Boko Haram and the Lessons from Afghanistan

RingTrue By Yemi Adebowale        Phone 08054699539

Email: yemi.adebowale@thisdaylive.com

Yes, it’s good news that hundreds of Boko Haram terrorists are surrendering. About 500 fighters have so far pulled out of this evil gang. The bulk of the combatants who submitted are from Bama and Gwoza. I’m hoping that in the coming days, more will pull out. The traumatised people of the North-east in particular and Nigerians in general want an end to this madness called Boko Haram. However, the response of the military and the Nigerian government to the terrorists’ capitulation is appalling. They have been pampering the fighters that surrendered, which is absolutely unnecessary. The display of new clothes, assorted food items, groceries and toiletries given to the repentant terrorists and their families is repulsive. Then came this drive to rehabilitate and reintegrate the ex-fighters into the society. This is most frightful and may end up putting this country into a bigger problem in few years’ time if this response is not swiftly amended.

Much as I would not want more Boko Haram terrorists discouraged from surrendering, this reintegration “deal” should be suspended. For now, fighters surrendering should not be on the streets and in our communities. For me, they should be moved into special detention facility for the purpose of deradicalisation. Repentant terrorists should be in this special facility, helping the military with information to dislodge thousands of Boko Haram and ISWAP fighters scattered in the North-east. They are capable of supplying information that could help end the war.

Now, here is the real danger with rehabilitation and reintegration: Terrorists hardly change. They become moles when quickly allowed back into the larger society. Before you know what is happening, they will resume working for their terror organisation. When reintegrated, they can also infiltrate security agencies by getting recruited as seen in the case of Afghanistan. Here, they become informants and eventually destroy these security agencies. There is really nothing like “repentant” terrorists in the real sense of it. They can never be trusted. In the case of Afghanistan, so many Taliban fighters “repented”, got integrated and found their way into the Afghan army. The Afghan government was even forced by its American ally to release over 5,000 hardened insurgents to lock down a peace deal that never materialised. The released terrorists simply went back to strengthen the camp of the Taliban. That was why they were able to take over Afghanistan with ease.

Another scary thing about our so called repentant Boko Haram is that they surrendered without coming along with their weapons. They can’t be fighters without weapons. I did not see a single weapon in the footage shared by the military. A senior Boko Haram commander called Amir Adamu also known as Rugu Rugu, surrendered to troops of Operation Hadin Kai in Gwoza without a single weapon. Rugu Rugu is responsible for the deaths of troops and innocent citizens around Mandara hill and Sambisa forest in Gwoza. Bomb makers – Musa Adamu a.k.a Mala Musa Abuja and his second in command, Usman Adamu a.k.a Abu Darda – surrendered without a single bomb. Then, the Army is talking about reintegration and rehabilitation, while celebrating the “repentant” terrorists. This country can’t afford to embrace and trust these “repentant” terrorists extensively. Their moves may not be informed by genuine repentance.

I understand the feelings of those who care less, if the surrender is genuine or false. They just want to see the terrorists surrender because they are fed up with the war. We are all fed up with war, but these capitulations require great caution to avoid a bigger crisis in the future.

The response of Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State to the ongoing surrender by Boko Haram fighters is thought-provoking. He thinks the development has left the state with two extremely difficult situations. Zulum remarked recently: “We have to critically look between two extreme conditions and decide our future. We have to 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.

“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. Accepting Boko Haram has the risk of seriously offending the feelings of victims with potential of civil rebellion, just as there was the risk that if Boko Haram fighters willing to surrender were rejected, they could join ISWAP to swell the ranks of fighters in the bush and the path of peace becomes narrowed.”

The scenario painted by Zulum is what is called Catch-22, a paradoxical situation from which an individual cannot escape because of contradictory rules or limitations. The term was coined by American author of novels, short stories, plays, and screenplays, Joseph Heller. His best-known work is the 1961 novel Catch-22, a satire on war and bureaucracy, whose title has become a synonym for an absurd or contradictory choice.

But the issue of absurd or contradictory choice for the people would not come up if the military and the Nigeria government did not start pampering repentant terrorists. This dilemma Zulum talked about was created not just by the Army, but also by the federal and Borno State governments. I am immensely saddened that some men will come out with schoolgirls they abducted years back; girls they raped and forcefully turned into teenage mothers, and then, they are celebrated for surrendering. That was what happened with two of the terrorists that surrendered in Borno State last week. They brought along two Chibok girls they adducted in 2014, now with four kids. This is not good for the psyche of the trumatised people of Borno State in particular and the North-east in general. Government and the military should put “repentant” terrorists aside in special detention camps, and hopefully, they will be useful to the military. They cannot be in our communities and must not be celebrated or spoiled. For now, they should be prisoners of war.

Petrol Smuggling: The Shame of Hammed Ali
The Controller-General of Customs, retired Colonel Hameed Ali, who, with his men, are saddled with the responsibility of tackling the smuggling of petroleum products to neighbouring countries, is lamenting, instead of taking action to tame the menace. Last Monday, Ali was a big mess at the public hearing organised by the House of Representatives’ Committee on Finance on the 2022-2024 Medium Term Expenditure Framework, blaming everybody, except himself and his boys, for Nigerian petroleum products diverted to as far as Mali.

The Customs boss is censuring the Department of Petroleum Resources for approving filling stations along the land borders, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, for supplying the commodity to the stations against Customs’ advice.
Ali said: “The issue of smuggling of fuel from Nigeria to the neighbouring countries is simply because of price differential. The prices outside our shores and borders are higher, and that is what attracts people to move this product outside. And this product is not only limited to Benin, Niger or Chad, it goes up to Mali.”

Smugglers are not invincible. Ali and his boys know them. They can end smuggling of petroleum products if they wish to do it. This is the truth that must be told. Ali and his boys must be held accountable. Enough of this mess at Nigeria’s boundaries. Enough of the smuggling of Nigeria’s petroleum products abroad.

The Katsina, Zamfara Debacle
Terrorists enjoying free rein to pummel the people of Katsina and Zamfara states spent most of this week killing and kidnapping innocent people. They broke into the College of Agriculture and Animal Sciences, Bakura, Zamfara State, last Sunday and abducted 19 students and one staff. The guerrillas want N350 million as ransom.

Also last Sunday, a mother and her baby were among the 13 persons killed by the terrorists when they invaded Randa village in Dansadau, Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State. Most of the victims were burnt to death in their houses, while 30 others were abducted.

The federal and state governments have failed to protect citizens. Frustrated residents of these two states no longer know where to run to. That was why youths in Yantumaki, Danmusa Local Government Area of Katsina State, took to the streets last Monday to protest this deplorable state of security. The youths, who shut the Katsina/Funtua Highway, were moved by the latest attack on Amarawa village in Dansadau, where scores of people were killed and houses destroyed.

The message from the protesting youths of Yantumaki is clear: Government at all levels have failed the people. Governor Aminu Masari and Bello Matawalle of Katsina and Zamfara states, respectively, have failed the people. President Muhammadu Buhari that controls all the security agencies from the centre has been a big disappointment. Who will save the people of Katsina and Zamfara states? Clearly, not these governments. Masari has already told the people of Katsina State to acquire arms and ammunition for self-defence. I guess this is the way to go.

Nigeria’s Stifling Debt Crisis
A massive N2.02 trillion! Yes, that’s what the federal government spent on debt servicing within the first six months of this year. It amounted to 35 per cent of the Buhari government’s expenditure during this period under review. The N2.02 trillion debt servicing figure dwarfs the N1.3 trillion spent on capital expenditure during the first six months of 2021. The Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, confirmed the figure last Monday in Abuja.

The implication is that the federal government will be spending more on debt servicing in coming years as more loans mature. When Nigeria’s debt portfolio was N32.92 trillion in December, 2020, the federal government’s share was a total of N26.91 trillion, leaving a balance of N6.01 trillion to sub-national governments – mainly, the 36 state governments and the Federal Capital Territory. This means 83.78 per cent of the nation’s debt stock, as at December, 2020, belongs to the federal government, with the sub-national governments accounting for 16.22 per cent. This comes with huge repayment commitments for the federal government and our sub-national governments.

It is also pertinent to note that out of the N3.42 trillion which accrued to the federal government last year, N3.34 trillion was spent on debt servicing. This implies that for every N100 earned as revenue in 2020, N97 was spent on debt servicing. More loans had to be taken to fund budget 2020.

What the Buhari government has been doing in the last six years, with its incompetent economists, is reckless borrowing, and it has evidently borrowed beyond its repayment convenience. This is why the federal government is in a mess with debt servicing. Accumulated debt is hindering Nigeria’s development, especially when a huge part of the revenue generated is used to service debt. For me, going forward, all foreign loans should be prohibited. The federal government should genuinely tackle revenue diversions and corruption in revenue-generating agencies to fund its budgets.