The counter-insurgency brouhaha -By Jide Ayobolu

When the Boko Haram insurgents atrociously abducted about 300 Chibok school girls in April in a gestapo-like style. The security agencies were caught pants down unable to respond swiftly and appropriately to the provocative assault on the territorial integrity of the country.

Far more Worrisome, is the indifferent attitude of the Federal Government to the whole shebang. It kept an undignified silence on the abduction and initially denied the fact that anybody was kidnapped.

This is in spite of the availability of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), State Security Service (SSS), the military intelligence and other forms of intelligence gathering mechanisms at the disposal of the government.

When the government eventually agreed that indeed the innocent and innocuous girls were kidnapped; it was done half-heartedly, in a very sluggish and annoying manner.

The government instead of moving quickly to negotiate and rescue the girls- the leaders of tomorrow, government foot-dragged on the matter and traded unnecessary blames with the opposition, claiming that the enemies of the government must have hidden the girls to distract the government from the discharge of its mandate. It was not until the abduction of the girls was confirmed by the international community that government pretended to have woken up from its deep slumber.

Even when the international community offered to assist the country out of the glaring security quagmire, the government rebuffed them, until very much later and when they eventually came to bail out the country from the hopeless situation, their presence and motives were politicised, thereby rendering them impotent.

The assertion by government that it has spent billions of naira on the military and the counter-terrorism operations pales into insignificance as nothing tangible has been achieved so far.

It is sad to state that, on a daily basis, the Boko Haram insurgents invaded villages, towns and local government areas sacking communities, with the attendant horrendous bloodbaths and hoisted their flags with impunity, while proclaiming their independence. Also, insurgents have at various times, invaded military barracks and police stations, burnt down hostels while students were fast asleep, markets are pillaged while women are raped and taken away.

To make matters worse, the military officers on the battlefields have fled several times, abandoning their weapons, saying the insurgents have superior fire power. Without mincing words, the government have abdicated its responsibility and treated the abducted girls with disdain and disrespect.

Yet, the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria stated explicitly and unequivocally that, the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government. In this regards therefore, the government has failed the girls, their parents, the country and indeed itself. In spite of all this, the government is more preoccupied about how to win the 2015 election at all cost. The question that arises therefore is, for what purpose? More so, when it has obviously failed woefully in its key responsibility to the people and country.

And, there is no silver lining whatsoever in the horizon. From the foregoing therefore, it is imperative to underscore the fact that, there are two prominent, mutually reinforcing and closely intertwined schools of thought about the counter-insurgency brouhaha. The first school contends that, the government and the military are clueless about how to go about putting an end to the insurgency in the country as well as rescuing the helpless and hapless abducted school girls. The government is thoroughly confused as well as green and it is only engaging in conjectures and wild-goose-chase, there is no roadmap to anywhere on the subject matter.

The second school is of the view that, because of the 2015 elections, the government is aware that the North-eastern part of the country is one of the very strong bases of the opposition, therefore, if it quickly ends the activities of the insurgents and election holds, there is every likelihood that the government in power will lose scandalously, hence, the uncharitable necessity to prolong the war on terror in that axis of the country, so that, elections will not take place there, and if elections must hold at all, it would be under sole administrators appointed by the Federal Government.

One recurring issue that keeps cropping up is that, assuming some of the kidnapped girls were daughters of some very important people high up in government, would government have responded in such a lackadaisical manner, treating the matter with kid-gloves?

It is disheartening to note that, the president has not even deemed it fit to visit Chibok and this only shows the levity with which the matter is handled. Yet the president would expect the people of Chibok and indeed the North-eastern part of the country to vote en masse for him. But the fact is that, Nigeria is greater than any individual or groups of individuals, and the point must be made that governance is all about the overriding interest of the country at any given point in time, therefore, the menace of Boko Haram must be brought to an end immediately and the Chibok girls rescued and rehabilitated.