Boko Haram, Charlie Hebdo, and Nigeria On Stilts -By Adeolu Ademoyo

As the world continues to mourn the grisly death in Paris of the French “Charlie Hebdo” victims of   terrorism, having taken their eyes away, the world must return their eyes to Nigeria as Nigerians go to the poll on February 14. “Charlie Hebdo” is the assassination of independent thought and thinking. Boko Haram, its Nigerian mass based killing variant predates it.

Two things are united in the type of “Charlie Hebdo” high profile assassination of independent thought-money and creed i.e. religious, secular and political creed. The two-money and creed- are present in abundance in Nigeria historically and today as Nigeria inches towards the election.

Sadly, Nigeria is already home to multiple forms of terrorism and violence. Boko Haram terrorism is ongoing. Niger Delta creek terrorism is waiting to be revived depending on the outcome of the election.

Despite the peace accord signed by contestants in Abuja, Nigeria recently, because the election can tilt either way-Jonathan or Buhari- it has raised the possibility of a renewed terrorism from the creeks because Dokubo-Asari, a veteran terrorist and one of President Jonathan’s main supporters have put it on record that they will renew their terrorism from the creeks if President Jonathan is defeated.

Unwittingly echoing and betraying same terrorist sentiments Mr. Jimi Agbaje, a Lagos PDP politician and one of the contestants in the Lagos state governorship elections, put it on record in London, that the South South of Nigeria is capable and will destabilize the economy of the country if Mr. Goodluck Jonathan loses the election.

Jimi Agbaje did not refer to the ethics of free and fair election, which necessarily should and will make the election go either way-Buhari (APC) or Jonathan (PDP). That is the universal nature of democracy. Mr. Agbaje a Lagos PDP politician issued a threat and a blackmail against Nigeria and the global world thereby betraying a deep-seated terrorism to be revived as an aftermath to the election.

Also, another ex-terrorist-by the name Mr. Government Ekpemupolo a.k.a Tompolo is involved in curious and questionable purchase of warships. This ought to arouse curiosity. Here is an individual whose first name is “Government” buying warships. Government of what? Of terrorism? Or of what is wrongly called “militancy”?

When terrorists who call themselves “Government” and who are wrongly called “ex-militants” (in Nigeria) acquire warships the world need to engage in deep thinking to imagine Nigeria’s own enlarged mass version of “Charlie Hebdo”, and to see how the ground may be being laid for a revival of terrorism from the creeks by President Jonathan support militia groups. Any disputation of this proposition must contest it factually with what have been said by known individuals in the Nigerian polity, and that have not been denied in spite of the Abuja peace accord.

Again, despite the peace accord in Abuja, Nigeria, an accord that should be welcomed and promoted by Nigerians themselves and the global world to help Nigeria, what is also real but which we may lose sight of is a revival of political assassination of the French Charlie Hebdo type. In Nigeria “Charlie Hebdo” is both privately and state sponsored terrorist assassination. Here, the formal, official but highly partisan and dangerous use of Nigeria security apparatus by President Jonathan in elections is significant.

The world needs to know that in the February elections 2015 (like previous elections) contrary to best practices of democracy elsewhere in the world, Nigerian security apparatus-police, military, intelligence (SSS) are highly partisan and compromised by President Jonathan’s government to serve his and the ruling party’s (PDP) electoral fortunes. The evidences are empirical and clear. The world can see and act if it wants to genuinely help Nigeria beyond paper based peace accord.

The desperate, partisan and unprofessional role of Nigerian military, police, SSS, state security in the last Ekiti and Osun elections point to the possibility of a misuse of Nigerian security apparatus by the PDP and President Jonathan. That potential and actual deadly misuse is part of Nigeria’s own “Charlie Hebdo”.

The condemnable thuggery, violence, killings by both PDP and APC aside, the Nigerian “Charlie Hebdo” concerns the highly sophisticated, well targeted, upscale, stealthy “Charlie Hebdo” and “Dele Giwa” type of assassination of independent thought, especially the independent media-both online and offline. This is different from the crudity, thuggery and violence both APC and PDP unleash on one another publicly.

The “Charlie Hebdo”/ ”Dele Giwa” high profile assassination of independent thought falls into a special category. The desperation is real and can be felt in Nigeria. Nigeria has a history in this regard viz Dele Giwa, Bola Ige, Kudirat Abiola, Ibru, Bagauda Kaltho, Pa Alfred Rewane, and Abraham Adesanya etc. So it would be easy for the Nigerian assassins of independent thought to continue where they suspended their evil work.

The expressed practices, dated views, antecedents, history of violence and death merchandising  of some of Nigerian politicians buttress this apprehension. Some examples will suffice. Take the views of Mr. Ayo Fayose, the Ekiti state governor. On a mobilization trail for the re-election of President Jonathan, the   PDP met in Akure in the state Government house on December 27^th 2014 under the auspices of the governor of Ondo State-Olusegun Mimiko. Here is what Fayose said during this meeting as reported in the Nigerian press.

“In the speech of Mr. Ayo Fayose he said propaganda would only waste time and that attack is the best form of defense. …He further said we have control of the police and the army and I cannot afford to lose my control on police and the army’ and without Jonathan being the president we will lose the control. Further, he said presidential election is a do or die affair …” Ayo Fayose, Ekiti Governor, December 27^th 2014.

If Fayose and some Nigerian politicians do not have extreme violent past, this statement will not be bothersome. If Fayose and his group have not violently attacked court judges during official court proceedings and the Nigerian state under President Jonathan DID NOTHING, this statement would not be bothersome. If the ruling party and President Jonathan have not abused the Nigerian security apparatus in the most unprofessional manner in Ekiti and Osun elections this statement will not be bothersome. If the ruling party, PDP is not assembling the security team that facilitated its strange performance in the Ekiti election this statement will not be bothersome.

Governors Fayose and Mimiko and the “police we control and do not want to lose’ (Fayose’s words) put Fayose’s violent proposition to practice on January 8, when the opposition party, its Vice Presidential candidate-Mr. Osinbajo went on a “Walk For Change” in Akure, western Nigeria.

The idea of a WALK FOR CHANGE reminds one of the social and civil practices of civic organizations in the US and other western societies for social causes such as campaign to raise awareness about social and health issues such as autism, Down syndrome, cancer, hunger, homelessness, poverty, heart disease, freedom, pro-life, pro-choice acts etc.

Hence in the US civic WALKS such as “Relay For Life” “Walk Against Poverty’, “March For Life”, “Race For The Cross”, ‘Race For The Heart”, are examples of the idea of APC WALK FOR CHANGE. Many Nigerian Americans enthusiastically participate in such civil and cultured WALKS like these in America as part of their community obligations. Such Walks, Relays and Marches are always cultured and joyous, playful affairs for the reflective civilized and cultivated minds. But not for Nigerian politicians and Nigerian police which individual Nigerian politicians claim to “control”, to be turned to bearers of the assassination of independent thought.

So, the same police who Mr. Fayose claimed to “have control over” was used to disorganize a peaceful Walk For Change led by Mr. Osinbajo a lawyer and Vice Presidential candidate of APC. If the PDP politicians can claim to “have control of the police and the army and cannot afford to lose their control of police and the army…” then it follows that they can use such “control” to enact a Nigerian “Charlie Hebdo” and our own “Dele Giwa”. In other words anyone could be shot at during any act of independent thought and the Nigerian independent media-both online and offline – are always prime target.

This is because the most resilient voice and repository of independent thought in Nigerian democracy has been the independent press. As the Nigerian system becomes more corrupt and as the economy continues its slide, the media has become more vocal in defense of the Nigerian poor and the most socially and economically vulnerable in Nigerian society.

Therefore, it is obvious that Nigerian politicians with extremely violent past, politicians who believe that   election is do or die, politicians for whom stealing of government resources and treasury is not corruption as President Goodluck Jonathan wrongly claimed, politicians who have stolen state resources, repatriated them abroad, and invested same for re-election will fight the Nigerian media-the “Charlie Hebdo” mode- regardless of the outcome of the election.

Finally, a country’s security system-police, military, intelligence- like a country’s judiciary are supposed to be neutral public institutions. This is not the case under President Jonathan’s government. But with crude partisanship laced with desperation President Jonathan’s government has carried the unprofessionalism in the military, police and the SSS to a ridiculous extent thereby creating the setting for a potential state, quasi state and privately sponsored “Charlie Hebdo” assassination type in Nigeria.

So when a politician such as Ayo Fayose with an unstable and extremely violent past and credential said “we (individual PDP politicians) have control of the police and the army and I cannot afford to lose my control on police and the army’ and without Jonathan being the president we will lose the control…” it is realistic to anticipate state, quasi state and mixed state- privately sponsored “Charlie Hebdo” assassination type before, during and after the February election. This is one act the Abuja Peace Accord missed but must begin to formally acknowledge so as to work against. Same for Nigerians and the global world.

But because “Nous Sommes Charlie” that is “We are Charlie” in memory of the Charlie Hebdo French victims of terrorism we, the people, will outlive the forces of darkness, violence and assassination of independent thought in Nigeria and in all parts of the global world.

May the Souls of Charlie Hebdo French victims of terrorism rest in profound peace.

Adeolu Ademoyo aaa54@cornell.edu Africana Studies and Research center, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.