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Panic grips politicians
over
Boko Haram(updated)
By Danlami Nmodu
Newsdiaryonline
Mon June 27 , 2011
Picture of the Suicide Bomber published by
Blueprint
The increasing wave
of Boko Haram attacks is
causing disquiet among politicians
especially those from the North.There is growing fear of attack
now.`Nobody seems safe
with these attacks .Iam really scared of this twist of events’
said a politician who has actually had to tackle more than a
fair share of security challenges
in the recent past.``My
worry is that right under our nose the situation is slipping out
of control and it appears no one yet can solve this
problem’’,the politician said.
Newsdiaryonline
learnt that these fears
are being heightened because it is emerging that Boko Haram
members actually got some good training
abroad. Even more worrisome is the fact that the membership of
the group cuts
across several states of
the North. Of all the states in the North, sources said a high
percentage of the members are from Kano state. This revelation
is making many to be more apprehensive.Blueprint
newspapers revealed in its current edition that Mohammed
Manga,the suicide bomber who hit
the Police Force headquarters in Abuja with a Honda car
was from Adamawa state though he was brought up in
Maiduguri.Another source told
Newsdiaryonline
that top members of Boko Haram have very sound education.``They
are not stark illiterates or ignoramuses as some people
think,’’a security source said.
One official said that the nation is facing
a new kind of challenge which many do not know how to handle
yet.``Some of the comments on the group are ill advised and many
are advised to watch their comments which may infuriate the
group’’ the official said.The IG made a mistake of making a
reckless statement and
the nation has paid dearly for it as the group responded
swiftly.``The issue is that these chaps have their ideological
conviction about their mission.The best form of training you can
give anyone is to equip him ideologically .Whether you agree
with their ideology or not is a different thing’’,said the
government official from one of the states of the north who is
calling for more tact in
handling Boko Haram
Already, Danjuma Goje former Governor of
Gombe state has apologized to the Boko Haram group.A spokesman
of the militant group had listed Goje among those who must
apologize or face their wrath.In a rather swift response Goje
said “As a true Muslim who believes
in peace and brotherhood as entrenched in both the Holy
Quran and the Hadith of
the Holy Prophet Muhammed (SAW),I hereby tender my PUBLIC
APLOOGY to the organization for any wrong done to it in the
course of performing
my duty as
the then
Governor of Gombe
state .We pray that Allah(SWT) to continue to promote
Islam ,peace and brotherhood for humanity throughout the
world.’’
It is the ability of the group to carry out
its threats of attacks that singles it out as a real cause for
concern.In Abuja military men have been drafted to strategic
places to embark upon `stop and search’ operations.But the group
still struck Sunday evening in Maiduguri killing at least 25
people with several others injured
as bombs suspected to be from Boko Haram went off at a
Dala Kabomti in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital.The venue of
the attack is said to be a popular beer drinking joint.Again
Boko Haram struck in Maiduguri today,less than 24 hours after
the deadly blast that hit the beer garden in the city.The
casualty figure was not immediately available.Today's attack hit
one of the security Joint Task Force JTF checkpoints in
Maiduguri.
A similar
attack had taken place months ago in Abuja as Mammy Market was
hit by explosions.Bombs blasts have been recorded at Suleja,
Zuba ,Kaduna,Jos and Bauchi
as well.The group was reported to have written to the Revenue
Mobilization and Fiscal Commission RMFC warning it not to raise
the allocation to certain public official,a clear indication
that the Boko Haram group is angry with the financial
recklessness by the nation’s leaders. The reported letter to the
Commission has occasioned tightening
of security in its offices.``You cannot have access to our
office easily anymore,’’ a staff
of the commission revealed
yesterday.
A
prominent politician who spoke to
Newsdiaryonline
under anonymity
accused
politicians especially
immediate past governors of some northern states of preparing
the fertile ground for this sort of unfortunate insurgency as
they encouraged their security outfits which terrorised people
in their various states.Their maladministration created the room
or metamorphosed into
the insurgency now rocking the country,the politician said.
Though media reports said serving and
incumbent security chiefs are putting their heads together with
a view to facing this challenge, there are fears among some
politicians that even the presidency appears helpless or unable
to tackle the problem .But officials
say the
presidency appears to be working on the strategy which will
emphasize dialogue rather than violence. What is certain is that
the nation is facing an
unusual security challenge now.
“I think we have been lying to ourselves in
this country for years;the politicians the media and all,
everybody kept avoiding the truth.People would
tell lies to get into
power. Now we are all in trouble’’ a politician who expressed
concern over Boko Haram said today under
the condition of
anonymity.What appears
certain now is that just like the Niger Delta crisis, a very
tactically reassuring
strategy perhaps
emphasizing constructive engagement with the group
is needed to
stem the tide of
sorrow, bloodletting and
death emanating from the growing Boko Haram attacks.
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