Wednesday,
May 8, 2014
Folks, while the United States
and Britain have taken practical action by sending security and intelligence
personnel to Nigeria to tackle the Boko Haram menace, leaders in the ECOWAS
sub-region are merely scratching the surface of the problem: talking and
talking about intentions and not what decisive action they have planned to
take.
As usual, a "talk-shop"
approach is all they have determined as their response to Boko Haram. Forget
about the nicety entailed by the murky intent "to” activate anti-terrorism
strategy against Boko Haram”. It is a mere whiff of air being blown!!
Here is why I am saying so:
"ECOWAS member countries are
to summon their intelligence chiefs to Accra next week to discuss strategies to
deal with Boko Haram’s threat in Nigeria and the sub-region.... ECOWAS has
common anti-terrorism strategy, and so as Chair of ECOWAS I have been speaking
to other ECOWAS heads of state and they believe that we should activate that
anti-terrorism strategy.
“We are looking to call a meeting
of our joint intelligence chiefs in Accra next week, and we are inviting
Cameroun and Chad to join so that together we can see how we eliminate this
security threat to the sub-region.”
These were the words of Ghana's
President, John Dramani Mahama, after he had met with Nigeria's Goodluck
Jonathan to deliberate on the Boko Haram menace.
(Source:
http://www.myjoyonline.com/world/2014/May-8th/ecowas-to-activate-anti-terrorism-strategy-against-boko-haram.php)
In contrast, here is a better
approach: US Secretary of State John Kerry says a specialist team is set to
start work in Nigeria to help find more than 200 schoolgirls abducted by
militants.
"Our inter-agency team is
hitting the ground in Nigeria now and they are going to be working in concert
with President Goodluck Jonathan's government to do everything that we possibly
can to return these girls to their families and their communities... We are
also going to do everything possible to counter the menace of Boko Haram,"
Mr. Kerry said.
(See: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27335956)
This is how action is taken to
solve such problems. Too much idle talk from the Nigerian leader himself, which
has culminated in the "talk-shop" approach that will emerge in Accra
next week. The declaration of intention to assemble those so-called
intelligence chiefs in Accra next week alone tells me how clueless these
leaders are.
So, all this while that Boko
Haram has established itself as a major security threat to Nigeria and the
entire West African sub-region, what have these leaders and their so-called
intelligence chiefs been doing? What strategy have they already drawn to
collaborate with those that the United States and Britain have already sent to
do the job?
You see, my good friends, our
leaders just don't know how to solve problems; they are more interested in
wearing their power on their sleeves than using that power to improve
conditions in the countries that they rule.
I have written numerous opinion
pieces to urge action against Boko Haram; but nothing concrete has been done to
indicate, at least, that our leaders are also closely monitoring the trend of
affairs to know how to deal with the menace.
Of course, I don't presuppose
that these leaders read my opinion pieces to know my views; but, at least, they
are better positioned to receive intelligence reports that could be processed
to help them formulate plans of action. They have failed to do so and are only
meeting now to save their faces because of how the international community has
reacted to the happenings in Nigeria.
All this talk of meeting in Accra
next week means nothing to me or to Boko Haram. Only immediate action (the most
potent of which is a military option) will neutralize Boko Haram.
What irks me most is that these
leaders have proved to be grossly ignorant of why ECOMOG was formed to confront
the Liberian crisis; and Nigeria played a prominent role in ECOMOG too! But now
that its own territory and people are suffering the scourge of terrorism,
Goodluck Jonathan doesn't know what to do. He is one particular dormant leader
who really gets on my nerves!!
He talks too much and does very
little to move Nigeria forward. Now that he has found solace in support given
him by his fellow leaders, I hope he will see the urgency of the situation and
stop thinking that the Boko Haram threat is "temporary" (in his own
word).
Only decisive action can stop
Boko Haram in its stride; and that action has to be taken sooner than later.
Too much of the empty political rhetoric grates on our ears and irritates us!!!
I am reminded of how Ghana's
General Arnold Quainoo (the first ECOMOG Commander) led the first contingent to
Freetown (Sierra Leone en route to be directly involved in tackling the
Liberian crisis).
In a pre-departure interaction
with the troops, Gen. Quainoo spoke for long, exhorting the troops: When I say
anytime, say anytime! When I say every time, say every time! No retreat, no
surrender! Any time, any day, anywhere!!" and many more.
Then, he handed over the
megaphone to the then Sierra Leonean military leader, Gen. Joseph Momoh, to add
his own words of encouragement.
Guess what? Gen. Momoh loudly
said: "This is time for action and not words!!"
You can imagine Gen. Quainoo's
mien at this point. But ECOMOG went on to do a good job.
I have raised this particular
issue to remind the ECOWAS that it is long past talking time. Only firm action
is needed at this stage to deal with Boko Haram.
Some Ghanaians may be wondering
whether Ghana's involvement in this attempt to rout Boko Haram may not anger
the terrorists to turn their attention to Ghana. I don't anticipate anything of
the sort provided the ACTION that I am calling for is not restricted to only
the territory called Nigeria.
It must be an all-encompassing
action and perpetual readiness to deal with any threat that surfaces anywhere
in the sub-region. Otherwise, what are the security services being
funded/supported for?
I shall return…
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E-mail:
mjbokor@yahoo.com
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