Wednesday,
December 17, 2014
Folks, my heart is
bleeding profusely for 54 Nigerian soldiers just found guilty of mutiny and
sentenced to death by firing squad. Their offence is couched in the military
terminology of MUTINY but it simply boils down to their refusal to fight the
Boko Haram insurgents because they lacked the logistics to do so.
They had made it
clear that the Nigerian army was too ill-equipped to face Boko Haram and that
sending troops to the battlefield without their being adequately resourced
would amount to a needless slaughter. And they followed the dictates of their
conscience not to engage Boko Haram. The nasty consequence is what has been
announced by a court martial: death by firing squad for mutiny!!
My heart bleeds for
these soldiers because they stood up against what wasn't good for the military
but now seem to have lost the gamble and will die through the workings of the
military rigours, after all. The death that they feared at the battlefield will
now end it all for them on the stakes. And Boko Haram will celebrate it as a
victory won without putting in any effort. Too gripping!!
Read it all here:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-30526725.
MY COMMENTS
I vehemently
condemn this death sentence and urge all people of conscience to use whatever
means they have to prevail on the Nigerian government not to go to the extent
of sacrificing these soldiers to hide its own incompetence. The soldiers had a
good reason to go the way they did, even if their insubordination qualifies as
mutiny—a punishable misconduct in such a regimented establishment as the
military.
But that mutiny was
grounded in common sense, pragmatics, and good reason. How could soldiers be sent
to the battlefield without the proper accoutrements to subdue the dreaded Boko
Haram, which has more military capabilities than the Nigerian military or
whatever its international backers have provided? Was this particular group of
soldiers being sent to the battlefield at the time to save the Nigerian
government's own face for which their mutiny should be regarded with so much
apprehension and scorn?
I think that the
inability of the Nigerian government to clamp down on Boko Haram has more to do
with its own inadequacies than the refusal of the troops to engage Boko Haram.
Killing these soldiers will not solve any problem. Instead, it will alarm their
colleagues and set in motion a series of clandestine activities to favour Boko
Haram.
Will the Nigerian
government be level-headed enough to see things beyond this blood-hound
syndrome and pardon these soldiers instead of sacrificing them? Instead of
cutting them off to spite its own incompetence?
The
Nigerian government has lost its bearings and the vim to solve problems.
Sacrificing these soldiers will provoke dissension among the ranks and lead to
something with untold consequences for the country. I can foresee danger ahead
if this sentence is carried out.
My heart is
bleeding all the more!!
I shall return…
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E-mail:
mjbokor@yahoo.com
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the conversation.
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