There is a simple and important words and saying that is ever true when calamity befall a people and that is:
"Check yourselves when calamity befalls you because in most cases no evil would easily befall you if you have no enemies from within facilitating your destruction"- This words are ever present in many affairs which affects our collective interest as a people and a nation.
During the period that led to Iraq invasion and beyond, the Iraqis had blamed Israel for causing their destruction- quite understandable, Israel was the devil that cheered the invasion, they falsified documents claiming Iraq had WMD, and then Israel lobbied America to invade Iraq- A mis-step that caused thousands of innocent Iraqi lives and made millions homeless- 10years down the line, ordinary Iraqis are still paying dearly for the evils of United states and Israel but those removed from the blame list was the Iraqis themselves who betrayed their country and facilitated the destruction; those Iraqis who claim to be for the country's best interest yet continue to destroy it from within.
All other external enemies were blamed, but the most dangerous enemy was ignored- the enemy that aided the destruction from within and the enemy that gave intelligence to easily target and destroy, this enemies were citizens of Iraq- No enemy is worse than the enemy from within.
In the case of Syria, Afganistan and Pakistan; United states is constantly being blamed for the evil that befell this countries- True, they play a major role in causing the mayhem, however, one should never forget that this mayhem wouldn't befall this people if their own people were not part of it. It is ordinary Syrian, Afgans and Pakistanis that engage in bombings and fight against their country, it is them who create greater insecurity- though a fraction of the population, but insecurity would never be possible if ordinary citizens of this country did not fall into the shackles of United states or other countries with motives against their country. Constantly blaming an external enemy would not solve the issue but rather looking from within and "fishing out" those enemies from within.
When the issue of bokoharam first started, it started as a non-violent movement aimed at preaching their own version of whatever they believed in, at that point, it would have been wise to engage in open dialogue and debates to convince them on why their ideology was wrong and on why they should have a re-think. No one really did that, instead this group were rather sidelined, the Nigerian government forget the saying: "Tame the mad dog at your backyard when they will still listen".
As if that was not good enough, the state declared them out laws- they were persecuted, and under the then President Yardua, the group leader was executed by the police- The method of his execution was one of baberism and disgust, one which should be condemned by all.
At that point, little did the government know that they had terribly miscalculated their effort to end the movement, they fail to realize that sometimes the best approach towards ending a bad ideology is through sincere dialogue and non-violence.
There's a wise saying that goes:
"When a child is going astray, then it becomes the duty of the elders to put them back on the right track".
When the issue of bokoharam started, the Emirs and traditional rulers of the state was suppose to help quill the ideology as fast as they could, but most simply ignored it.
Then came the violence that erupted so many months after their founder was brutally killed and her member scattered. A new bokoharam had risen, one filled with hate, rage, and brutality- a group which so many years down the line is ever brutal in their tactis and killing.
As the killings continued, instead of the traditional rulers in the North or specifically; the affected states rallying themselves and subjects together to fight back against bokoharam and their ideology, they instead engaged in blame game on who is to be blamed for bokoharam- a blame game that soon manifested to national level.
As the blame game became intense, and security became almost non-existence in this villages, the people became frustrated, angry and felt abandoned by the government, the one group(government) they felt would always be there for them. This frustrations against government's poor handling of the issue soon created that impression in the minds of the Northerners that perhaps the government enjoyed their sufferings that is why they keep handling the terrorist mildly- Some Northerners frustration soon became even higher and many started to think that the President perhaps sponsored the terrorist group for political gain- a thought that was very unhealthy to the nation.
A new form of blame game was born, one which saw some people from the affected parts blame the ex-president Jonathan as being sponsor of the group, they blamed mend, they blamed the militant in South South, they blamed Asari Dokubo, they blamed everyone but themselves- a blame game that only worsened issues than actually stopping it.
The traditional rulers failed to look from within to solve their problem, they fail mobilize, and they failed to see that the enemy they so much search for outside was right in front of them, they failed to see that no one can easily destroy your region if there was no enemy from within aiding them, they refused to see that perhaps some elites and powerful men in the region were responsible, they fail to see that perhaps a brutal bokoharam was doing the bidding of some elites from within- They failed to see because it is always easier to blame an external enemy than the enemy from within yet the enemy from within is always far more capable of inflicting most damage than the external enemy.
Another important evidence of bokoharam success being as a result of enemy from within is bokoharam's ability to move between towns and her ability to know all routes best suited for their operation.
Groups like bokoharam cannot simply be defeated by air strikes and military force, bokoharam is an unconventional enemy with an unconventional tactis of bombing soft targets, this group can only be defeated with maximum supports of the villages in this affected part- though this villagers might be afraid and feel threatened to help, however, sacrifice for the greater good is worth morethan not sacrificing at all and yet living under insecurity.
However, this in no way takes the blame away from government, security is and must always remain the number one priority of every government, and even though some insecurity is as a result of our mis-doings, the government should never have excuse for not providing security because any government that fails to provide security for her people has no business being there and it will always remain the right of the citizens to hold their government responsible when they fail to provide security for them.
Eedris Ngene
19/10/15
"Check yourselves when calamity befalls you because in most cases no evil would easily befall you if you have no enemies from within facilitating your destruction"- This words are ever present in many affairs which affects our collective interest as a people and a nation.
During the period that led to Iraq invasion and beyond, the Iraqis had blamed Israel for causing their destruction- quite understandable, Israel was the devil that cheered the invasion, they falsified documents claiming Iraq had WMD, and then Israel lobbied America to invade Iraq- A mis-step that caused thousands of innocent Iraqi lives and made millions homeless- 10years down the line, ordinary Iraqis are still paying dearly for the evils of United states and Israel but those removed from the blame list was the Iraqis themselves who betrayed their country and facilitated the destruction; those Iraqis who claim to be for the country's best interest yet continue to destroy it from within.
All other external enemies were blamed, but the most dangerous enemy was ignored- the enemy that aided the destruction from within and the enemy that gave intelligence to easily target and destroy, this enemies were citizens of Iraq- No enemy is worse than the enemy from within.
In the case of Syria, Afganistan and Pakistan; United states is constantly being blamed for the evil that befell this countries- True, they play a major role in causing the mayhem, however, one should never forget that this mayhem wouldn't befall this people if their own people were not part of it. It is ordinary Syrian, Afgans and Pakistanis that engage in bombings and fight against their country, it is them who create greater insecurity- though a fraction of the population, but insecurity would never be possible if ordinary citizens of this country did not fall into the shackles of United states or other countries with motives against their country. Constantly blaming an external enemy would not solve the issue but rather looking from within and "fishing out" those enemies from within.
When the issue of bokoharam first started, it started as a non-violent movement aimed at preaching their own version of whatever they believed in, at that point, it would have been wise to engage in open dialogue and debates to convince them on why their ideology was wrong and on why they should have a re-think. No one really did that, instead this group were rather sidelined, the Nigerian government forget the saying: "Tame the mad dog at your backyard when they will still listen".
As if that was not good enough, the state declared them out laws- they were persecuted, and under the then President Yardua, the group leader was executed by the police- The method of his execution was one of baberism and disgust, one which should be condemned by all.
At that point, little did the government know that they had terribly miscalculated their effort to end the movement, they fail to realize that sometimes the best approach towards ending a bad ideology is through sincere dialogue and non-violence.
There's a wise saying that goes:
"When a child is going astray, then it becomes the duty of the elders to put them back on the right track".
When the issue of bokoharam started, the Emirs and traditional rulers of the state was suppose to help quill the ideology as fast as they could, but most simply ignored it.
Then came the violence that erupted so many months after their founder was brutally killed and her member scattered. A new bokoharam had risen, one filled with hate, rage, and brutality- a group which so many years down the line is ever brutal in their tactis and killing.
As the killings continued, instead of the traditional rulers in the North or specifically; the affected states rallying themselves and subjects together to fight back against bokoharam and their ideology, they instead engaged in blame game on who is to be blamed for bokoharam- a blame game that soon manifested to national level.
As the blame game became intense, and security became almost non-existence in this villages, the people became frustrated, angry and felt abandoned by the government, the one group(government) they felt would always be there for them. This frustrations against government's poor handling of the issue soon created that impression in the minds of the Northerners that perhaps the government enjoyed their sufferings that is why they keep handling the terrorist mildly- Some Northerners frustration soon became even higher and many started to think that the President perhaps sponsored the terrorist group for political gain- a thought that was very unhealthy to the nation.
A new form of blame game was born, one which saw some people from the affected parts blame the ex-president Jonathan as being sponsor of the group, they blamed mend, they blamed the militant in South South, they blamed Asari Dokubo, they blamed everyone but themselves- a blame game that only worsened issues than actually stopping it.
The traditional rulers failed to look from within to solve their problem, they fail mobilize, and they failed to see that the enemy they so much search for outside was right in front of them, they failed to see that no one can easily destroy your region if there was no enemy from within aiding them, they refused to see that perhaps some elites and powerful men in the region were responsible, they fail to see that perhaps a brutal bokoharam was doing the bidding of some elites from within- They failed to see because it is always easier to blame an external enemy than the enemy from within yet the enemy from within is always far more capable of inflicting most damage than the external enemy.
Another important evidence of bokoharam success being as a result of enemy from within is bokoharam's ability to move between towns and her ability to know all routes best suited for their operation.
Groups like bokoharam cannot simply be defeated by air strikes and military force, bokoharam is an unconventional enemy with an unconventional tactis of bombing soft targets, this group can only be defeated with maximum supports of the villages in this affected part- though this villagers might be afraid and feel threatened to help, however, sacrifice for the greater good is worth morethan not sacrificing at all and yet living under insecurity.
However, this in no way takes the blame away from government, security is and must always remain the number one priority of every government, and even though some insecurity is as a result of our mis-doings, the government should never have excuse for not providing security because any government that fails to provide security for her people has no business being there and it will always remain the right of the citizens to hold their government responsible when they fail to provide security for them.
Eedris Ngene
19/10/15
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