IG of Police: Resignation Haram!

The Niger Delta militants of the Southern Nigeria have had their days; the kidnappers of the Eastern Nigeria have equally had their hay days; the street urchins of the Western Nigeria have always had bountiful harvest; is Boko Haram having its day also? Why has the country suddenly become a hotbed of insecurity? Whose interest do these terrorist groups represent? What hope does Nigeria have in tackling the menace of national insecurity?  Obviously, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Hafiz Ringim cannot be sacrificed on the altar of avarice of some unscrupulous individuals in the country. After all, in this part of the world, it not only Boko Haram, but “resignation haram.” 

Bomb Blast at Police Headquarters, Abuja

Nigerians are now living in perpetual fear as horror of uncertainty has built its ferocious tent in the sky and the cloud now precipitates fierce sound, not from thunder and lightening but from horrendous bombing and explosion that has plunged the nation into a gulf of confusion and ruins. Every day, rains of pandemonium and cloud of uncertainty stare at Nigerians as people are unsure of whom the next victim is and which city would be beleaguered by the Boko Haram’s sporadic bullets, poisonous arrows, sizzling bombing, faceless maiming and gruesome killing. Today is Maiduguri, tomorrow is Zuba, and next tomorrow is Bauchi or Suleja and in the midst of all these, countless number of Nigerians are dying, property of immeasurable value are on daily basis reduced to naught and the image of Nigeria is dangling in the international arena. For Nigeria, this is one of the most threatening and trying moments since the 1976 Civil War, yet resignation haram.

It is clear that each region of the country has its own peculiar vice(s). The South has militants, the East is synonymous with kidnapping, the West has street urchins, and the North has Boko Haram. In all of these, accusing fingers are pointed at the direction of the government; the failure of the leaders to give Nigerian people meaningful life. When late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was the president of Nigeria, his administration was under siege from the Niger Delta militants; today the direction of violence has taken a U-Turn. May be the Niger Delta militants would tomorrow open their munitions stores whenever there is a U-Turn in leadership!!

The Boko Haram of the Northern Nigeria are different from the Niger Delta militants of Southern Nigeria in many ways. The Boko Haram, unlike the Niger Delta people are faceless, lack identity and anonymous. Their official name is Jama’atu Anlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad which means “People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet’s Teachings and Jihad.” This name ordinarily does not have negative connotation, but how the name later transformed to Boko Haram and the idea behind the metamorphosis is quite unclear. But we know that ‘Boko’ is an Hausa word which means ‘animist’, ‘western’ ‘education’ while ‘Haram’ which is an Arabic word means ‘sin’ or literally, it means ‘forbidden’. The forbidden sins according to the ideology and lexicon of the Boko Haram are all forms of western education, science, and government. But who will tell the Boko Haram that ‘killing is forbidden’ or ‘Keshewa Haram’ by Islamic doctrine and Prophet Muhammed (S.A.W), whose ideologies they claim to propagate? 

The Boko Haram, were previously restricted to Maiduguri, and few parts of the North like Bauchi state but today, they are already striking beyond their lawn. There have been series of embarrassing explosions before and after the general elections and in all these explosions, Boko Haram is a prime suspect. For instance, on July 26, 2009, the group had attacked Dutse Tanshi police station and several members of the sect, including two policemen were reportedly killed. On September 7, 2010, Boko Haram stormed federal prison in Bauchi and freed about 700 members that were awaiting trial. Also, several Nigerians lost their lives when the group launched an attack at Mammy Market in the 33 Artillery Brigade Headquarters, Bauchi. And more recently, on June 26, 2011, the Boko Haram sect had equally stormed a drinking joint in the Maiduguri metropolis and many innocent Nigerians lost their lives. Yet, resignation Haram. 

The Niger Delta militants are different from the Boko Haram in many ways. Flipping through history, the crisis in Niger Delta started in the early 1990s over tension between the foreign oil companies and some Niger Delta minority ethnic groups who felt they were being marginalized and exploited. They alleged that oil companies took over their farm land and water and gave nothing in return, except polluted environment. The Niger Delta crisis, at the infant stage, was concentrated in Warri but it later plummeted and diffused to others parts of the Niger Delta areas. The militants in the Niger Delta always claim that they represent the interest of the Niger Delta people. But who are the Niger Delta people? Is it the militants themselves who were disrupting the security arrangement of the region so that they can dispel and fetch huge quantity of oil from the pipes? Is it the political elites in the region who, out of selfishness have refused to develop the region and provided reasons for the unemployed youths to take up arms? The real Niger Delta people are the common and ordinary men whose terrestrial and aquatic resources are being tampered with for the sake of oil exploration. Though the Niger Delta people were saying that it is unfair to revere the oil and forsake the people. But one of the critical questions is how much the ordinary man benefits do from such struggle. Are the government and multinational companies in the Niger Delta now revering both the oil and the people?

Since the pre and post-election explosions, which was interlocked by successive killings, no arrests have been made. When Hafiz Ringim, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) announced that the days of Boko Haram were numbered, he never knew he was inviting more troubles and embarrassments. The bomb explosion that rocked Louis Edet House, the Police Headquarters in Abuja on June 16, 2011 was the most embarrassing moments for the Nigerian Police Force and other security agencies. Even the Tafa Balogun scam was not as embarrassing as the bomb blast at the force headquarters. The explosion is a dangerous signals that no where is safe in Nigeria and also an indication that the Boko Haram are on top of their game. It also reminded all students of history, the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack that reduced the World Trade Centre to rubble.

There has been pressure on the IGP to tender his resignation since the attack on the Police Headquarters. Nigerians hardly resign. Just recently, in Cyprus, the Chief Security Boss has resigned as result of fiercely explosion at the country’s Naval Base. This cannot happen in Nigeria because resignation Haram. But would the resignation put an end to the spate of gunshot, killing and explosion that has heralded the country? The security situation is much more complex than that. Developed nations like the United States of America, Russia, France, Japan and Britain had suffered security failures at different times. The most prominent is the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Centre. The truth is that outlaws always have upper hand and they always put nation at a defensive end; they can launch attack at any time and from any point. This perspective does not however provide shield for the Nigeria security operatives. After all, it is their responsibility to restore peace when there is lawlessness and disorderliness; a responsibility that has in recent times become a mirage.

Who are the Boko Haram representing? Can we say that they representing the Muslims? The answer is no because Islam preaches peace and every genuine Muslim is a forerunner of peace. This group was founded in 2002 by the slain leader, Ustaz Muhammed Yusuf. After his death in 2009, Nigerians thought the group had been eliminated but since then the group has been operating in diverse ways, and their mode of operation still remain illusive to the Nigeria security officials, as no arrests have been made in recent times. According to media reports, the Boko Haram vowed to continue fighting until the Nigerian constitution is pushed aside for a new government. In order to avert this, people are already pointing fingers at the direction of amnesty.   

    

Is amnesty the solution to the prevailing insecurity? How can government dialogue with clandestine and faceless individuals whose activities breed killing, confusion, destruction and national unrest? When the Federal Government, under the administration of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua announced to grant amnesty to the Niger Delta militants on June 26, 2009, it was not a dialogue of the deaf; it was a dialogue between the government and a groups whose members were known. In the case of Boko Haram, there are no known members. Moreover, how can federal government continue to dialogue with outlaws after they have killed many innocent Nigerians, subjected the nation to harassment and embarrassment? Amnesty is sheepish, and can only breed the proliferation of outlaws. The government should not trade long term security for immediate peace and order. Amnesty is nothing, but a temporary solution to a permanent problem.

The problem of insecurity in Nigeria should be tackled and approached from the micro level. Let there be jobs for the youths; the government should intensify its efforts towards making education accessible and affordable to the common man. The children of the common man are the most likely vulnerable ones; they can hardly resist the plump advances of the outlaws. The militants in the Niger Delta can never be the children of owners of oil wells or the children of an average teacher; the children of the local farmer in a remote village in the North who does not have reason for being alive would rather venture into suicide and clandestine movement if that would make his siblings live a better life. The Boko Haram phenomenon may have some underlying political intrigues, but the truth is that such intrigues can only succeed in collaboration with the vulnerable groups in the society; those whose future is not certain and whose tomorrow is neither insured nor secured. For now, the federal government should declare absolute war over any group whose mission is to bring disgrace and embarrassment to the nation. By negotiating and dialoguing with outlaws, the government is legalizing their corporate existence. For the Boko Haram, it is not only “Boko” that is “Haram” ‘killing’ is Haram and to our dear Inspector General of Police, Hafiz Ringim “Resignation Haram.”