H
e had warned, predicted but to no avail. He appealed to good conscience but the response or reaction was negative. Rather, he is branded, tagged or given the appellation of the “Biblical Jeremiah” the people of old regarded as prophet of doom. Among the prophets of God, the Almighty, Jeremiah was hated, despised and detestable to taste. The people never wanted to see or hear him as neither his appearance nor utterance a message of comfort or joy. The weight or gravity of his message was enormous and failure or any breach to this calamitous. Therefore, not to see or hear the voice of Prophet Jeremiah was an assurance or answered prayer not to spoil one’s day. This is because his message was pricking, provoking and prodding.
Yet, the fault was not that of prophet Jeremiah. He had to pass the message as directed by God, his creator no matter the circumstance, no matter whose ox is gored and the gravity of the same. In any case, the messages so conveyed centred mostly on warning to the people and the consequences of violation of the same. For the dissidents or those who refused to heed, “woe betide them”
Governor Kashim Shettima inheritance as Borno State Chief Executive on May 29, 2011 was not enviable but difficult. Aside, the traditional socio-economic problems bequeathed to his administration, the political assassination of some party chieftains in the state before his ascension and the onslaught of Boko Haram sect placed his administration in the debit side of the balance in terms of legacy. In short, he inherited a blood-stained banner. Hence, from the outset of his administration till now, he has been bolstering through the debris of catastrophe the story now known to everyone that need no repeat.
In riding through the strong waves, he discovered himself, Governor Kashim never spared his kinsmen nor the elite he indicted rightly or wrongly of being the masterminds of the imbroglio plaguing the state in particular and the nation in general.
Kashim’s admonition of the elite, no doubt, stirred up the hornet’s nest and provoked reactions. He was brutal in frankness and touched the elite interest who certainly never took kindly to this. For example, on Boko Haram insurgency he inherited, Kashim, in his first major broadcast to the people on July 16, 2011 in a message titled “ISLAMIC AND PEACE IN BORNO”, lamented, saying, “I am personally deeply pained by the trend of events. I am native of Maiduguri, Borno, bred and buttered right in the heart of Yerwa, from Nimeri Korongoso. Most of the insurgents are from well known neighborhood of Shehuri North, Shehu South, Limati, Lamisu, Gamboru, Fezzan and Hausari wards of the metropolis. I say unto you my brothers what Kamid Karzai, the Afghan President, said at the burial of his brother, Wali Ahmed Karzai, some days ago:
”………….My message for them (Taliban) is that my countrymen, my brothers, should stop killing their own people. It is easy to kill and everyone can do it, but the real man is the one who can save people’s lives”.
Kashim at different fora was unequivocal on the bane of bad leadership in the North in particular and Nigeria in general in general. According to him, “The hottest place in the hell fire will be reserved for the Northern elite who are living in the islands of affluence and extravagance in an unending ocean of poverty and deprivation where over 80 percent of our people are extremely poor. We take our own wards to posh private schools, abandoning the children of the poor to become ECOMOG, Yau Kalare and Yau Tauri and sundry elements to be used during electioneering campaigns.
“The youths are hungry. We have few years, five to 10 years to make amends or these young men will descend upon us.”
On the current state of insecurity in Borno in particular, Kashim stated, “The current state of insecurity and deplorable state of affairs is not unconnected with the attempt to impose the opinion of a small group on a larger society, a situation which clearly abridges the freedom to freely hold and express one’s opinion which is fundamental and inalienable in any given society.
“My fellow citizen, going by the present spate of killings, how can a true Muslim explain, let alone profoundly justify, the current unfortunate cold blooded murders and bombings in the name of Islam? Islam means “Peace and submission to the will of God” and it should remain so, in both history and practice. This was the understanding of our forefathers; theirs is true meaning of Islam in both letter and spirit.”
On the way forward to eliminate the scourge of Boko Haram, Governor Shettima said, “Underneath the nihilism of Boko Haram lies the underlying cause, which is social exclusivity and extreme poverty. Once we engage the youths, once we create jobs, this nihilism, this madness will evaporate.”
Responding to self-centeredness of most Nigerian leaders, he declared, “What do we care? Most of us leaders are mostly concerned about this election and the next one. We do not care what happens in between the elections. Funny enough, our economy as a nation, has direct effect on our democracy ………………”
According to Kashim, ”A situation where the name of our dear state, an epitome of peace, degenerates to signify violence, evoking fear in outsiders, and trepidation in residents, leading to lack of free movement to attend day-to-day activities, is clearly unacceptable.
“We must then return to the basic and embrace the path of tolerance, forbearance and moderation if we are to progress as a people, as a society, a state, and to compete nationally and internationally. Once the fundamental right of the other person to hold opinion is abridged, there can never be peace and harmony.”
Governor Shettima as the most troubled state chief executive in the country has seen it and probably said it all. He told President Goodluck Jonathan that victory would be illusive to the Nigerian military in the light of the supervisor weaponry of the insurgents and called for amend if Nigeria must win the terror. He told the nation from the onset that Boko Haram insurgency was not Borno but Nigeria’s problem, but the ears were deaf. He was brutal in frankness and said more as the man who knows where the shoe pinches. However, if we had listened perhaps we might not have been in the current dilemma we find ourselves in this terror war.
Victor Izekor, a journalist and public affairs analyst, writes at victorizekor@gmail.com
