Promise Adiele
The Federal government’s attitude towards the dreaded Boko Haram terrorist group reminds me of the Theatre of the Absurd in the literary tradition. Theatre of the Absurd is a term coined by the widely acclaimed critic, Martin Esslin, which describes aspects of drama that emphasizes the illogicality and meaninglessness in human actions. Some other critics have explained Theatre of the Absurd in terms of the inherent futility in man’s daily engagements. However, in coining the term, Martin Esslin gave credence to Albert Camus’ work “The Myth of Sisyphus” which underscores man’s laborious commitment and lack of focus. In this essay, I am more interested in the illogical, futile, and meaningless praxis of the absurdist tradition which correlates with the government’s response to Boko Haram members and their activities.
It is no news that the Federal Government of Nigeria is sympathetic to ‘repentant’ Boko Haram members and in demonstration of that sympathy, the government grants them extra-judicial amnesty, rehabilitates them, dresses them in new robes, and practically celebrates them as if they won laurels for Nigeria at the global stage. While many Nigerians were questioning the logic and meaning behind granting extra-judicial amnesty to one of the most dreaded terrorist organizations in the world, the government is planning to officially create an agency for their rehabilitation. Nothing could be more absurd.
We are talking about Boko Haram members who behead people and record their dastardly act, who easily slit the throat of men with sadistic relish. They also slit the womb of pregnant women, scooping out babies and roasting them in a fire as barbecue. By Boko Haram we are talking about demented beings that rape young schoolgirls, sodomize young boys, bury people alive, enslave many, and kill thousands of Nigerians. Certainly, these people are not fit to be called human beings. The mere mention of their names should be banned among reasonable people, we must try to coin a code with which we refer to them to save our lips from daily defiling and desecration. We are talking about Boko Haram members who have killed many young and promising Nigerian soldiers, turning children to orphans and young women to widows. Yet, members of this same group are promptly forgiven and treated with so much respect, sent to school with taxpayers’ money while some of them are enlisted into the Nigerian armed forces. Again nothing could be more absurd. It amounts to a slap on the faces of all Nigerians to bring these pathetic beings and their diseased consciousness into civilization, especially those whose families have suffered as a result of their disembowelling activities. What could motivate a sane person to empathize with these beings from the pit of Hades?
Many people, those who support the present government and will give up their throats to be slashed by Boko Haram in the defence of this administration, have argued that Niger Delta militants were also granted amnesty, sent to school, and were put on a regular monthly allowance. Anybody who compares Boko Haram with the Niger Delta militants deserves to visit the nearest spiritual home for rites of exorcism because it is obvious that certain demons are in action somewhere. Niger Delta Militants were fighting a just cause, the degradation of their land by oil companies without a corresponding infrastructural development in the area.
While the Niger Delta area suffers from underdevelopment, other parts of Nigeria without oil are consistently developed. It is a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul. While I do not support militancy which also amounts to economic sabotage, the activities of the militants are nothing compared to the Boko Haram aliens. The latter group are not humans, they do not have souls, they do not have a mission beyond killing, maiming, and bringing anguish to humanity. It, therefore, grates on our souls and pulls on the strings of our hearts to imagine that someone somewhere, in good conscience, will even consider associating civilized beings with the Boko Haram members.
The most absurd dimension of the Boko Haram saga came recently when Abdulmalik Bulama Biu, GOC 7 Division of the Nigeria Army announced that a ‘repentant’ Boko Haram member can aspire to become the president of Nigeria. We are indeed living in a crazy world.
The illogicality of human actions as portrayed in the absurdist tradition finds expression in the way Boko Haram members are celebrated while those who have committed lesser crimes in a desperate bid for survival languish in jail or face other punishment as provided by the law. Boko Haram members rape, what is the punishment for rape in Nigeria? Boko Haram members murder in cold blood.
What is the punishment for murder in Nigeria? Boko Haram members kidnap and ask for heavy ransom running into millions of dollars, yet the government arrests kidnappers and punish them while those at the forefront of the kidnapping industry are celebrated. Boko Haram members have buried many people alive, and I ask, what is the punishment for burying people alive? It is illogical to pardon these death angels and rehabilitate them while many Nigerians rot in jail for committing lesser crimes. Let the federal government explain to Nigerians the rationale behind establishing the agency for the rehabilitation of Boko Haram members. Nigerians were once told that Boko Haram members are foreigners, yet the same foreigners are to be rehabilitated and enlisted into our security apparatus with some of them aspiring to be governors, senators and president. Nothing can insult the intelligence of people more.
These days, many Nigerians wake up every morning with a heavy heart, crying for their fatherland. Events in Nigeria defy reasonable explanation just like in the absurdist theatre. Unfortunately, civil society groups are all dead in Nigeria. We seem to be sedated by inexplicable ill-wind that is likely to blow us to perdition. Nobody is talking, nobody is asking any questions, every man to himself and God for us all. It is this kind of collective paralyzing hypnosis in the face of imminent national danger that has formed a part of a tragic narrative in some countries. Unfortunately, the current generation is lazy and reprobate.
I admit that I am a part of this generation and the failure of my generation is also my failure. Let us, therefore, cover our faces in shame since we have all decided to keep silent in the face of tyranny. But I will continue to write, if not for anything, for self-defence, to protect myself from straying into the unchartered territory of insanity.
Surely, the Nigerian government is taking a huge political risk by absorbing murderers into civilization. It is illogical and meaningless, just like in a typical absurdist tradition to accommodate Boko Harm members in modern structures and cosy environment while their victims are buried underground never to return. The scar of Boko Haram activities will remain with some families for a long time but will remain with Nigeria forever unless the sinister bill in the Senate for the establishment of an agency to rehabilitate Boko Haram is set aside.
Dr Adiele teaches in the Department of English, Mountain Top University via [email protected]