Beyond Operation “Gama Aiki” in the North-East -By Abdulrafiu Lawal

Jubilating Nigerian Soldiers

After been away from my second home for four years to study abroad, I visited Maiduguri in July 2014 for a week and decided to see a friend at Bulumkutu Abuja. As soon as it was time for the late afternoon prayers, Asr, I asked him to accompany me to the mosque in the neighbourhood for congregational worship. He declined. Jokingly, he said he would not be responsible for anything that happens to me at the mosque, as Boko Haram had agents in every mosque in Maiduguri, with many people in the neighbourhood being aware that I had been out of the country for a while. He conveyed a very important message to me in a sarcastic manner, that the people had their hearts in their mouth as Boko Haram was a government within a government.

The people had gone through a very difficult time due to the insurgency, leading the governor to once publicly break down in tears on seeing hundreds of his people killed by suicide bombs, and agitations for the removal of the then President Goodluck Jonathan from power. When I met Governor Kashim Shettima later, my fears were confirmed. He looked frail, with gray hair on his head and moustache like a troubled village head, indicating stress and laughter seems to have taken flight from his face for a while. This is a story for another day.

When I look at the situation in Borno two years ago, in comparison with the condition of the people today, the situation has improved tremendously. The mere fact that Eid-el-Fitr was celebrated without the usual restriction of movement, and that major roads are now open for the first time in five years means the place is gradually living up to its former reputation as the “Home of Peace”. A semblance of cultural activities taking place at the Shehu of Borno’s palace also underscores the sacrifice made by our gallant soldiers led by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Yusuf Tukur Buratai, and Governor Kashim Shettima, for taking Borno State away from opposition politics. I do not know what the situation would have been like if the state were still under an opposition party, even under President Muhammadu Buhari.

The appointment of the trio of Babagana Monguno, who hails from Monguno in Northern Borno, as National Security Adviser; Buratai, from Biu Local Government Area in Southern Borno, as Chief of Army Staff (COAS); and Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar as Chief of Air Staff respectively underscores the vision of the Buhari administration in tackling the Boko Haram scourge. The duo of Monguno and Buratai, apart from being sons of the soil, have knowledge of the terrain in a manner that has been a great blessing; while and also being personally affected by the insurgency has given the operation the needed bite and commitment it required. Air Marshal Sadique is also conversant with the terrain, having served in the State during the military era, such that his records as a young officer remains unbeaten in Borno today.

The Boko Haram insurgency and the attendant losses of lives and property that will take the affected States four decades to recover fully from was due to complacency and negligence. Anyone who was at the Ibn Taimiyya Mosque and listened to the late Mohammed Yusuf’s last sermon in July 2009, a few days after members of the Operation Flush attacked his members for not putting on their crash helmets, will not be surprised to see many towns reduced to rubbles today. Apart from TELL magazine and Daily Trust newspaper that did marvellous jobs of what the threat from Yusuf meant for peace and national security, every other medium treated it as a normal story. The government of the day and security apparatus also saw the matter differently. The rest is now history.

“Gama Aiki”, the code name for the ongoing military operation to crush Boko Haram in the North-East, which literally means ‘getting the job done’ in Hausa, is the first step in fighting the insurgency. This is because the sect had tapped into the structural and economic defects in the Borno society, especially in the ten local governments of Northern Borno. The political class in this Senatorial zone had institutionalised a culture of laziness and dependency among youths, especially those within the ages of 20 and 30 years. And, this accounts for why places like Monguno, Damasak, Marte, Baga and Abadam became strongholds of the insurgents until our soldiers crushed and drove them away.

Out of the local government areas in Northern Borno that have produced three governors, namely Mohammed Goni, Asheik Jarma and Maina Maa’ji Lawan, only Baga town in Kukawa Local Government has a vibrant economy in which young people can earn a living on a daily basis, due to the fishing business in the area. All other towns have no single industry where youths can work in. Their only other source of livelihood is through the secretariat of the local government where the chairman doles out peanuts to idle young men once a month after paying salaries. Of these towns, the case of Mallam Fatori, the headquarters of Abadam local government area that has produced three speakers of the Borno House of Assembly – namely Bulama Fugu, Goni Ali Modu and AbdulRahman Lawan, is the worst. This place is cut off from civilisation due to desert encroachment, and the only source of affordable healthcare there is through Bosso in Niger Republic. In addition, the desert has so much eaten into Abadam that only a four wheel drive vehicle can take one there and at a highly prohibitive cost. This is why Nigerian soldiers currently serving in Northern Borno deserve our support and prayers, as it is one of the most difficult terrains to fight an unknown enemy in, especially during the rainy season. Professor Bulakarima, Bulama Fugu, Goni Ali Modu, and other sons and daughters of Abadam can prove me wrong if this is considered an exaggeration. This is why I am usually amused when Niger Delta youths bitterly complain about their environmental problems, as if unique.

If the Federal Government and the Borno State government are really committed to ending the insurgency, they must begin to think beyond just rebuilding houses for the people to return home. This is because thinking of resettling people without adequately considering the economic issues involved in enabling young people to realise their potentials would ultimately rubbish the gains of Operation “Gama Aiki”. Nigeria can never stump out Boko Haram if these ten local government areas do not have at least small scale industries like those for block making, welding, carpentry, shoe making, packaged water and so on, where young people can earn a daily living. This remains the only way to finally block out Boko Haram, and prevent them from indoctrinating young men and recruiting them on suicide missions.

The absorption of some members of the Civilian Joint Task Force into the Nigerian army last week is indeed commendable, but is still like a drop in the ocean. I was quite happy when I read in the newspapers a few days ago that the National Assembly has passed the law for the establishment of the North East Development Commission (NEDC), with headquarters in Maiduguri. While this development is commendable, it is too early to celebrate until the Commission takes off and begins to implement laudable programmes. This is because the disagreement over where the headquarters of the Commission will be located that almost killed the bill is an indication that the political class is looking at it as another version of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NNDC), where there would be contract bazaars and white elephant projects will be executed for private benefit. The Federal and State Government must realise that should they fail to make the Commission work and build small scale industries in the area, the aftermath would only be catastrophic.

The State and Federal Government must come up with a deliberate programme that will address the needs of children orphaned by Boko Haram living in camps across the state and ensure that they have the right access to healthcare, education and opportunities, as a way of growing up to become responsible citizens. Efforts should be geared towards minimising the effects of the loss of their parents. It is traumatising enough that some children will grow up not knowing either of their parents due to the activities of some lunatics acting in the name of religion.

When the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) eventually return home, there is need for psychologists and psychiatrists who will help many of them to deal with their trauma. Some of these IDPs will not comprehend the effect of the horrifying scenes they witnessed before fleeing their homes until they return to begin life afresh in their various communities once again.

Other states should learn a lesson from what is happening in the North-East. After all, a Hausa proverb says “once your neighbour’s beard is on fire, quickly apply water to yours”. This means other states should not gnash their teeth and think such can never happen in their domain. The insurgency is a just a microcosm of the larger Nigerian problem and reaction to the absence of good governance and corruption. In the South-West, we have ‘Area Boys’ and ‘Omo Onile’, the North-West has ‘Yan Daba’ and the South-East has ‘Ndi Agboro’. The National Bureau of Statistics captures it more succinctly when it said recently that seventy percent of the Nigerian youth are unemployed. This is a potential time bomb waiting to explode. The resultant effect of youth employment in these areas may be worse than the Boko Haram insurgency. The Borno State and Federal Government must look for ways of creating job opportunities for youths as the private sector in Nigeria is still not vibrant enough to be the largest employer of labour.

The sacrifice of our gallant soldiers who laid their lives for peace to return to the North-East must not be in vain. The Borno State and Federal Government must come together to put structures in place for youth employment, and carry out environmental impact assessment of farmlands in these areas so that the people can make use of their farms in the near future. Nigeria cannot afford another form of insurgency in whatever form, as the consequences are better imagined than said.

Abdulrafiu Lawal, a public commentator writes from Boston, United States and can be reached through rafla2002pl@yahoo.com.