Ending the War Against Non-state Actors in Nigeria

APC Presidential Aspirant in the 2019 General Elections, Adamu Garba II has posited that, in order to to end the daily gruesome killings by non-state actors, Nigerias need to all Come to the negotiation table.

“To those who said that negotiations with Boko Haram, Bandits and IPOB is not possible, we should keep bombing and keep losing lives, i say this to you: Where are ISIS in the Levant today? What of Al-Nusra Front, Haqqani Network, Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabaab, AQIM, Ansar Dine, Irish Republican Army etc.? What of the Afghan Taliban?,” these were the stands of Adamu as he calls for an holistic approach towards ending the exploits of non-state actors in the country.

According to him, “Ask Russia and Turkey how they handled ISIS, ask Qataris, Saudis and Pakistanis how they managed to disappear Al-Nusra Front, Al-Qaeda and Haqqanis, how did France deal with Ansar Dine and AQIM in Africa, how did Britain put to an end and contained the IRA or how and why did the United States of America soldiers left their super weapons behind in Afghan and end up running away from the untrained, uneducated and ill-organized Afghan Taliban.

“Everything ended up on a negotiation table.
The truth is, all insurgency from history are motivated by two things: Desire for Justice or Economic Survival. Nigeria’s case is not an exception.”

Adamu said, “We cannot continue to throw bombs in our backyard, to our neighbors, fellow citizens and fellow countrymen and women and believe we are making any progress. This is the clean principle of self-destruction. This is illogical to the modern state governance in the 21st century. It cannot take us anywhere. We must find other means.”

He noted that since the inception of the crisis in 2009, Nigeria has burnt $44 billion to kill its fellow citizens and destroy its infrastructure to fight an enemy that, simple listening and conversation can solve.

“That amount, the $44bn can dredge River Niger and Benue through the deltas of Anambra and Imo, Build superhighway from Maiduguri to Calabar through Mubi, Yola, Jalingo, Wukari, Zaki-Biam, Vandekya, Ikom and Ugep, Link Kano, Sokoto, Kebbi to Badagry, through Borgu, in Niger State, and lay gas pipeline and fiber optic cables from Niger Delta and Lagos to Abuja and Kaduna upward to the hinterland respectively. All these misused in trying to fight ourselves.

“That is needless to say, that most of these funds allotted for fighting insurgence, are speculated to have been either stolen, misappropriated, shared or disappeared into thin air.”

He said we must look beyond our borders, if we must fight an enemy, but we must do all we can to protect our homeland and fix our differences without shading the sacred and innocent blood of our brothers and sisters.

“These so-called internal wars against terrorism should be called to a halt and larger table be expanded to accommodate our differences no matter our disagreements.

“Let’s call a spade a spade, all terrorist, irrespective of their geographical location are known by the state, in each country. The Federal Republic of Nigeria definitely knows who are those terrorist and the real sponsors even though no legal case might have been established against them.

“We must slow down on the killings, open our country, bury our pride and fix our internal differences and disagreements by mainstreaming a legal framework for a fair position for all.

“The villagers cannot go to farm, hunger is on the rise, we are now in a dry season without good harvest, food inflation is very high, the cost of everything is getting unbearable, we cannot afford to keep spending on war within our territorial borders, we must accept our issues and come to terms with the best way out of it, by tackling the very basic necessities of our livelihood.

“These wars should be over, let’s collectively work towards ending the killings, ameliorating the suffering, high desperation and lack of opportunities of our people and enthrone peace, prosperity and better future for all Nigerians.”

He concluded that, “Hope is more important now, than the blood of our fellow citizens.”