masses live on less than $1/day, while the president and oil minister take
home, apart from their salaries—the highest in the world— $500,000 per PFI
kickback for over 50 PFI's per month. The leadership and elite friends who make
and benefit from the leadership are so engrossed in dividing and consuming
Nigeria's wealth and planning their next political maneuvers, that they have
left a population, more than ripe to revolt, or perhaps, not so...
Distract,
Divide and Devour
With the socio-economic gap, any anthropologist would
predict the normal cycle of nature, that the men without shoes will rise up against
the men who believe that ‘terrorism is a smaller problem than the failing
infrastructure.’ Anthropological study predicts that the stronger of the
oppressed, the teaming youth, will lead a rebellion against the few elite who
distract, divide and devour the nation. People keep asking, where and when will
Nigeria's
revolution be?
Let's attempt to answer that too. Sadly, we are about to crash
your hopes, if you wanted a revolution. Nigeria's revolution already
happened, it was just not televised. And that's not the people's revolution of
August 1993 that got rid of Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, in the oft forgotten
pre-Arab spring, Nigerian spring. No, not that. The nation had a silent
revolution, in medicine, you’ll say, "silent infarct," for that heart
attack that came without much noticeable pain.
What happened in the south, the Niger Delta MEND crises, was
a first half of the revolution. The result was some bribe for the top ‘revolutionary’
Nigerians, some reward for the ‘tougher’ Nigerians who would not accept the
oppression and corruption, and voila. Revolution controlled in the oil spill Niger Delta.
And don’t be fooled the oil spills now more than ever.
In the harsh land-locked north, many of the jobless
revolutionary Nigerians were similarly pulled into terrorism, and against
reason, the government insists on not treating them like criminals, but
forgiving them and putting them under their control, so, voila, revolution not
only carefully controlled but Nigeria promises to again reward and recruit the
worst and most rebellious of us, to control the rest.
Anywhere else the criminally tended of the revolutionary
elements from among Nigeria's youth decide to take up arms, the Nigerian
government, who love to reward corruption and murder, but dislike virtue,
decency and positive action, will be happy to control the revolution, and grant
an ‘amnesty’ and reward for the murderers, who will subsequently be hired to
control the rest decent masses.
The
bad youth revolted and line their pockets, and the rest…are engrossed reading
and writing articles?
In conclusion, the most hardship challenged extremes of Nigeria have
revolted. The Dokubo’s and Tompolo’s usurped the environmental dilapidation
southern revolution, Shekau burned up the poor-north revolution. The Igbo
marginalization…we know that history. And for many of us, the revolution has
been against each other.
So are we waiting for, and asking why the world, both east
and west will not join us battle and proscribe our terrorist groups? And are we
still waiting for our revolutions? Wait no longer. Nigeria is a nation of terrorists, authority-pen
and gun killers, and whoever fights terrorists, fights us (our leadership,
elite, government, communal and revolutionary). The revolutionaries have been
rewarded with the bounties of the battle. The revolution happened already, it
just was not televised.
~ By Dr.
Peregrino Brimah
For http://ENDS.ng [Every
Nigerian Do Something]
Movement of the March 18th Kano Sabon Gari Bus stop bombing
Email: drbrimah@ends.ng
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