Thursday 30 January 2014

Perry Brimah: Is there no way to stop this Boko Haram madness?

Are Boko Haram sponsors ghosts? Did the
politician sponsors Goodluck Jonathan, the
president of Nigeria, Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka,
our late ex-NSA Andrew Azazi and others refer to,
retire from the political parties and government, or
'turn a new leaf?'

The recent Church bombing and deadly rampage across
Borno and Adamawa remind us, lest we dare say we
transiently forget, about the seriousness of the Boko
Haram menace in Nigeria. Our dear nation is one of the
most terrorized in the entire globe.

All rebellion, terrorism and upheaval, regardless of
undertones and superficial affiliations are organized
politically and very rarely random. This means that when
several people are prompted and able to gather together
and work in harmony to rebel, kill and destroy, this is
hardly spontaneous, but the result of clear political
planning and sponsorship. Read: "Inside Rebellion: the
Politics of Insurgent Violence."

Boko Haram was initially created as Ecomog and a
political thuggery enterprise, Boko Haram after becoming
abandoned by its founding fathers, became a for-hire terror
organization, adopted successively by other inhuman
politicians.

The cult has metamorphosed since it was invented. There
are different arms of the terrorist network, some who now
go after villages and rape, kill and burn. These are
desperate bandits, annoyed at the Civilians who have
bravely turned totally against them, arresting and routing
out their members. But there remains a sophisticated arm,
the bombing arm, which is still sponsored by Nigerian
cabal and politicians who use this arm for political
statements and machinations. Jean Herskovits in an article
published January 2 , 2012 in the New York Times,
described the for-hire nature of the terror group.

When ex-governor and one of the eternally impune,
clearly implicated founders of the Ecomog Frankenstein,
Senator Ali Modu Sheriff (SAS) recently returned to
Borno, we had a political Boko Haram, bombing revival.
Prior to that, there had been raids on villages and army
installations, but it had been long since bombs were
thrown at us people in urban capitals, to make political
statements.

Words were immediately traded in Borno among the
political class, who each accused one another of being
behind that political bombing. The people demanded the
arrest of Ali Modu Sheriff, but alas, we do not expect that
soon.

As an intelligent people, it will be dangerous and reckless
if we do not seriously consider and thoroughly investigate
and demand the investigation of political and politician
associations in Boko Haram terrorism, both now and in the
past. And as we approach the next presidential elections—
just few months ahead—God-forbid, but there is increased
risk of aggravated, senseless terror. One must act and
demand the right action, because we the 'valueless'
masses will continue to be the only victims sacrificed in
what could possibly be sick cabal political squabbles.

If several episodes of seemingly random bomb attacks of
bus stops and churches are examined, it may be disturbing
to realize that many times these attacks are related to a
featuring political event or tussle.

While we the innocent and 'stupid' masses look only at
the site of impact, we fail to follow the trajectory of these
bombs. We see a bus stop bombed in Sabon Gari, for
seemingly no reason, but fail to investigate the political
event happening at a ballot or in the Senate at the time.

While it may seem harsh to suggest such callous behavior
from our pristine dressed politicians, the question to ask is,
are Boko Haram sponsors ghosts? Did the politician
sponsors Goodluck Jonathan, the president of Nigeria,
Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, our late ex-NSA Andrew
Azazi and others refer to, retire from the political parties
and government, or 'turn a new leaf?'

There is precedence of Boko Haram using carnage to
move political agenda as revealed in the case of now free,
Senator Ndume, arrested for terrorism and accused of
furnishing Boko Haram with classified information and
phone numbers to send text messages through. Senator
Ndume replaced Ambassador Pinda who picked up the
armed Ecomog thugs used and discarded by Governor Ali
Modu Sheriff, according to details provided by SSS
spokesperson, Deputy Director for Public Relations,
Marilyn Ogar. See Transparency, Nov. 22, 2011: "Senator
Ali Ndume arrested over alleged sponsorship of Boko
Haram".

According to the report, terrorist Ali Sanda Umar
Konduga, a.k.a. Usman Al-Zawahiri, said ECOMOG sent
messages to threaten the prominent individuals because
Late Pindar told them that former President, Obasanjo,
was behind ex-Gov. Ali Modu Sheriff and the message
was supposed to serve as a deterrent to influence Obasanjo
to withdraw his support for Gov. SAS. The text message
sent by ECOMOG to the Tribunal Chairman were meant
to frighten the chairman in order to sway judgment in
favor of PDP in the Borno State Governorship Election
Petition.

Boko Haram sent messages to the Attorney General (AGF)
to make him influence the tribunal in order for PDP to be
victorious in the court case with SAS' ANPP losing.
Bombing was promised across the state.

But for this particular case becoming public, the people
are never aware that threatening texts are sent ahead of
terror carnage. We, the common people, also usually do
not know that Boko Haram is sending such messages to
impress and influence top level political decisions on
behalf of political candidates. When these bombings
typically occur, we see them as sporadic events and do not
realize that the government has been forewarned about
them and that these events are being used for politics.

This Monday, a Church in Adamawa was reported
bombed and dozens were slaughtered. We focus on that
event, but fail to realize that it may not be un-linked with
the government shut-down and failure of the Senate to
screen the service chiefs or confirm the ministers,
including three time failed NSA under whose watch
Ecomog, and eventually Boko Haram and MEND came
into existence, Spy-master Aliyu Mohammed Gusau,
gunning for control of Nigeria's total security and defense
apparatus.

Is it possible that the deadlock in the Senate has a
connection to the tossing of the bombs and massacre of
innocent Church goers? Can we rely on our security
operation under NSA Sambo Dasuki to investigate such
links and determine possible politicians involved in using
Boko Haram to maneuver political positions, now and till
the 2015 elections? Can terror ever end if the politician
sponsors remain free?

According to a White-paper report chaired by the Interior
minister, Abba Moro, published in government's official
gazette since 2011, as detailed in DailyPost since May 23,
2012; also in PremiumTimes, Boko Haram evolved from
private militias run by key politicians in Borno, who
sought to outflank opponents ahead of 2003 elections. The
report submits
:
"For several months or maybe years ahead of the polls, the
groups, under titles as ECOMOG, Yan Kalare in Gombe,
and Sara Suka in Bauchi, amassed huge cache of weapons
made available by the political leaders in a broad effort
that stretched to adjoining Yobe, Gombe and Bauchi
states, the report states.

After the elections, the youth, still armed, but discarded by
their sponsors-a well-known electioneering habit for most
Nigerian politicians- became easy preys for a radical brand
of Islam preached at the time by Mohammed Yusuf, the
sect's leader."

'Government accepts this recommendation, and directs the
National Security Adviser to coordinate the investigation
of the kingpins and sponsors to unravel the individuals and
groups that are involved,' the report says."
What has Nigeria's NSA, Sambo Dasuki done since as
promised in this report? As poor and Church going
Nigerians continue to die, where are the political sponsors
of terror?

In September of 2011, the president of Nigeria, Goodluck
Ebele Jonathan said: Let me use this occasion to reassure
Nigerians and members of the international communities
that we now have strong links as to those involved in this
terror war on Nigeria and Nigerians. I have directed
security operatives to go after them, no matter where they
may be hiding.

In January 2012, he again said of Boko Haram terrorists:
Some of them are in the executive arm of government,
some of them are in the parliamentary/legislative arm of
government, while some of them are even in the judiciary,
some are also in the armed forces, the police and other
security agencies. Some continue to dip their hands and
eat with you and you won't even know the person who
will point a gun at you or plant a bomb behind your
house…

We ask: who are they Mr. President? Where are they?
Why have you not arrested the Borno politicians who
created Ecomog as determined by the report on your desk?
Is SSS and the police only good for harassing opponents
and breaking up protests?

What must we masses wait for and do to get you to take
our lives seriously, dear president?
We masses seriously and vehemently rebuke the idea that
these cabal politicians are too valuable to your political
aspirations to arrest them, and that rather you employ them
and appoint them for top party and cabinet posts to placate
them! Why do you hate us so much? We are tired of
dying.

We demand an end to this senseless carnage now. Arrest
political sponsors of Boko Haram. Investigate all those
whose responsibility it was to protect Nigeria, but failed
and aided and abetted the rise of terror, including
commissioners and governors in related states and the past
NSA's like Aliyu Mohammed Gusau, whose paid duty it
was to forestall such rise of terror. Value our lives.

Via: Ynaija

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