Nine-Letter Problem With Nine Lives!

Nigeria now has a nine-letter problem, with nine lives! It is called B O K O  H A R A M! 


As a sign of the gravity of the problem, armed soldiers have been drafted to various check points in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory!


Not even after the bombing of the Atlas Cove Jetty in Lagos, an event which one could say was the apogee of militancy from the Niger Delta Region, armed troops were not deployed to the country's capital!


It is a pointer to the degree of confidence, that the Federal Government has in the ability of the police to sort out the issue!


I shudder to think of what would happen in the dead of night, when soldiers not trained in civil crime prevention, decide to flex their muscles against civilians! 




There will be blood! And there will be broken bones!


Boko Haram, is the product of our love for turning a blind eye to criminality, in the name of political patronage! 


They were actively courted, and financially supported, by the Borno state government because of their esoteric beliefs!


They hold that all things Western are anathema, yet they use AK47s, and explosives made in the West, to wage war on Nigeria! Bows and arrows would have been more congruent with their belief system!


It was when they had a falling out, that violence erupted! 


There were incidents of extra judicial killings of the leaders of the group by policemen! 


It is the sense of betrayal, and injustice, that has led to this second wave of violence!


Boko Haram sees it's campaign as an honourable one! 


A blood feud to avenge unjust killings! It is a thing of honour for them to wage war against those who killed their leaders!


To make peace with these enemies, would be to loose face, and be dishonoured!


People have been flying the kite of an amnesty modelled along the lines of the Niger Delta one for the group. 


I see this as foolhardy, ludicrous, and absurd!


These fellows are not fighting because they are economically disadvantaged! They are fighting perceived injustice! 


They have declared that their wrath would be assuaged when the following individuals have been killed by them, Ali Modu Sherrif, the former governor of Borno state, Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi state, and Danjuma Goje, th former governor of Gombe state! 




In addition to this, the inspector general of police has been included! He is on the list ostensibly because his policemen were filmed killing the handcuffed leaders of Boko Haram, in cold blood!


Our nine-letter problem with nine lives, was previously viewed as a kitten, now, it seems to have grown into an adult tiger!


Utman Dan Fodio is recorded to have said that "conscience is an open wound, only truth can heal it!


The wound of Boko Haram, can only be healed by an objective, dispassionate, review of the particulars of the matter, the legitimacy of their grievances!


Are we bold enough to confront the truth? 


Do we want to know the truth?


Or is this " an inconvenient truth"?  


Until we are, the sore would continue to fester, and could lead to our own home-grown insurgency!