REFLECTIONS ON INSECURITY AND DISUNITY IN NIGERIA: ARE BOKO HARAM, KANU AND IGBOHO SINNERS OR SAINTS OR SOCIAL CRUSADERS? -THE EMERGING DANGEROUS RECONFIGURATION OF INSECURITY-A CASE FOR NEGOTIATED SOLUTION TO CURRENT NATIONAL CRISIS(1) By John I Abhuere

This article seeks to appeal to the federal government to threat Kanu and Igboho with caution and wisdom. It suggests that rather than prosecuting them, the government should in the name of national unity resort to a negotiated solution to their case and cause. This should include the Boko haram group. It will not be seen as a sign of weakness, but an act of wisdom- the demands of reason in the national interest. Such negotiation with the ‘enemies ‘ of the state or offenders of the law is necessary for a number of reasons . One of them is the national interest of peace, unity and development. As a man who believes that a state that cannot enforce its laws is not worthy to be called a state, it seems odd for me to be preaching negotiation with offenders of the law but there comes a time when a nation must temper justice with mercy in the interest of peace, harmony and progress of the to support our argument society. While I have no doubt that the state has a duty to bring offenders of the Laws to book for justice in accordance with the of the land, it seems to me after due scanning of the environment that time was ripe enough to negotiate peace with the “enemies” within.

A CALL FOR CAUTION AND NEGOTIATED SOLUTION

In retrospect and looking at the issues surrounding insecurity in Nigeria such as the frustrating failure of the military to end insecurity, the tribal and regional nature of the support of Kanu and Igboho. and the ideological thrust of their cause the essay calls for caution in handling Kanu, Igboho and Boko haram and advocates a negotiated solution to the problem of insecurity in Nigeria. It argues that the authority should explore a non military solution. This is necessary because even though the military approach has led to the reclaiming of some swaths of land from the insurgents in the Northeastern Nigeria, it has nonetheless failed to yield the desired results of lasting peace and security. For instance, as we write some parts of Edo state are under siege and flowing in blood spilled by bandits believed to be Fulani herdsmen. The elite military institution- Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) Kaduna was attacked by unidentified gunmen. They reportedly killed some officers and took one way.There is the need to respond wisely to the demand of changing reality. Today it is clear that the “iron and blood policy of government had failed woefully to effect security, peace and harmony for meaningful development and unity to take place. And there is no end in sight to the horror.It would only be fool- hardy to continue with the failed method. The situation calls for a rethink of methods and sincere negotiation because there is strong community feeling behind the struggle against the authority.Unfortunately the group’s spirit of the agitators is so strong that it cannot be bombed or shot out of its convinced and committed members.Only honest negotiation in the national interest can reverse the ugly trend and frightful development here.

PRESIDENCY SHOULD LEAD THE WAY TO PEACE

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The task of checking insecurity is a collective responsibility. However the peace initiative under consideration should come from the Presidency. President Buhari as the current father of the nation- the father of all Nigerians today has the political power and material resources to get things going in the right direction here. He should make the move by inviting the ‘erring children’ as it were for heart to heart discussion. Even rebels understand both the language of peace and violence and they respond as appropriate.To ‘err is human and to forgive is divine’. The president has the resources to host peace meeting, implement agreements and above all the power to punish and to forgive. He should exercise the latter in the national interest of peace, unity and development which the country badly needs today.

POWER OF PERCEPTION AND NEGOTIATION

There is the power of perception and negotiation to utilize.It has been observed that perception is very important in management. People react to their own perception of reality and they exhibit more commitment to the implementation of decisions, negotiations or deal they participated in bringing about. It should be observed that President Buhari has serious perception problem which negotiated solution can help change. It makes the average citizen to be well disposed to the the agitators for a better life.Generally, public perception is in favor of soft landing for Kanu and Igboho. For instance, there are those who believe that the president has been too soft with the Fulani herdsmen who had heinous crimes against the state but not brought to justice perhaps because they are his own brothers. Thus he has been accuse of being too “nepotistic”thereby heightening the cries for equitable justice for all citizens before the law. Also there are those who have accused him of plans to “fulanise and Islamize” Nigeria. While I do not believe that the latter is possible because General Buhari the nationalist once admonished citizens to stay at home to salvage Nigeria together being our only home on earth, The authority may see Kanu, Igboho as “enemies” but public perception of the men is healthy and positive.Many people believe them, support their cause and accept their reason for running out of the country- fear of being killed extra judicially.

Negotiation has been defined as a dialogue between two or more people or parties intended to reach a beneficial outcome over one or more issues where a conflict exists …a discussion intended to produce agreement (www.shabdkosh.com>english). It has its own intrinsic value especially of team building, collective action-allowing collective decision, agreement and cooperation for implementation of plan. In the final analysis it is superior to military solution.Thus instead of waiting for the holocaust, apocalypse or Armageddon to happen, there is the need to resort to the useful tool of negotiation now beckoning on us to utilize to reach agreement on way forward. No matter how high the temper or bitter the enemies are, they can be persuaded to sit and talk during negotiation.

Today it is clear that neither the military approach nor present legal actions in Courts will resolve issues amicably and effect lasting peace.In any case, not all that is legal is is good or right or rational..The proposed peace meeting is so important and necessary today to get to the roots of the problem for lasting solution. The military approach has failed to produce security and peace.Rather it has worsened the situation by producing more violence and radicalizing protesters and their protests. Unwittingly, the military approach promoted violence and sustained insecurity in its own way. As the wise man has observed:”Violence begets violence”.Inappropriate responses by the authorities turned simple protests to monstrous ones and made martyrs of some hitherto sinners. Let us try the peaceful approach based on negotiation.

LIMIT TO MILITARY STRENGTH

It is clear that the country needs security,peace, stability, harmony to make progress. But as the persistent, prolonged state of insecurity in Nigeria has shown, there is a limit to military strength. It cannot effect security and peace right now.The military guns may kill the body but they cannot assail the soul.As they say, one can lead the horse to the river, but one cannot force it to drink water. The military could subdue a people and capture territories but it cannot decree peace and unity and development.

These are better effected through negotiations where people’s souls and minds are fed, nourished and won. So it would be better, safer and more cost effective to do negotiations with “the freedom fighters”, “defender of the defenseless” and “social crusaders” and other agitators for positive change with us today. As already observed, the military solution has “failed technically” to end the crisis, instal security, ensure peace, harmony unity, growth and development of the country over time. Instead of pacification, the military approach had brought about the radicalization of protest groups in the country and constant resort to violence to settle scores. Of course this breeds and reinforces insecurity in the country.Nigeria needs peace and unity and harmony to make the much desired progress.The legal method is appreciated but it will not achieve the purpose especially of fostering the much needed peace, harmony unity and development of the country. Besides, what is legally right may not be morally and rationally appropriate.

THE IDEOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL APPEAL..

There are other reasons to rethink and re-focus our attention . For example, the ideological,psychological and appealing nature of the issues which the agitators are concerned with bond with their followers. For instance issues such as marginalization and policy neglect of Igboland (Kanu), protecting Yoruba ancestral land and liberation of the people from the incursion and stranglehold of bandits and Fulani herdsmen (Igboho) and social crusading against impunity, corruption, injustice and bad governance in Maiduguri (Mohammed Ali & co) are real problems that affect the people -their target audience. Thus reference to them by the agitators make special meaning and understanding and strong appeal to them. Over time, these men had built a large group of followers and believers and developed strong group feeling. With time following ideological and sectarian indoctrination some have grown to conquer the fear of the gun and associated death. The Ijaw Militants reached that level of commitment to the Ijaw cause after their Kayiama declaration after which they went violence with virulent destruction of key economic installations. It is helpful to note that what the guns failed to achieve, negotiations achieved them- respite and the return of peace, stability etc. to the Niger Delta. This is why we call for caution and recommend a negotiated solution now.

COLLECTIVE SENSE OF BROTHERHOOD

Many reasons can be adduced here. A notable one Is our collective sense of brother-hood even though tribe and tongue may differ. All the parties to the crisis are Nigerians and therefore brothers in the same boat no matter the ethnic differences. While high-handedness is not the best way to deal with a brother, the failure of the military approach to end insurgency and insecurity recommends a change of tactics. The present method based on military conquest has not produced the desired result. As the Boko Haram war with the authority has demonstrated, the bullet alone cannot win the day for the country. According to an Observer such “tactics employed by government agencies against Boko haram have been consistently brutal and counter productive. Their reliance on extra judicial execution as a tactic in dealing with any problem in Nigeria, or throwing money at problem without creative thinking and actions not only created Boko haram as it is known today but also sustains it and fuel it to expand.

While the firing of guns had failed to produce security, legal proceedings may take longer time but without producing the desired effect especially of peace and security. There is the spiritual and ideological aspect of the problem. The insurgents due to strong spiritual faith and ideological conviction and orientation had since conquered the fear of death you hoping for joyful place in heaven. For instance, only the spiritually wired and ideologically convinced can embark on suicide bombing mission.

A NATION IN DIRE STRAITS

Nigeria is a nation in dire straits and in deep sea of insecurity, uncertainty anxiety and confusion at the moment. Severely scorched by the choking smokes of the fire of insecurity, the country shakes today like coronavirus patient struggling, helplessly for air. The present state of affliction is serious horrible and terrifying and the prospect is grim and discouraging. Nigeria has been largely buffeted by acute insecurity and sickening disunity which had left on its trail social, economic and political difficulties and cultural disorientation including pervasion of moral values. Agricultural activities have been reduced as many farmers had been forced to abandon their farms as a result of herdsmen’s and bandits’ incessant attacks, ruination of crops,murder and kidnapping. Consequently, there has shortage of food and higher prices of food items and increasing hunger across the country. The threat of famine is real and looming fast as a result of nation- wide insecurity.

While the mountain of unemployment is too high for comfort, road transportation business had almost been crippled by the unholy and ungodly activities of armed robbers, bandits,kidnappers. The cost of flying had almost doubled In some areas elections could not be conducted. Social functions had run miserably down.Low productivity or lack of work had resulted in more poor people going hungry in the country. Indeed thanks to insecurity,there has been sprawling poverty across the country which had weakened the purchasing power of majority citizens and left most families in hunger. Generally inflation rate has been excessively high, while the Naira was sinking fast down the valleys. In a word, insecurity has affected the economy and image of the country adversely beyond pardon.

NEGATIVE IMPACT OF INSECURITY-THE EMERGENCE DANGEROUS CONFIGURATION

The negative impact of insecurity on the country has indeed been severe and hurtful.Increasingly it has deepened and widened the disunity of Nigeria and promoted greater regional consciousness and loyalty. While insecurity, disunity and untruths have been at the heart of the dirty game played by the Nigerian elite, the problem is that there appears to be no end in sight to them or even breathing space.For over ten years now the country has battled with the Boko Haram Insurgence, Fulani/ Farmers’ clashes across the country, banditry, kidnapping for ransom and other forms of terrorism without relief. They visited death and arson on communities, and made life cheap and uncertain and damaged the economy considerably.

While the end of hostilities is not in sight, there are reasons for greater concern with insecurity at this moment. A potentially dangerous configuration of insecurity in Nigeria has emerged. The present crisis of insecurity like the country it is now threatening its corporate existence stands on three legs-a tripod. made up of the three big ethnic groups: Kanu is Igbo, Igboho is Yoruba and Mohammed Ali, Yusuf of Boko haram are Hausa/ Fulani Muslims from the North. Each of these groups is capable of derailing Nigeria, and herein lies the reason for greater worry today.

In particular the presence of controversial men such as Kanu with his message of the marginalization of the Igbo in Nigeria and policy neglect of their geo- political zone, the advent of Igboho – a man with a history of activism in community affairs, as the voice of the voiceless, liberator, protector and defender of Yoruba land, and the emergence of a strong voice for the South in form of the Southern Governors’ Forum as counter-poise to Northern Governors Forum have complicated the insecurity problem hither-to largely associated Bokoharam sectarian group.

Together with the social issues raised much by Mohammed Ali the master of Mohammed Yusuf founder of the Boko haram group,such as inequality, injustice, corruption and bad governance, these developments especially the activities of Kanu and Igboho appear to be the latest indications of the ever deepening divisions and expanding fault lines in Nigeria. The present configuration of insecurity which the presence of these men has created presents the greatest threat to the corporate existence of Nigeria today. Steadily, insecurity has torn the country apart and birthed many more fault lines. Sadly it has led her on the path of hatred, confrontation, collision and now she is almost on the verge of collapse or point of disintegration. The real worry that there is no visible sign of its ending soon.This is disturbing and frustrating enough. What went wrong? And what should be done? What is on ground?

ARE KANU, IGBOHO, MOHAMMED ALI OR YUSUF SINNERS OR SAINTS?…

But before answering these questions some people have asked:who are Kanu, Igboho,Mohammed Ali or Mohammed Yusuf- the successor of Ali and founder of Boko Haram. More specifically, are they saints or sinners, a revolutionaries or Anarchists , freedom fighters and liberators or nation wreckers or the embodiment of the pains, sorrows and joy, body or spirit of their people?

But are they really sinners and enemies of the state as the government has portrayed them or mere freedom fighters and social crusaders for a better society as they had projected themselves? They neither here nor there. It depends on the world- view of the evaluator. But the answer given will determine the kind of response to the crisis at hand. However, our suggestion is that we look beneath the surface for hidden facts,scan the environment for trends and evaluate developments for a better understanding of the phenomenon. Such approach may give a different picture of the problem and the correct direction to go.Current insecurity is the effect of intra- elite disagreements and struggles for political power and other resources of the country. And the faces we identify with it are victims of elite’s game anger and manipulation. In a word some elite are behind the insecurity of the country. They generate,fuel and sustain it with their bountiful resources. In other words what we see on the surface are blurred reality of the effects of the actions of some masked men.

Let’s reason together: The Boko haram group had been in Sambisa forest for over ten years now. Who supplies them food and other logistics including weapons including facilities to bring planes down? They come to town to capture school children and other citizens without qualms. Are they magicians or spirits?Kanu and Igboho escaped from the country with relative ease. Who are the facilitators, sponsors? Where do they get the resources for maintenance and sustenance?In all the faces of insecurity today dancing on stage are not the real face or cause of insecurity. Like “Idulu” the fabled bird dancer of Unuwazi which dances to the music played by unseen musicians, non- state actors on stage -Kanu, Igboho and Mohammed Ali, Yusuf -founder of Boko haram are only great dancers to the music orchestrated by some Nigerian elite. Efforts to find lasting solutions to insecurity in Nigeria must therefore include a positive deal with the masked men working the country behind the stage.

ORDINARY MEN MADE IMPORTANT/TRANSFORMED BY CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND THEM

There is nothing in the bio-data of Kanu, Igboho and Mohammed Ali or his successor Mohammed Yusuf -founder of Boko haram to suggest that they were born as monsters or abnormal children. In fact history shows them to be ordinary folks who had been made important or transformed into what they are today in public consciousness and national reckoning by circumstances beyond them.There are those who believe that improper response to their demands or criticisms such as the use of military force and failure of government social policy created gaps for non state actors to fill. According to some evaluators government’s high handed approach such as the killing of Mohammed Ali and Yusuf and radicalized the Boko Haram and made a docile, peaceful protesters to become dare – devil,man eater extremists, arsonists and murderers.

Almost all assessors agree that the arrest of Kanu and the failure to address issues of marginalization he raised, the inability of the authority to check the unlawful activities of the Fulani herdsmen in Yoruba land and attempt to extradite Igboho popularized these men as people of brilliant ideas and positive actions, revolutionaries, martyrs and heroes of sort. While resolving these administrative issues and external factors are important to resolving the current insecurity, to the government they are law breakers and thus enemies of the state who must be punished and addressed in the only language they understand- perhaps violence.

If this informs the military approach which so far has not produced the desired, there those who believe that Kanu and co are social crusaders of sort and that some of the issues raised by them – the “enemies” of the state but heroes of their people are of existential importance are relevance- issues of property rights,marginalization, corruption, social injustices etc. They are burning issues that bond with the people concerned and should be appropriately look at especially so because they are issues that thousand guns cannot shoot out of existence. So solve the problems and spare the rod and the men in the name of peace and unity of the country.

DIVERGENCE OF VIEW BETWEEN GOVERNMENT AND CITIZENS…

The divergence of view between the government and citizens is of technical importance. It suggests the need for caution as it points to wrong approach. In all explains why the men should be treated with care and respect because due to circumstances beyond them they are leaders of groups of citizens with strong group feeling who look up to them for hope and direction. The way out is to reason together in order to resolve the issues raised and resolve the insecurity problem amicably.

There is therefore the need for a rethink of methods to correct past mistakes .We have experimented with military solution to insecurity for over fifteen years especially in trying to defeat Boko haram but without success. Ditto the legal option. The situation looks like a journey without end. Administrative and some environmental factors conspired to frustrate efforts against insecurity. As observed earlier, government’s acts of omission and commissions especially the use of guns, the failure to provide social amenities, address issues of marginalization, inequitable justice, unemployment, non- inclusiveness, failure to enforce laws, arrest criminals especially those kidnapping, killing and destroying property at will and lack of capacity to protect lives and property had largely been responsible for the current nation wide insecurity in Nigeria. These are no issues for gun solution but matters of the mind for sincere peaceful resolution based on mutual respect and understanding. For instance policy failure which created gaps for non-state actors to fill needs be corrected through sincere evaluation, discussion and positive actions. There is therefore the urgent need to review efforts and change current approach where necessary. The country appears to be a victim of its own method-its own creation.

LESSONS OF HISTORY

There are lessons to learn from history on way forward because the struggle against acute insecurity is not new in Nigeria. Before the Boko haram was the boil in the Niger Delta where militants caused considerable damage to the economy by attacking oil installations in the zone and kidnapping people for ransom. It was part of the age long struggle by the region for a better deal dating back to pre- independence era. The region wanted a fair share of the oil money from their land and the failure to meet their demand and acute policy neglect gave rise to violent agitations as exemplified by Adaka Boro and &co’ who declared a Niger Delta Republic in 1966. Of course they were arrested, tried and sentenced for treason but were later pardoned by General Gowon. What is of interest here is that the deployment of guns, imprisonment, and even hanging of agitators for environmental improvement as was done to Ken Saro Wiwa &Eco in the 1990s did not halt protests and agitations for improvement in the Niger Delta. Only the negotiated peaceful approach through the offer of Amnesty by President Yar’Adua made the most positive impact. It will be helpful to recall that the war against terrorism in the Northern part of Nigeria as exemplified by Boko haram started over ten years ago and there is no end in sight to it today. As the relevant records can show what is today known as Boko Haram group was docile, benign struggling small group until the authority killed the leader and ever since the country had known no peace from the group. Basically we have adopted a military solution to the problem of insecurity which from all indications are more issues of the mind thus failed to yield the desired results of peace, unity and security of lives and property.

From the two examples cited above it should be clear that the major mistake of the past has been with the placement of the greatest but undue emphasis on military solution to what was essentially more or less an ideological and psychological issue. Property understood, insecurity in Nigeria has been more a matter of the mind, faith ,emotion and conviction than physical. For instance, it is only the spiritually wired individual who sees little or no value in life, the ideologically convinced or the very highly brain- washed to believe that it is better to die than to live in this sinful world that can volunteer and embark on suicide bombing mission without qualms believing that a safe and sweet place awaits him in heaven. The militias and sectarian groups are known to be very serious with ideological orientation and faith building of their members. Many of them have conquered the fear of death. So the guns do not deter them any longer. Here Nigeria is ideologically very weak. She has not done much socialization, civic, character education and ideological work to counter such wrong belief and to win the citizens to its side especially to believe in Nigeria and its unity and development. The group’s feeling of the insurgents is very strong while that of the country is very weak. Consequently, while the insurgents fight whole heartedly with both their body and soul, their opponents fight reluctantly only with their body. And such wars informed and driven by ideology, psychology and religious belief can hardly be won through the use of force by the military.

A JOURNEY WITHOUT END

Let it be recalled now that in spite of military guns, the Boko Haram’s war has been on for over ten years and it has turned out to be like a journey without end. All these and other monstrous activities such as those of bandits, killer herdsmen, ritual men, and the recent attack on Nigerian Defense Academy (NDA) make our call for caution and negotiated solution important. In short, there are too many battlefronts and thus the need to reduce them and the attendant fault lines to the barest minimum. The presence of Kanu and Igboho seems to have worsened an already bad situation in the country.One of these development is enough to break the caramels back. All of them where not properly handled could rock the boat of the nation. As they say in Esanland, when a man pursues two rats at the same time he misses both of them. The government needs time and space to focus on the real challenges of the moment- fixing the economy, addressing unemployment especially of the youth, insecurity, deepening democracy and fostering national unity and development.

There is therefore the urgent need to build peace and win the confidence of the citizens in government.Of relevance here is the fast changing nature of our national crisis . It is assuming new dimension and wearing new colors especially political and thus becoming more complex. Boko haram, killer herdsmen. Banditry, kidnapping, the re-arrest of Kanu, then Igboho have combined to complicate matter and make the situation more deadly, dangerous and precarious. The attack on NDA demystified the power of the gun before human reason. As they say it does not only rain, it pours all over the places. Kanu’s obsession with Igbo marginalization and the Biafra cause is nasty enough palaver. The emergence of Igboho as hero liberator of the Yoruba land following the failure or gross inability of the government to provide security to citizens in general and in particular to check external invasion of Yoruba land especially Oke Ogun in Oyo state and of course the unending campaign against social injustice and corruption by the Boko haram worsened the insecurity situation in Nigeria.

THE MAKING OF MONSTERS :LESSONS FROM BOKO HARAM

There is the problem of inaction and misuse of power to consider. More often than not, the state fails to nib problems in the bud and over-reacts by killing or attempting to kill a fly with a sledge hammer.Take the evolution of the Boko Haram for illustration. Not many people seem to remember that the Boko haram group started as a small play- thing almost at the the beginning of this century with criticism of the government of Borno state. It was not always monstrous from the beginning. It started small as a critic of of government policies in Maiduguri . It has been observed that Boko haram grew while government was sleeping. And when she woke up from slumber, she resorted to high handedness, shooting and waste of money.

According to historical accounts, a group of youth in 2002 had declared “Maiduguri as irredeemably and intolerably corrupt”. Due to harassment from the security agencies the group in the manner of Prophet Mohammed’s flight from Mecca to Medina (Hejira) on September 24, 622 decided to perform its Hejira by relocating from Maiduguri to a village in Yobe called Kanama to enable members to practice Islam the way they want based on “strict Islamic principle”. The group was led by Mohammed Ali who sought to practice true islamic laws as opposed to that of “the corrupt establishment in Maiduguri”. He was actually preparing his group spiritually, ideologically and physically for his version of Islamic way of life.

There are evidences to show that not all his followers agreed with his methods. One of those who objected was Mohammed Yusuf -the future founder of the Boko haram. A more perceptible government would have exploited the rift within the group to evaporate it without firing a shot. There was a long time for creative response but government was lukewarm and apparently confused till the group firmed up deeply and began “to create a state within a state”. A point for over- kill offered itself. The group was in conflict with its host community over fishIng right which attracted the attention of the police in 2003. Unfortunately religious group overpowered the Police. Thus the Army was called in which over powered the group and killed several of its members including their Leader Mohammed Ali. Mohammed Yusuf escaped death.

This was the real beginning of the high – handedness that transformed Ali’s followers to militants.His group was forcefully disbanded, some members were killed or wounded and some others fled the country, returned and regrouped under one his disciples Mohammed Yusuf to form what is today known as Boko haram – a more forceful entity than its predecessor. It was formed by a people largely idealistic youth with a strong desire for a better society through good governance based on sharia. They were in disagreement with government’s policies in Borno and vowed “to uproot corruption and injustice which they blamed on western influences”. The new set which grew out of the violent ruins of Mohammed Ali’s organization became much more militant, virulent and anti state in their disposition and actions. Most members were said to be sons of big politicians and wealthy businessmen. Mohamed Yusuf one of the “local Talibans” who returned to Maiduguri built a mosque which he named “Ibn Taimiyyah Masjid” and it was the neighbors of the mosque that called members of his group” Boko Haram -western education is forbidden”. It reportedly established big farms and attracted people by offering welfare package -food and shelter to them especially “refugees from the Chad areas of crisis and jobless Nigerians”. While the group is believed to get support from both home and abroad, with a history of high tension and constant clash with the authorities it steadily deepened its roots, expanded and became much more radicalized and defiant of state powers over time.

According to records by 2009 when the “police summarily executed Mohammed Yusuf in public view outside the police headquarters in Maiduguri”, there had been “long existing tension between Boko haram and security agencies in Borno”. For instance while the subject of their criticism- social injustice was left unaddressed its members were harassed. One day members were on their way to bury a member at the Gwange cemetery when some law enforcement agencies charged them to wear crash helmets in accordance with the law. The members refused and in the course of confrontation, the police reportedly “fired and wounded some members”. The group went berserk and started attacking prisons,police stations etc in Borno and some nearby states. According to Media reports, in July 2009, the military captured Mohammed Yusuf leader of Boko haram at his parent In – law’s house and transferred him to Police custody where he was killed.

Ever since the group became much more radicalized, producing dare devil successors such as Abubakar Shakarau who specialized in capturing school children. Today group is almost out of control of the state. The social problems the group condemned remained. The security situation became much more complex and complicated with the rise and spread of Fulani herdsmen’s sporadic killings all over the country and the heightening of banditry and kidnapping across the states of the federation.As observed earlier the advent of Kanu and Igboho introduced a dangerous configuration to the picture or pattern of insecurity in Nigeria.Today it is clear that the “iron and blood policy of government had failed woefully to effect security, peace and harmony for meaningful development and unity to take place. If there was still any doubt the humiliating attack on the NDA Kaduna by bandits killing and kidnapping officers should clear any iota of such reservation. The situation calls for a rethink of methods and sincere negotiation today because the groups’ ideas cannot be bombed or shot out of its convinced and committed membership. Only honest negotiation in the national interest can reverse the ugly trend..

MEN OF THE PEOPLE AND THEIR SELFLESSNESS

What makes Kanu, Igboho, Mohammed Ali or Yusuf important is the selfless and altruistic nature of their missions. They are men of the people and they speak or act not for themselves but for the good of the people they represent. They represent groups of people with strong group feeling informed by shared beliefs and values. What they say, or are fighting for makes sense and meaning and they bond with to their followers. Largely they identify with the plights of their people, say truth to authority about identified problems. And the government inability or lack of capacity or political will to deal with crimes such as Fulani’s invasion of people’s farm and killing or kidnapping, or address socio- economic issues such as marginalization, unemployment, corruption, injustice,insecurity created gaps for these “enemies” of the state and heroes of their ethnic or religious to fill. Even if they die there are successors to carry on with the dream. Here-in lies the relevance of negotiated solution to present day crisis of insecurity.While their presence remind us of a failed past,the demands of the ‘rebels’ resonate well with the people both in body and soul. Truly, the guns can kill the body but not so the soul and spirit of a group. Thus words and reason which are the food of the soul can be served to nourish the souls of men and women through sincere negotiations.

As observed earlier, President Buhari should initiate peace meeting and lead the country on the right way to security and lasting peace.

▪︎Professor Abhuere is of the Centre For Child Care and Youth Development, Abuja.