EDIFYING ELUCIDATIONS by Okey Ikechukwu
Several media platforms, and in particular the Punch newspaper Editorial of August 14, 2021, have called out the Nigerian State on the negative security implications, and likely disruptive impact, of the ongoing ‘surrendering and reintegration of repentant insurgents.’ The subsisting perception, and fear, is that we may be making a grievous mistake. I share this perception and fear. I almost have no doubt that there may yet be a catastrophic fallout from what we are seeing today. It is true that the Borno State governor once expressed some optimism while receiving the repentant returnees. But is it not also true that the possibility of a cataclysmic threat to social stability in Borno state, and to the nation, may be embedded in this development? Matters are not helped by the involvement of the military authorities, which allegedly profiled them and found them ‘clean enough’ to rejoin the very communities they once terrorised.
Yes, the official argument is that these fellows deserve both consideration and forgiveness. That is true. Even more so, when it can be confirmed that they are truly repentant. But who has ever heard of compelled forgiveness, even in the face of genuine repentance? Who has ever heard of a hurt being banished by a press conference from state officials, many of whom know nothing about the context of the issues involved? Acceptance, forgiveness and reintegration must be part of a holistic, well-choreographed societal framework that accommodates all relevant stakeholders and variables. If, indeed, the insurgents have had enough of it all, if they no longer wish to remain in the outskates of rationality, if they would rather be reabsorbed into the society, so that they could return to the life they once knew and cherished, then every aspect of this new reality must be well managed. It is certainly a thing of joy to see normalcy return to traumatised communities and for all to say goodbye to the life of highwaymen and buckle back into genuine community life.
But what if all we are likely to get out of this is organised Capital Consumption and the opening up of supply lines for relief materials? An unhealthy increase in expenditure and consumption, and the fanning of public ceremonies by agents and agencies of the federal government, will not give Borno State any lasting results, or promote Wealth Creation there. So, no one should open up massive and unsustainable expenditure headings and leave a mess for Zulum to deal with.
The announcement by the military authorities that over 5,800 Boko Haram fighters and their commanders have surrendered in recent weeks raises fundamental questions. Does anyone really know the reasons behind this latest development? Did the same Boko Haram not once call for a ceasefire, during the tenure of Badeh as Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), only to use the period to re-arm and re-group before resuming its attacks? Can Borno State speak of peace when sections of a group that has been living for too long outside the bounds of civility and rationality surrender (possibly) because of hunger, dearth of munitions, loss of leadership, or leadership acrimony, or all of the above? Are law abiding citizens wrong if they express reservations about having their former feared predators in their midst? Are Nigerians wrong in wondering aloud what such persons still really believe and want in the depths of their hearts? It all raises questions about how even the genuinely repentant ones among them are to be properly integrated into civil society.
That is why we should take seriously the concerns expressed by the Shehu of Borno, Senator Ndume and other stakeholders in the battered environments and communities. “You are playing with fire,” they all seem to be telling the Federal Government. Even some of the allegedly deradicalised individuals are vehemently opposed to the idea of returning to their former communities. Knowing the types of heinous crimes they committed before fleeing, they share the query of the Shehu, who once asked: “What sort of integration do you expect when a man who wiped out an entire family, or even several families, is escorted back by state officials?
Then there is the question of deradicalisation. What measures were put in place to ensure successful deradicalisation, and proper profiling, of the individuals involved? Are we to simply accept the claim that they had been successfully deradicalised? If yes, who deradicalised them? How was the success of this endeavour measured? Which team of incredible trauma psychology experts was invoked by the armed forces and security agencies, to perform this miracle? Did we always have the capacity to refocus thousands of religiously, politically, culturally and socially disoriented people in such a hurry? If yes, how come radicalization of these individuals by Boko Haram occurred, in the first place? If we can, out of the blues, find seamless logistical facilitation of the physical accommodation, feeding etc. of the New Brides of our battered Nigerian society, if we can so speedily confirm that these Born Agains will not return to the bush and we could so easily check and confirm that all is well with them, then we are home and dry. Let us all therefore cheerfully thump our chests and say: “These guys are not here infiltrate the very fabric of our society, before a final, merciless cascade of suicide bombings and sundry mayhem.”
Yes, the Borno State Government expressed its willingness to accept and reintegrate insurgents. But, is it not strange that such massive surrendering is going on while massive killings are also going on everywhere? The other week Katsina State Government officially shut its roads, banned the sale of animals and also banned inter-state cattle movement. The story is more or less the same for Kaduna State, which reportedly banned transportation of livestock from other states. Niger state governor has suspended cattle markets, while his counterpart in Zamfara has just imposed a curfew. And, now, the Federal Government, through the National Communications Commission (NCC) has thrown a web blanket to snuff out every form of modern communication, albeit temporarily, over nearly 30% of our national space, because of banditry, insurgency and terrorism.
Has the Borno State Governor not pointed out that the ongoing surrender of Boko Haram terrorists presents the state with extremely difficult situations? Has he not spoken to military officers and community leaders about the need for a well-thought-out critical framework for accepting, integrating and managing the surrendering terrorists, or for rejecting them and continuing with the war? Speaking realistically, the governor observed that the state must “… choose between an endless war or to cautiously accept the surrendered terrorists which is really painful and difficult for anyone that has lost loved ones, difficult for all of us and even for the military whose colleagues have died and for volunteers.”
He said, further: “No one would find it easy to accept killers of his or her parents, children and other loved ones. In the last 12 years we have been in this war, and we have lost thousands of fellow citizens. We don’t know the whereabouts of thousands of others. We don’t know whether they are alive or dead. In these 12 years, millions have been made homeless and many wealthy farmers, transporters and others have been rendered poor. In these years, we were able to cultivate maybe around three percent of the arable land. As a result, our people became dependent on food aid amid donor fatigue and potential food insecurity. In fact, the repercussions of the Boko Haram crisis are enormous and as someone who has been involved with assessment of the impacts and rebuilding efforts in the last seven years, I am in position to know the endless negative impact the Boko Haram has made in Borno.”
Zulum spoke the way a genuine leader and statesman would. He has demonstrated the very qualities expected of anyone who should aspire to be Nigeria’s future president. His grit, focus, courage, ideas framework and determination, as consistently demonstrated, are precisely the things lacking in many leaders today. Here him again: “Accepting Boko Haram (returnees) has the risk of seriously offending the feelings of victims with potential of civil rebellion, just as there is the risk that if Boko Haram fighters willing to surrender are rejected, they can join ISWAP to swell the ranks of fighters in the bush and the path of peace becomes narrowed.” Are these not the words of a man who means well, but who is in a dilemma?
Zulum is currently trying to find a holistic template, after consultations involving the military and security agencies, resident security heads, traditional rulers, elders, religious leaders, national and state assembly members, academics and other stakeholders; especially the very victims of the insurgents, in order to determine how to move forward. His July 19, 2019, visit to President Buhari in Aso Rock saw him pointing out the need to address the root causes of insurgency. He identified the questions of access roads, access to farmlands, strengthening the civilian JTF and the military to perform their job better than before as critical success factors in the fight against insurgency. He drew attention to how the Borno govt was collaborating with military and paramilitary institutions to protect the citizenry, even while trying to strengthen the local people and the communities to be resilient. He emphasized the need to open other opportunities for bringing down the crisis, other than by kinetic means.
The most worrisome aspect of what is going on in Borno State today is that the space is fast turning into a funds absorption basket. The expenditure profile inflicted by the extra load of surrendering insurgents constitute a further drain on the state’s resources. The monies gulped by the IDP camps, the emergence of Ruth Ngladar Pogu and a Boko Haram man said to be her husband and the appearance of another Chibok girl, Hassana Adamu, alongside her two children, are all tugging at Zulum. Things are not looking too well. The dilemma of a man who means well, who considers all angles and who is determined not to fail should be a matter of greater national concern. Any conflagration arising from thinking that “It is the problem of Borno State” may make the nation to rue piteously in the very near future.
