2014: Year Nigerians Will Not Forget in a Hurry

If the North’s problems would have been solved by having a Northerner in power, the North ought to have been a paradise by now. No.
The problem of both North and South can only be solved by having the right people in power not once in a while, but all the time. Vision and discipline and the strength of character to stick to it until the vision materialises are what are needed for Nigeria to develop (Pat Utomi) Some northerners, who, through their countenance, actions or inaction aided the insurgency, were at first shouting against what they termed the Nigerian military’s high handedness in its war against the insurgents.
But when the insurgency became deadlier and beyond their control, they started accusing President Jonathan of not doing enough to defeat the insurgents. The Roman Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, while noting that the war against Boko Haram is politicised, urged Nigerians to stop condemning the Federal Government on the war against insurgency. He said it would have achieved results, if some things had been done differently. He stated that it was necessary to stop the blame game and work towards getting the country out of its predicament.
He said “The idea that government is not doing enough is an oxymoron and an extension of our creeping cynicism and the unfortunate politicking that has dogged this tragic war. No one has come up with a superior exit war plan. It is true; a few things could have been done differently. As they say in Hausa, ignorance is at the back of the head. We have to take off from where we are and stop the blame game. There is a lot of credit in the bank of blame to enrich us all. We are on a long road and we must wear the shoes of the long distance runner. Let us not be deceived and do not listen to anyone who might claim that they know how this can end tomorrow”.
How can those who empowered Boko Haram and made it the monster it is turn now to, blame President Jonathan? At first, those northern leaders supported the terrorist sect, one way or the other, just to make the country ungovernable.
Earlier, when the Nigerian military started confronting the insurgency, those leaders started seeing it as “belligerency” against the north. How do we reconcile the two different viewpoints? The Chairman of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Ibrahim Coomasie (rtd), said in October 2014: “Head or tail, we in Northern Nigeria are the ones losing because our people are still being killed; property being destroyed and people charged with the constitutional responsibility of protecting lives and property are not doing much.” Prof. Abdullahi said: “The population generally believes that President Jonathan is not doing enough, or he is incompetent. The government should be blamed for the long crises”. Statements like these fueled mistrust and insurgency in the land.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari who has now accused President Jonathan of not having the political will, uncommon courage and unrelenting determination to deal with the insurgency, once asked the government to stop the clampdown of Boko Haram insurgents. He was once quoted as saying that unlike the special treatment given to the Niger Delta militants, the Boko Haram members were being killed and their houses demolished by government. Accusing Jonathan of failing to address the security situation in the country, Buhari said he has never been in support of the state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States.
According to Buhari , what is responsible for the security situation in the country is caused by the activities of Niger Delta militants. The Niger Delta militants started it all. You see in the case of the Niger Delta militants, the late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua sent an aeroplane to bring them, he sat down and discussed with them, they were cajoled, given money and granted amnesty.
They were trained in some skills and were given employment, but the ones in the north were being killed and their houses were being demolished. They are different issues, what brought this? It is injustice”. The killing spree of the Boko Haram has gotten out of hand as the terrorists are no longer differentiating between those they were meant to protect from those they are meant to deal with. The insurgents seem unstoppable, because, despite the belated effort to rout them, they still have the capability to strike anywhere and whenever they like.

*this was first published in the Daily Times newspaper dated Friday, December 26, 2014