I wish it did not happen! Now that it did, I remember the saying of Shakespeare’s Macbeth “……. It is not the deed that matters but the aftermath.” When I have a retrospect and prospect of the visitation of deadly Boko Haram sect on the nation generally and Borno state in particular with the attendant deaths, bloods and sorrows, my mind saunter into the words of Umberto Eco, which goes, “I have come to believe that the world is an enigma, a harmless enigma that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interprets it as though it had an underlying truth”.
Today, the Boko Haram sect has polluted the cherished religious norms or beliefs of the people with its blood-infested doctrine and teachings. These lunatics, demons of destruction and agents of division so far have done their worst in their insatiable and misguided ambition to wreck the nation generally and Borno State in particular. For now, Nigeria has a deficit balance sheet of over two million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), over 100,000 deaths with negative multiplier effect on several millions of other Nigerians. In addition, infrastructure, assets and public buildings worth $9 billion have been destroyed in the Northeast.
There is hardly any tribe or community in Nigeria that is not touched by Boko Haram. The holocaust is still on-going as the sect is still unrelenting in its plundering and barbarism. Though the gallant Nigerian military is doing all possible to check the menace of the terrorists through degrading the sect’s fighting power.
There is hardly any tribe or community in Nigeria that is not touched by Boko Haram. The holocaust is still on-going as the sect is still unrelenting in its plundering and barbarism
Of the total number of IDPs displaced so far, Borno State accounts for about 80 percent. For example, of the total number of over two million IDPs registered as at February 2017, Borno accounts for 1,886,000, made up of 158,000 in 17 camps in Maiduguri; 328,000 in 15 camps in the local government areas, and 1.4 million in private and rented quarters. Inclusive are 50,000 orphans and 65,000 widows.
Taking cognizance of the Kampala Convention which forbids forceful relocation of refugees to places against their wish, the Borno State Government has relocated so far, 300,000 IDPs to their respective home communities. Going by the state government’s programme, all the IDPs in the state are expected to be relocated to their respective home communities by the end of May, 2017.
Thereafter, the home communities would be the target of focus by the state government, federal government and other relevant agencies in the reconstruction, rehabilitation and resettlement programme of the IDPs.
No doubt, the states affected by the insurgency and in particular, Borno, have demonstrated the will-power to make a success of the postinsurgency programme. In this regard, Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State, the state that takes the lion’s share of the liabilities of the insurgency, has demonstrated with the assistance of the relevant bodies, the capability, capacity and commitment to bolster through the debris of catastrophe in spite of the challenges, through effective prosecution of the government programmes on postwar insurgency.
However, in spite of the success recorded so far in the rehabilitation and resettlement programmes, there are still some obstacles on the way and they must be addressed adequately for the success of post-insurgency exercise now and in the future. According to the executive chairman of the Borno State Emergency Management Agency, Engr. Satomi Ahmed, “Social cohesion and reintegration of the affected within the fold and between the fold and larger communities is by no means an easy task”. The chairman explained that the situation becomes more complex and challenging in the case of some rescued captives, especially the family members of the insurgents who have been inundated with the destructive and adverse doctrines of the sect. To reintegrate these groups into the larger society becomes an arduous task. The same applies to thousands of orphans whose handling, according to Satomi, needs cautious approach.
Only recently, a Kano-based Islamic scholar, Sheikh Abduwahab Abdallah, called on northern state governors, the Ulama and community leaders, to rise to the challenge of taking proper care of the children orphaned by the insurgency to avoid future calamity. Speaking in Kano at a one-day review of the progress made so far by an independent committee raised to support the IDPs in the Northeast, the Sheikh pointed out that to ignore his call was a recipe for disaster.
According to him, neglecting the orphans would provoke, prick and prod probing questions from them. The neglect would inspire their resolve to look into how their innocent parents were killed, maimed and tortured with impunity. The Islamic scholar, therefore, warned that such situation might provoke a disaster that could take an endless war of attrition, leading to a global conflict.
It would be recalled that on assumption of office, Governor Shettima, while speaking on the bad leadership in the north, warned, “The youths are angry. We have few years, five to 10 years, to make amends or these young men will descend upon us”.
The handwriting on the wall is clear even to the doubting Thomas. The northern leaders in particular must rise to the challenge by doing what is expected to be complemented by national efforts. Otherwise, in the impending inferno, we all might be consumed. God forbid.
