...reveals why dialogue is stalled
Tony Akowe
The man who facilitated the September peace talks between a faction of the Boko Haram sect and former President Olusegun Obasanjo has been receiving death threats from unknown persons who are opposed to any such dialogue.
The representative of the pro-dialogue faction, Baba Kura Fugu,who received Chief Obasanjo in his Maiduguri residence on Thursday, September 15 for the talks was shot dead 48 hours after by the opposing faction.
The peace talks have since been on hold with members of the sect launching co-ordinated bomb and gun attacks in Maiduguri, Damaturu and Potiskum. About 150 lives were lost in the mayhem.
But now, Kaduna-based civil rights activist, Malam Shehu Sani, says the country would have been spared this agony if the Federal Government had agreed to negotiate with the sect after the Maiduguri talks.
By my understanding of this group, I do not believe that the military can bring down this group because they are not a conventional group that is out on the street or resides in the bush in a face me, I face you formation. They act in a guerilla fashion. They strike and withdraw and believe in surprises as a tool in prosecuting their violent campaign.
We should also understand that in the last three years, the same kind of violence has been used against the group and each time the government thinks it has diminished the group, you see them coming out stronger. Many people do not understand the group; but from my own contact with the group, I have found them to be a highly organised force of young men who are very deadly and determined in what they are doing and at the end of the day, those who will suffer are innocent citizens.
I do receive text messages and calls telling me this is what it is. I do not think that this is something that my family members agree that I should get involved in. In fact, many of them believe that I should just sit back like others and watch. My take is that there is a socio-economic and political implication to what is happening now. It is not human to fold your hands and see hundreds of human lives being wasted; neither is it human to sit back when you know that you can make an impact. It is not human to see violence take over your country and you sit back when there is something you can do.
What I feel is that this is my own contribution. Other people, especially in this part of the North, have chosen to remain silent either because they donât like the government and the saying that the enemy of your enemy is your friend or because they are afraid of voicing out or taking any initiative or for the fact that they are simply not concerned. They may think that the Boko Haram group will target them if they are opposed to them.
I know that the Boko Haram are well organised and can reach their target anywhere at any time and they may not be used to passing through the normal channels where their cars will be checked. As an organisation, they have their leader and a parliament called Shura and whatever they do, it is not just one person directing the affairs. They reach a collective decision on what they want to do, which is approved by their own parliament, which is the Shura.
When you are dealing with such a group that also has spread across neigbouring countries, you should know that you are dealing with a very serious problem, which needs a very serious approach to handle.
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