•Nigerian, Chinese experts brainstorm
By Emma Emeozor
It was a rare summit bringing together Nigerians and Chinese to ruminate over two monsters decimating the socio-economic fabric of Nigeria: money laundering and terrorism.
Sponsors of the two dastardly acts appear defiant as they device new tactics every day to beat the Federal Government’s efforts to plug the holes and wipe out their networks. Their activities remain a thorn in the economy of the country, contributing to poverty, lack of infrastructure, increase in the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and the fear of uncertainty that many Nigerians, particularly the vulnerable class, pass through daily.
The pains Nigerians are going through remind one of the curious title of Alan Paton’s book, “Cry, the Beloved Country.” Certainly, Nigerians are crying, they are yearning for sustainable solutions to the nation’s problems. Of course, the government has repeatedly challenged the citizens’ sense of patriotism and appealed to them to join the crusade against those who sponsor terrorism, money laundering and the other vices that are pulling the country down.
The recent summit on “Money Laundering and Counter-terrorism” organised by the Bolytag Centre for International Diplomacy and Strategic Studies (BOCIDASS) in Lagos, was part of contributions from private sector groups to support the Federal Government’s efforts. BOCIDASS successfully brought together local and foreign experts to brainstorm and produce enduring solutions for the government to implement. Interestingly, participants devoted more time to discussing terrorism than money laundering.
Unique to the summit was the participation of members of the Chinese Association of Friendship (CAF), founded in 1955 by Xi Zhongxun, the father of the President of China, Xi Jinping. The group, led by its Secretary-General, Sang Linyu, did not only express its willingness to assist Nigeria but also announced it would host a summit on money laundering and counter-terrorism in November 2017 to further address the issues raised in the Lagos summit.
Linyu assured of the willingness of CAF to assist Nigeria to overcome the threats posed by sponsors of money laundering and terrorism. While noting that the two problems were not peculiar to Nigeria, he commended the efforts of the government and people of Nigeria in rising to the challenge. He said the occasion provided his group the opportunity to make a thorough assessment of the situation in Nigeria.
Linyu told Daily Sun that they were returning home with good memories of Nigeria. He called on the Federal Government to partner with the citizenry to win the war against terrorism.
“The role of the common people must be emphasised and they must be told why the war must be won,” he said.
According to Linyu, after the war in China was won, “the Chinese People’s Congress shared the land among the people, so the common man had something to fall on . . . this raised their hopes and discouraged them from being used as tools of insurgency against the government.”
Why money laundering and terrorism?
President and Director-General of BOCIDASS, Prof. Bola A. Akinterinwa, told Daily Sun that the summit was organised to highlight the challenges ahead in the fight against money laundering and terrorism in Nigeria.
He said: “Even though we are saying the battle against terrorism has been won, the challenge is still there. Terrorism cannot be considered from Nigeria’s level only. It has to be looked at regionally. This is because happenings in one country immediately affect other countries of the region.”
He cited the Lake Chad basin to buttress his argument. The basin comprises Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon. It has become the operational zone of Boko Haram, since the insurgents were routed out of Sambisa forest in Borno State.
Capture of Sambisa forest not end to terrorism
Participants at the summit believe that the capture of Sambisa forest by government troops from Boko Haram does not in any way bring an end to the activities of the terror group. They point to the activities of Boko Haram in Chad, Niger and Cameroon as well as their sources of weapons, with some coming from Libya and beyond.
They expressed worry over the ‘jihadist’ element in the indoctrination of recruits, noting that it acts like opium in the brain of young devotees. They also highlighted the implications of Boko Haram’s affiliation with diehard terrorist groups like the Al Qaeda and the Islamic State.
What went wrong with govt’s counter-terrorism strategy?
A question the experts sought to answer was why it took the Federal Government so long a time to begin to win the war against terrorism. In his paper, “Counter-terrorism in Nigeria: A Case Study of the Lake Chad Region,” President of the Association of Industrial Security and Safety Operations of Nigeria (AISSON), Dr. Ona Ekhomu put forward the following reasons. His words: “The (Goodluck) Jonathan administration initially underrated Boko Haram; government focused on dialogue, which was successful in the case of the Niger Delta militants, government’s failure to note that Boko Haram was an ideology-based group; failure on the part of government to conduct a study on jihad movements; and government’s initial actions were not intelligence-driven.”
Other reasons he gave included, “government’s lack of counter-terrorism components (fifth columnists were leaking information to the insurgents at will), too much politicisation to the extent that politicians did not cooperate with government, too much haste in releasing arrested terrorists, government’s declaration of state of emergency was half-hearted to favour its loyalists and the problem of weapon acquisition.”
Prof. Yomi Akinyeye of the University of Lagos, in his contribution, said until the new approach adopted by the President Muhammadu Buhari government, Nigerians did not understand the fight against Boko Haram. He blamed the slow pace initially on the adoption of conventional approach to the problem. Citing Chairman Mao’s example of “fish and water relationship,” he wondered why the people were neglected for so long, stressing that communication between the citizens and the Army was crucial to the success of any counter-terrorism effort.
He argued that it was wrong for the federal government to negotiate with Boko Haram. The general consensus was that government ought not to negotiate with a “faceless” group that has no respect for the rule of law. It was the opinion of participants at the summit that negotiating with the insurgents and releasing their commanders would embolden them to continue a guerrilla war on the country.
Former Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Joe Keshi, lamented the condition of the Nigerian Army. The Army was initially hamstrung by lack of equipment to prosecute the war against the terrorists. Keshi noted that the Army was facing the same problems it faced during peacekeeping operations in Liberia and Sierra Leone: lack of funds and equipment, and he wondered when Nigeria would learn from its past experience.
On the subject of intelligence, Major General Adewunmi Ajibade (rtd) said the military would do better if intelligence were given more attention. He explained that good communication between the Army and the citizenry was part of intelligence. He was quick to say that people blaming the Army for its slow pace of response to the threat do not know the problems the intelligence units face. However, he admonished that “we must win the war and the peace.”
The way forward
Meanwhile, how can Nigeria win the war and the peace? Ambassador Gboyega Chris Ariyo wants government to address the socio-economic problems Nigerians are facing. While calling for egalitarianism, he said government must eradicate inequality and poverty. Ekhomu appealed for the sustenance of the current military strategy.
“The government must not withdraw the soldiers now, the local militias must be encouraged to continue with their role, regular intelligence analysis of the situation must be made and a Marshall Plan should be put in place to promote special development in the liberated states,” he said.
Former Special Adviser to the President on Budget Monitoring and Price Intelligent Unit, Prof. Kunle Ade Wahab, wants the government to create a road map for developing the youths to take over from the elders, since the system has worked for countries like China. He condemned the practise whereby people remain in leadership position even when they are too old to do their jobs well.
Keshi called for a unity among Nigerian leaders if the fight against insurgency must be won. He argued that the eradication of Boko Haram would be a mirage if political leaders continue to disagree over the cause and how to execute the fight. “If we do not address the problem of leadership in the country, we are not going anywhere,” he said.
Former Nigerian Ambassador to China, Wole Coker, appealed to the Chinese to be steadfast in their support to Nigeria’s fight against insurgency as well as socio-economic development goals. He told the Chinese delegation at the summit to impress on Beijing the importance of sharing information with Abuja.
On his part, Mr. Timothy Melaye, information manager and representative of the Director-General of the Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering, Col. Adama Coulibaly, wants government to intensify its fight against money laundering. Melaye said, besides being a source of corruption, money laundering was a major source of finance for insurgents. According to him, this is made possible because people launder money through third parties: “What the criminals do is to disguise the source, they change the form of moving the money so as to disguise it to appear as the original source. The concept that defines money laundering is centred on the origin.”