Tuesday,
May 6, 2014
Folks, the situation in Nigeria is
more than alarming. While the Boko Haram terrorist group is on the rampage, the
Nigerian government retreats and creates the impression that it is incapable of
solving the security threat facing the country.
Boko Haram’s recent abduction of
over 200 girls vis-a-vis the Nigerian government’s inaction gives credence to
the incompetence that characterizes the state and federal governments. Boko
Haram has just abducted 8 more girls in the north-eastern part of the country.
Last night, Abubakar Shekau (the leader of Boko Haram) was
shown on TV, boldly daring the Nigerian government and declaring his intention
to sell the abducted girls.
“God instructed
me to sell them, they are his properties and I will carry out his instructions,”
he said.
(See: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27298614)
From his posturing and threats, he
is indeed making a mockery of the Nigerian Establishment. And Nigeria claims to
be a regional super-power with armaments and a huge military force!
Boko Haram has proved that these
security forces are nothing but “kitchen soldiers”!!
Rather sadly, Jonathan Goodluck’s
lackluster approach and his own wife’s annoying reaction to calls for decisive
action have inflamed passions. I heard the drivel that came from the Nigerian
President and his wife’s pretentious claim (“… those kidnapping the girls
should know that God is there oooooh!”)
Instead of going where action is
needed, the Nigerian government is turning its venom against citizens whose
daughters have been kidnapped. Lousy governance style, I daresay.
The arrest of the leader of the
group of women protesting against the abduction and insisting that the
government should do more than it has been doing to bring their children
(daughters) back to them proves how hamstrung the Nigerian government is. A
government that cannot secure limb and property is not worth its name!!
Obviously, the deafening silence
from leaders in the West African sub-region really frightens me. The international
community may be monitoring the situation but nothing has emerged to prove that
they are gearing up to support the Nigerian government root out Boko Haram.
The United States won’t close its
eyes to happenings and has reacted swiftly. In a statement yesterday, it gave a
clear indication that it abhors what is happening and will step in to solve the
problem. It has speedily offered counter-terrorism and logistical support
(whatever that means).
Open Sesame!!
The US won’t go where its
military industrial complex isn’t poised to make gains. Establishing a
geo-political stronghold in Africa after losing its grips on Liberia (when the
late Master-Sergeant Doe and the disgraced Charles Taylor fell) is a necessity
for the US.
Several entreaties to African
countries (including Ghana under ex-President Kufuor in West Africa; Kenya and
Somalia in East Africa) have failed; but the US is already in Africa, using its
military might in diverse ways to support action against terrorists.
France is also involved,
considering its initiative to clamp down on the terrorists in Mali and its
presence in the Central African Republic. Well-intentio0ned manouevres to solve
Africa’s problems, one may put it.
The initial resistance to the US’
geo-political interests in Africa seems to be giving way, and I won’t be surprised
if the US intensifies its penetration under the guise of helping eradicate Boko
Haram and other al-Qaeda cells in Africa.
Now, Nigeria (with all its
economic, political, and military capabilities) has virtually provided the
launching pad for the US to use. Why not? For as long as the need for
intervention exists, why shouldn’t the US move in?
But all said and done, it is
disgusting that Jonathan Goodluck and his government don’t see the danger posed
by Boko Haram. They are behaving as if Boko Haram is just a whiff of miscreants
that will vanish at the poke of a finger. Indeed, heir lukewarm attitude to the
Boko Haram phenomenon is a clear demonstration of the lethargy that
characterizes governance in Africa.
That explains why the quickest
means to solving problems on the continent is panhandling in the international
community or selling out their birthright. That explains why these West African
leaders are cowering before the European Union and readying themselves to sign
the Economic partnership Agreement in the mistaken belief that it will be the
grand solution that they have been looking for all these years to end hunger,
want, privation, and excruciating poverty on the continent.
With such characters in charge of
national affairs, there is no redemption for the people they rule. And as they
sleep on the job, they expose their countries to manipulation by the
powers-that-be. Sigh.
I shall return…
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E-mail:
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