The United States (US) recently expressed its readiness to assist Nigeria in identifying the sponsors of Boko Haram as part of its effort to enable the country overcome the intractable security challenge. US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard, made the disclosure at a round-table interaction on US/Nigeria military cooperation in Abuja. The envoy stated that talks were ongoing on the matter. Dwelling more on the initiative, Leonard said: “This is something we are very eager to partner Nigeria on. I have had at least three conversations in the last two months on this subject.”
We welcome the intervention by the US and urge the Federal Government to accept it and possibly work with the US to resolve our lingering security challenges. The gesture came at a time the terrorists are becoming more emboldened in their deadly attacks on targets. It also came at a crucial period when the 12-year Boko Haram insurgency has led to loss of many lives and destruction of public assets. Sadly, the government’s promise to prosecute sponsors of the murderous sect has not seen the light of the day.
Government’s resolve to crush the insurgents has not yielded the desired results. Despite all assurances to degrade the terrorists, they appear to be having the upper hand in the war, especially in the North East region. In spite of the terrorists being ‘technically defeated’, they are still killing, maiming more Nigerians and destroying security formations across the country.
Long before the US offer of assistance to track the sponsors of the evil sect, notable Nigerians had urged the government to seek foreign intervention in tackling the menace. Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, had called on President Muhammadu Buhari to seek international collaboration to end the Boko Haram insurgency. Like Soyinka, other concerned Nigerians also asked the Federal Government to enlist the services of experts and foreigners to overcome the rising security challenges.
The US offer to unmask those behind the insurgency is laudable. When faced with an intractable challenge as the current insecurity in the country and when it appears that the terrorists are becoming more daring and the US is willing to help unmask the sponsors, the government should not hesitate to take the offer. Given the expertise of the US in managing terrorism, the government should not dither in collaborating with them this time around.
Since its emergence in 2009, Boko Haram has launched murderous attacks on Nigerians. An estimated 500,000 people have been killed by the insurgents since they began their operations. Also, over 100,000 indigenes of Borno State have reportedly been killed since the outbreak of the insurgency. Considering our poor statistical culture, it is believed that the group might have killed more Nigerians than officially reported. However, the grim statistics point to the audacious nature of the sect’s attacks on their targets. Since the war, over three million Nigerians have been displaced. The war has affected farming and contributed so much to food insecurity in the country.
Unfortunately, the murderous activities of Boko Haram in the North East are also replicated in similar measures by bandits in the North West and North Central regions. Armed Fulani herdsmen are also killing Nigerians and destroying their businesses across the country and killing travellers on major Nigerian highways, especially the Lagos-Benin Expressway. If the government is serious about defeating the terrorists, it should accept the US offer. The time has come for the government to swallow its pride and cooperate with the American government to expose those behind the insecurity. The government should stop the pretence that it has degraded the terrorists. It must also stop treating the insurgents and bandits with kid gloves. They must be treated as terrorists.
We urge the Federal Government to cooperate with the US in areas of intelligence and other tactics to overcome the threatening security challenges. It can also do so with any other country that can assist in the war against terrorism. Let the government also look inwards for Nigerians with expertise on how to tackle the menace.