MAIDUGURI: ONLY WORSE

A group of highly respected citizens from Borno State who call themselves Borno Elders Forum on Wednesday, July 13^th 2011, called on President Goodluck Jonathan to order the immediate withdrawal of soldiers from the streets of Maiduguri. The elders say that the security situation in the State in general and Maiduguri in particular has degenerated since the military intervened in the fight against the insurgency of the Yusufiyya Movement, known as Boko Haram. They complain that the innocent ciitzens are being subjected to increasing hardship which is the cause of the massive movement of people out of Maiduguri. They specifically accused the soldiers under the Joint Task Force of burning cars, killing innocent passers-by, looting private property, harassing innocent citizens and even raping young girls.

          The Elders further observed that the presence of thousands of heavily-armed soldiers on the streets of Maiduguri has turned the city’s situation into a nightmare, the worse Maiduguri has ever seen. They claim that hundreds of young people have been shot by soldiers for no known reasons other that that they are young people. They say that many communities have been sacked, and people in their thousands are fleeing Maiduguri, and the level of human suffering in Maiduguri has reached its peak, and Borno State is faced with horrific and horrendous humanitarian crisis.

          But the Elders went beyond requesting the Federal Government to immediately withdraw all soldiers from the streets of Maiduguri, and to rescue fleeing citizens and provide of relief materials to affected victims. They appealed to members of the Movement or Boko Haram, whom they referred to as friends in Kanuri language, to note current human suffering of fellow Muslims and look for alternative ways of pursuing their demands. They made the point that the general population are the brothers and sisters of the members of the Movement, and its members should therefore do everything within their powers to ensure its safety. 

          Reacting to the release of the Borno elders, the Joint task Force described their claims as baseless and uncalled for, and its spokesman insisted that the Army is acting strictly within its mandate in handling the serious security challenges in the State. The spokesman insisted that it is the members of the Boko Haram who are a threat to the public in the manner they plant explosives in residential areas, which damage houses and vehicles of law abiding citizens. The Army claims that reports of thousands of people leaving Maiduguri are rumours, which should be disregarded, and that those leaving the beleaguered city are motorcycle owners who are leaving for other places, following the ban on use of motorcycles by Borno State Government last week.

          The calibre and background of the members of the Borno Elders Forum who signed the statement should leave no one in doubt over the seriousness of the situation in Borno State. To the last man, the signatories are people of very high standing, some as very senior former officers in the military and police, and no one will accuse these types of people of playing to the gallery. On the contrary, it is safe to assume that they must have weighed the consequences and implications of their demands for the immediate withdrawal of troops, and the litany of accusations against officers of the Joint Task Force. These elders have lived with the twin threats and inconveniences of the Yusufiyya Movement and the security agencies for over two years, as residents of Maiduguri. They are well-placed to recognize genuine threats, and no one can accuse them of rumour-mongering. There is no basis for assuming that they have all suddenly become mouthpieces of the Yusufiyya Movement at the current stage of this intensifying conflict.

          When highly respected citizens make demands for the withdrawal of soldiers from the streets of Maiduguri, knowing very well that it is highly unlikely that the Federal government will comply, there is only one conclusion to be drawn; and this is the fact that the situation in Maiduguri is very desperate indeed. The demand by the Borno Elders Forum will put the Federal Government in a very difficult situation. It is obviously out of the question to order the full and immediate withdrawal of the Joint Task Force, as the Federal Government will insist that it has the duty to protect the citizens of the State, and restore full security and peace in Borno State and environs. The Federal Government will say that the real problem is the Yusufiyya Movement members, whose activities are the reasons for the presence of soldiers on the streets of Maiduguri in the first place. It will also argue that all law-abiding citizens of Borno State, including the elders who signed the statement should cooperate fully with the Joint Task Force by giving it good intelligence and preventing members of the Movement from operating and living in the community. The Federal Government will argue that all soldiers and other security personnel will leave the streets of Maiduguri as soon as the threats of the Movement or Boko Haram are contained.

          The demands by the Borno State Elders Forum will further emphasize the need to find a genuine solution to this problem. It will also draw attention to a major problem of leadership which appears to be severely lacking in the communities in and around Borno, and in the north in general. A responsible leadership will have to answer to its role in the genesis, growth and current dimensions of the conflict involving members of the Movement and the Nigerian State. It will need to demonstrate its credentials and credibility in the eyes of all citizens, and its record in terms of attempts to mediate this conflict. As leaders, many people will ask how much effort they are making in engaging members of the movement, particularly in the light of the fact that their bombs and bullets kill personnel as well as and other innocent citizens, and that they will account for their actions before Allah on the Day of Judgement. Many will ask how much pressure they attempted to exert on the Federal Government to prosecute the killers of Malam Muhammad Yusuf and his compatriots, and many innocent citizens in the past.

          The position of highly respected leaders in Borno state with regards to the current security situation and its impact on citizens must be taken very seriously by the government. On the face of it, it would appear that the Federal Government has no effective linkages with the community, which is why people of the calibre of the members of the Forum will confront it with demands that will be difficult to meet. This is a major weakness in the strategy of the Federal and Borno State Governments, which needs to be addressed. The leaders who stuck their necks out to both ask that soldiers are withdrawn and that members of the Movement should pay attention to the suffering of the people ought to lend themselves to a process of building bridges between government and the movement. The widespread complaints of excesses by soldiers should not be dismissed by the Joint Task Force, because the community is a major factor in determining whether the government or the Movement wins this battle. If the community turns its back entirely on the Joint Task Force, as the Elders appear to be symbolising, there will be no peace to win in Borno State.

          The Federal Government needs to recognise that the demand by the Borno Elders Forum that soldiers be taken off the streets of Maiduguri represents a major setback to its campaign. It should also recognise the need to reclaim the grounds it has lost in terms of empathy and support in the community as a result of reported excesses by security men. It needs to improve its understanding of the nature of the Movement, and examine options for dealing with it. No one will envy fellow Nigerian citizens living in Maiduguri these days. With the entrance of highly-respected people from Borno State into the fray, the situation will only get worse, as the parties to the conflict will squeeze law abiding citizens even more desperately. Other Nigerians need to speak up, and urge both the government and the movement to explore options for achieving their objectives, other than the use of violence which hurts the very people they need as sympathisers.