PM News
26 August 2011
The sheer volume of literature on boko haram is intimidating. Some have advocated a one–cure solution while others have canvassed the mollycoddle approach of pacifying and negotiating with the Islamist sect for peace to reign.
The one-cure solution proponents believe that like the Maitatsine riots of 1980 the boko haram scourge could be stamped out in the space of a somersault, after all, they argued, Zaki Biam was destroyed, Odi was flattened, and Nigeria is still intact.
The advocates of pacification and negotiation were shocked when the boko haram group gave their own conditions which included (a) making public the finding of the panel set up to unearth the mysterious death of the boko haram leaders in 2009 (b) implementation of Sharia and declaration of all Northern Nigerian states as Islamic States (c) The trial of the former Borno State Governor Ali Modu Sheriff and the outright resignation of the new governor Alhaji Kashim Shettima.
Some Journalists even saw it as a simplistic defence of Islam and the North and used the opportunistic privilege in flaunting their 34 years journalistic experience without proffering a solution to the crisis at hand. Of what significance is 34 years of journalism if your greatest strength is the stereotype defence of your religion and tribal communities even when solutions are not 100 percent right? The feuding journalistic juggernauts merely skimmed the surface and skipped the heart of the matter.
I am neither placing the guilt of the boko haram tragedy on society nor on boko haram itself. Boko haram is a creation of government right from our independence in 1960 to date.
We should here recall that the basic philosophy of boko haram is anchored on a congenital hatred for Western education and its accomplishments. Specifically, boko haram’s hatred for the West is based on the fact that beneficiaries of this Western education have manipulated the system to short change the masses into poverty and penury.
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