BOKO HARAM: THE MEASURES THAT HAVE SO FAR NOT WORKED 1. BLAMING NORTHERNERS: If for the sake of argument, we assume good faith on the part of some of the southerners saying northern politicians are behind Boko Haram, it should be now clear that it has not worked in shaming or pressuring those politicians into backing out of their plan after being found out. As for ordinary Northerners, they have done their best in chasing BH out of the towns and cities. I know of no community in the North that sympathizes with or harbours BH. Experts have said that BH is the only example of an insurgent group in the world without a local community support base. BH may be feared but not loved anywhere. 2.BLAMING SOUTHERNERS: This measure too has not succeeded in solving the problem. Some Northerners, assumed to be acting in good faith, have accused Southerners, including the president, of using Boko Haram to destroy the North. These southerners have so far not been made to relent in their mission. 3. EMOTIONAL APPEAL TO BOKO HARAM: Many people, including women, have appeared on the media, especially foreign Hausa stations, and tearfully appealed to BH to reconsider their actions in the face of the suffering their actions have caused the masses. Women have tearfully said fathers, husbands and children have been killed, families have been shattered, women have been widowed, children orphaned, businesses ruined, society thrown into chaos etc., but BH is still unmoved. In fact BH relishes this suffering and count it as part of the impacts it is making. In fact in their speeches, both Yusuf and Shekau have openly asked us rhetorically if we expect to go about our normal lives, wearing our crisp damanga cap and drinking fruit juice, while their members are suffering in the hands of the security agencies. 4. BLACKMAILING BOKO HARAM: In response to those who said BH is being used by Southerners to destroy the North, Shekau in one of his videos, said,we are not fighting the North; we are fighting the whole world. So this line of action too has failed. 5. PREACHING TO BOKO HARAM: Religious scholars and even ordinary people have sought to preach to Boko Haram pointing out the wicked sects misguidance and appealing to them to stop their evil acts because it is against the teaching of Islam, but BH has refused to budge. 6. MILITARY CAMPAIGN: The Chief of Defence Staff has rightly said the Nigerian military is the only one we have, so we should support them. But so far the military has been ineffective. In fact, its tactics of sitting in one place and visiting places that have been attacked, instead of going after the enemy, has endangered its won troops. Almost all the soldiers killed by BH were ambushed on the way back from such visits or met in their own stations (checkpoints, barracks, etc). We rarely hear of offensives by the military. It is too early to say foreign military assistance has not worked. 7. CONSPIRACY THEORIES: The many groups, nations and personalities accused by conspiracy theorists have so far refused to change course after being found out by our hyper-intelligent friends in the conspiracy theory camps. 8. PRAYERS: It is difficult to say whether prayers have worked or not because prayers work in mysterious ways! So I will conclude by praying to God to save us from this calamity.
Posted on: Thu, 29 May 2014 03:55:07 +0000
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