By virtue of recent history, it’s safe
to say Borno is no longer a state of Nigeria; instead it comes off as an
attached territory where we now send our troops for peace-keeping. As is common
in Nigeria, all it takes to forget one problem is to introduce another and the
former becomes ancient history. A couple of weeks ago, the nation was up in
arms about the abduction of 20 schoolgirls by villains of the state, Boko
Haram. When the following week rolled by and the CBN governor Sanusi Lamido
Sanusi got fired, practically everyone forgot about Borno and indulged in the
daily soap that happens occasionally with those in (and recently out of) power.
We sleep easy “accepting” that what is
happening in Borno has become the norm, just like we did with Jos. There’s
nothing we can do we say, but convince ourselves that since those in charge
lack the ability to, then what can we. That said; there are things that are
glaringly obvious to even one who’s never been to Borno. Let me state here that
I have absolutely no military background and the closest I’ve come to a
warfront of any kind was when a bomb went off nearby when I was living in the
Middle East and even at that I was safe. The second closest was hearing the ThisDay bombing in Abuja from my office.
So as you can see, I have no wartime experience nor do I wish to have any in
the foreseeable future, but like I said there are things that are quite glaring
in the issue of Borno. One or two of these suggestions are already in place.
My first suggestion was just implemented
yesterday by the Federal Government (I don’t know if this means they’ve started
hacking people’s systems). The federal government has closed the border with
Cameron, finally (I'm surprised this didn't happen sooner). It was about time, although there are questions about the
legality of it all (hey if the U.S can go into Pakistan to illegally obtain Bin
Laden in the name of security, well…); whether this closure will include a one
day entry/exit as I would’ve suggested remains to be seen, like I said there
may be some legal issues involved here.
The reason for closing the North-Eastern
border isn’t farfetched, we need to know what comes in and by this I’m mostly
referring to weapons. When the Niger-Delta crisis was at its peak, questions of
where the militants got their weapons from was pretty much answered by their
proximity to the sea. With Borno, it’s quite different. There are no ships
coming in from the North African desert, yet we know for a fact from suggested
rumours that weapons are being brought in from that region, that the
North-Eastern border is certainly an entry point of activities. With proper
checks of what goes out and more importantly what goes in, the FG can limit any
suspicious movement thereof. It’s also evident that Boko Haram are evading the
law by their knowledge of the land, hence a better control of the area will be
appreciated.
Second is the curfew, which is in place.
Like it or not as crippling as it is to the economy and social life (who cares
about these things now anyway when people are dying), the curfew- as the
President has pointed out of measures put in place -has saved lives. It may not
be evident now, especially with the continuous attacks, but by keeping people
home, it has put them at less risk. It unfortunately hasn’t stopped Boko Haram
from going into people’s houses, so it’s easy to see why the curfew may not be seen
as effective.
Thirdly and perhaps this is presumptuous
of me, but when and if the Borno crisis comes to an end (we need hope), the FG
needs to set up a reconciliatory committee. I know, I know, Nigerians hate to
hear the word, “committee”, but considering that when the war stops there will
be a generation of Nigerians who won’t simply forgive and forget (and I’m not
talking about their feelings towards just Boko Haram here, but the JTF and the
Federal Government at large), there needs to be an easing of tension for we all
know what happens by now when people still harbor feelings of anger towards the
authority (remember Boko Haram started off attacking the state’s police, that
state’s symbol of authority). There needs to be some sort of remark or
statement of remorse and apology towards the people affected by all this coming
from the Federal Government. Let’s not forget the accusations leveled against
JTF in handling some of the state’s unfortunate crisis. A more powerful
statement would be made if it came from the military itself and I say this
without disrespecting the men and women who wear uniform and live this reality
day in and day out and go through trauma we only imagine or see on TV.
Lastly, someone from government needs to
acknowledge the capture of these schoolgirls and show some empathy.
