Chad should be held responsible for what goes on in the North East as it has about 15 million people with an uncontrolled vast land of 1.3 million km2…
Victor C. Ariole
Even when the state of Israel expressed the willingness to sell attack helicopters to Nigeria […] Obama administration frustrated it […] I believe one day some of the security experts and actors… will tell the world the truth about the kidnap of the Chibok school girls. P.36 of My Transition Hours.
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The Prime Minister of Israel just visited both Chad and Niger, two francophone countries bordering Nigeria on the north. It is not far from being a thank – you visit, and soliciting more of their cooperation to enrich further Israel and its allies in the midst of poverty ridden population of both Niger and Chad as their two leaders remain President till 2033 if not for life. Israel’s deal with any nation is attached to what USA makes of it and it is not only Obama and it is not necessarily by the Leahy law as stated in the former President’s book.
Mercenaries are in abundance to bypass any known law and get a deal to sail through; and it has been happening in Congo Democratic Republic as well as in Venezuela or Ecuador. Nigerians nay Africans need to know why Boko Haram has persisted and no President is declaring Borno State an Emergency Zone, and banish the governors who had been enjoying out of the suffering of the masses there like General Idris Deby Itno is enjoying as he turns his country into recruitment zone of terrorist organisations in Africa including as ATIKU noted ISWAP. According to him, “take that local support structure away and the terror architecture will collapse like a pack of cards”.
Indeed for the Chibok girls to move for over 200 km with no resistance from the locals, it tells of the importance of local structure that the military themselves know exist as to tell the former President not to venture into Borno state as that time. Ndjamena, the capital of Chad is closer to Nigeria than to other neighbours like Sudan, Central African Republic and Cameroon from the eastern flank. Hence, Deby who added Itno to his name like some of his counterparts in Central Africa, owes loyalty to some masters who assure them that they are protected against Nigeria except Bozizo who failed their test and sent Central African Republic in their current dilemma of insurgency, still heavily fanned by Chad’s territory recruitment process, as recruitment ground, for the fight going on there and CAR is not far from Nigeria also. Even, if not part of the countries bordering Nigeria, CAR is not up to 1000 km from the nearest northeast point in Nigeria.
Chad should be held responsible for what goes on in the North East as it has about 15 million people with an uncontrolled vast land of 1.3 million km2 and about 7 million of the population highly dependent on suicide mission performance motivation. According to www.indexmundi.com, they are 95% hopeless or helpless hence can cling to any source of livelihood and are less concerned about what holds tomorrow.
Those who share the same heritage with them in Nigeria, the Kanuris feel the pains of their people there also and they make up the next majority tribal cluster in population after those known as Sara. This is where it is difficult to solve the problem looking at Nigeria alone as their kit and kin in Chad remains as hopeless and helpless and must be courted in prosperity or in pain.
Like the close to 70% of children in Kebbi State not in school, like the 95% of the youths in Chad not knowing what to do with their lives except attempting to be recruited as a terrorist in Darfur where Chad supplies the largest contingent of youths fighting there sometimes moved through the northern part of Cameroon to the Central Africa Republic in the Selaka or anti Balaka fight.
Felix Malloum, Goukouni Wadei rivals of Idris Deby Itno like Hissene Habre also, in the long fight that made Chad a haven for the recruitment of fighters; and Idris had remained solid as the rock of Gibraltar currying favour from Israel which is a source of division of Nigerians, on whether to support or not in its dealings with the Palestines, and Nigeria, at a time knew that Felix Malloum whom they initially supported to force out Deby was the right horse to back for the sustainability of peace in the West and Central African region. So how do Nigerian leaders think that Deby will budge in his approach of leasing lands to the Masters.
It is high time Africa seized the territories in Chad where the youths are recruited for havoc causing in Africa before Chad turns African into another Syria and Libya; for waiting till 2033 when Deby would have ceded half of Nigeria, Niger, Libya, Central Africa and Cameroon to those who really know what is underneath and are exploiting it enormously, now, could claim it has been ceded to them for 99 years like it was done to Hong Kong. Time to act is now. Leasing out problem territories is part of the weak governance process among weak minded African leaders as Congo Democratic had witnessed from its warlords.
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Ariole is Professor of French and Francophone Studies, University of Lagos