6/9/2014 Daily trusts Saturday column by Bala Muhammad MAIDUGURI, OUR LAST STAND? A massacre of unprecedented proportions is taking place in Borno and the neighbouring states of Yobe and Adamawa. Even as we speak, and write, people are being killed. The bloodshed is beyond comprehension – only those who are far away miss the impact. It is no longer news that most of the traditional rulers of Borno State have fled their domains for the relative safety of Maiduguri, and hundreds of thousands of people from every part of the state and neighbouring areas beyond are either already in the Shehu’s City or on their way there at present. It seems only Maiduguri offers any hope for the multitudes heading there. Friends tell us Maiduguri is now full beyond capacity. But there is serious cause for concern. Is Maiduguri really safe, or ready, for this exodus? We should all remember the city was not spared when, in the not too distant past, insurgents brazenly attacked the Air Force Base and the Giwa Barracks, and we all saw it on insurgents’ video. Perhaps had there were a Naval presence in the city, it also would have come under attack for the insurgents to complete the circle of attacking our Armed Forces. After those attacks, we had then wondered loudly how quite unbelievable it was that such a rag-tag army of seemingly untrained militants could unleash so much mayhem. The security (or, more correctly, the insecurity) situation in the North East, especially in the whole of Borno State and northern Adamawa and southern Yobe has reached hand-wringing, ‘la haula wa la quwwata’ proportions. Just a couple of days ago, thousands of ex-soldiers and hunters and vigilantes converged on the Shehu’s Palace in Maiduguri to demand that they be allowed to take to arms and take the battle right were our military doesn’t seem to want to take it. What this goes to show is a complete vote-of no-confidence in the ongoing prosecution of the war. All this while the Chibok Girls matter is still unresolved, and the ‘Boko Haram Sponsors Debate’ is still raging, also unattended to. And then this: According to Friday’s edition of this newspaper, “The United States…said that the reputation of the Nigerian military is at stake and that the country’s future and that of its children are in jeopardy because of the festering Boko Haram insurgency. U.S. Assistant Secretary for Africa Affairs, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said this in remarks at the opening of the US-Nigeria Bi- National Commission Regional Working Group Meeting in Abuja... She spoke in the wake of capturing of territory by Boko Haram in parts of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States…” “Reputation at stake” is actually a more dignified form of the word “disgrace.” On this page three years ago (back in mid-July 2011), we lamented the state of the city of Maiduguri, capital of the ancient Kanem-Bornu Empire, headquarters of Borno State, capital of North Eastern Nigeria. Maiduguri! The city of a people that founded and led the greatest Empire in Africa South of the Sahara! An Empire that has sub- Saharan Africa’s oldest continuous traditional authority! An Empire that, seven hundred years or so ago, shared borders with Askia Muhammad’s Songhai Empire, three thousand miles to the west. A city that was known as the seat of scholarship, yet today many parents are afraid of sending their children to its university; where even the government shies away from sending youth corps members! Maiduguri! A city known as a great centre of commerce, serving as one of the main southern termini of the Trans-Saharan Trade, yet today its markets are a shadow of their former selves! A city of people known for their military valour, yet today overwhelmed! On that occasion, we had said for Maiduguri, Borno, the North East and Nigeria and our people, let us all recite what Allah Himself told us to recite in times of calamity (musiba): ‘Inna lilLahi wa inna ilaiHi raji’un’! (From Allah we come and to Him we shall return!). With this great exodus into Maiduguri from far and near of relatives and friends and acquaintances and guests, one wonders how families and homes are coping, or are going to cope. How much food is there in Maiduguri, considering that the very fertile agricultural land of southern Borno is today mostly lying untilled and unfarmed, and the rich waters of Lake Chad are unfished because of the ongoing crisis? How is the government of Borno State coping with municipal services such as water and sanitation? Of course, we have since read elsewhere that electricity is almost totally unavailable, though that is more a national than a local problem. Geographically, there is the justified concern that Maiduguri is hemmed in, and under siege, from three sides – the north, the east and the south. It has become quite risky to approach Maiduguri from any of these three corners, the only remaining relatively-safe corridor being the western axis – the Damaturu-Potiskum-Kano road. Even that corridor was not safe if we remember Potiskum and Benisheikh. Now, then, if we were to lose that corridor, another Berlin will have been created, complete with an invisible Berlin Wall. (Then, if we don’t plan for it now, we may have to wait on the United Nations to start aerial food drops on Maiduguri, Allah Ya kiyaye!) Similarly, while questions of ‘survival’ are asked, questions of ‘rights’ need also be asked as well. As insurgents continue over-running towns and villages all over, the new albatross on the neck of those entrusted with our security is the alleged abuse of it – the trampling on human lives and dignity – according to recent reports from such organisations as Amnesty International and some international media. Although it is said all may be fair in war, and the frustration of our security forces should naturally be understood, our present situation calls for a more humane approach to civil- military relations. We are all psychologically traumatised by this. Writing on The Psychological Effects of Violence (at csvr.org.za/papers), Brandon Hamber and Sharon Lewis state that: “…the experience of trauma shatters three basic, healthy assumptions about the self and the world…: the belief in personal invulnerability (‘it won’t happen to me’); the view of the self as positive; and the belief that the world is a meaningful and orderly place, and that events happen for a reason. “Violence”, the writers say, “or trauma that is inflicted by a fellow human being, shatters a fourth belief: the trust that other human beings are fundamentally benign. These four assumptions allow people to function effectively in the world and to relate to others. After an experience of violence, the individual is left feeling vulnerable, helpless, and out of control in a world that is no longer predictable. Traumatic experiences shake the foundations of our beliefs about safety, and shatter our assumptions of trust...” And that, precisely, is the situation in the North East. So, residents of Maiduguri and elsewhere, hold on tight to your laqad ja’akum, li’ilafi, falaqi and nasi. Remember that Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be peace) gave us the ultimate survival prayer to recite when fearful of a group of people (be they militants or military): ‘Allahumma inna naj’aluka fi nuhurihim, wa na’uzu bika min shururihim’: (O Allah, we place You in front of them, and we seek Your protection against their evil). For Maiduguri, Borno, the North East and Nigeria and our people, ‘Inna lilLahi wa inna ilaiHi raji’un’! May Allah protect Maiduguri, its residents and us all, amin. And may Allah continue to make us STEADFAST in our journey through His trials. HasbunalLahu wa ni’imal Wakeel!
Posted on: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 21:10:03 +0000
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