Insecurity, genocide: How the “cat” can be kept at bay

Insecurity, genocide: How the “cat” can be kept at bay

By Ben Okezie

Email:BenOkezie17@gmail.com

I’ve never been a lover of cats. Not for any particular reason but because of the public notion ascribed to the animal which has to do with witchcraft and other evil attributes.

Some people believe that cats possess demonic feature. The only good part of cat, to many, is its ability to smell the presence of rat from a distance; no wonder cats are never friends of the mouse or rat. There are reasons cats abhor rats. Animal keepers will tell you that cats are clean animals and they abhor dirty environments. On the other hand, rat is a very dirty animal hence it thrives in very dirty environments.

Now, there is a nexus between rats and the deadly insurgent group, Boko Haram. In 2009, some dirty “rats”, as I will like to refer to tag Boko Haram-a violent islamic sect that was founded and nurtured by a deviant Islamic cleric, Mohammed Yusuf- disrupted the peace of of Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, causing mayhem and polluting the serenity of the city.

Now, only dirty rats will prefer to make the forests and bushes its abode, only dirty, nauseating rats will brush aside the indignities of the forests and bushes and prefer them as places of living rather than the comfort and allure of urbane centres or urban life. You can now see why, to me, Boko Haram and its offshoots are “rats”. They hide in the forests and bushes, live in the forests and bushes and from there routinely launch deadly attacks on innocent citizens- both Christian and Muslims-, government institutions including police personnel and barracks, hospitals, schools etc.

During his time,the visionary Inspector-General of police, Sir Mike Mbama Okiro had established an anti- terrorism squad composed of selected mobile personnel and taken abroad- countries like Israel, Belarus and other strategic countries- for specialized anti terrorism training. unfortunately, after deploying them to Rivers state and other strategic areas of the country, waiting to be deployed for full operational activities, Mr Okiro left office, retired and handed over to IGP Ogbonnaya Onovo. Sadly, the anti- terrorism squad was immediately disbanded by his successor with the argument that the country didnt need anti-terrorism squad. Meanwhile Boko Haram terrorists had moved into the forests and were multiplying. They were recruiting more youths, training and arming them for more attacks against innocent citizens and vulnerable communities. By this time Nigeria had recorded the sad story of Chibok girls plus several attacks on both Christians and Muslims. Churches, Mosques, villages, markets, farms etc were targeted and attacked by the insurgents. It was amidst the raging insurgency that President Goodluck Jonathan lost re- election and left office.In entered President Buhari. There were high hopes, high expectations. Everyone had believed the the retired Army General and one-time Military Head of State will swiftly tackle and end the insurgency upon assumption of office as a democratically elected president. It however, soon dawned on Nigerians that Buhari was overrated as the insurgency instead increased in ferocity and speed.

Although 13 out of the 17 local government areas that were captured by Boko Haram were recaptured by Operation Lafia Dole under the leadership of the then Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor and the then Chief of Army Staff Lt. General Tukur Buratai. Despite this success, the Boko Haram sect which I had earlier likened to as “rats” continued to pose security headache to the security agencies, especially the military. As the insurgency raged on, the Boko Haram rats were being equipped, armed and emboldened by foreign countries.

Ironically, names of individuals connected to the sect were released to the government, yet no action was taken till date leaving one with the feeling of complicity on the part of the government.

Now, the question is, is the Nigerian government scared of dealing with the “rats”? Could it be that some individuals at the top echelon of government are sympathisers and sponsors of the “rats” and also enablers of their blood chilling attacks? Are these sympathisers and sponsors indeed remotely or directly responsible for letting the “rats” out of the bag( unleashing Boko Haram on innocent Nigerian)?

Were they also the brains behind the bizarre policy of rehabilitating and reintegrating the so-called surrendered and repentant “rats”( Boko Haram) into the military system-allegedly?

It is imperative to note that the controversial reintegration of program of repentant Boko Haram rats does not sit way with many Nigerians, especially victims of their orgy of violence.

Boko Haram has since given birth to a plethora of other insurgent groups- ISWAP, Ansaru, Lakurawa, Fulani bandits/ kidnappers etc. In most areas of the North, farmers are no longer able to access their farms and travellers no longer move freely on the highways as bandits/kidnappers, Boko Haram, ISWAP, Ansaru, Lakurawa etc have taken over, looting, destroying, maiming and killing.

This brings me to the most mentioned word in Nigeria today: Genocide. According to web dictionary, genocide is defined as “the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation, ethnic group, race, or religion with the aim of destroying that group entirely”. Truth be told, thousands of Nigerians- Muslims, Christians, traditionalists, atheists- have lost their lives in the last 16 years of Islamic armed insurgency in parts of Nigeria yet the country carried on as if all is well. Nobody should blame Christians for crying out and letting the world know what has and still befalling them. Nobody stopped the Muslims from doing the same. So, why complain? That you choose to keep quiet and rather nurse your wound without a whimper is entirely your choice. Christians broke no law or any known national code by voicing out and drawing the attention of America to their woes.

If the American President, Donald Trump says that there is evidence of genocide against Christians in Nigeria he could not be far from the truth; he is correct. Correct because available statistics speak volume. It is obvious that Trump has the data and other vital information at his disposal. For example, records show that over 18,000 churches have been attacked and violated since 2009.In some of the churches in the South( South west mainly) and parts of the North, worshipers have been massacred. The June 5, 2022 Owo, Ondo state Catholic church massacre is still fresh in our minds.

In fairness to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, since assuming of, he has been unrelenting in the fight against terrorism. His recent change of Service Chiefs was perhaps inline with his resolve to strengthen the fight.

I urge the President to be more firm this time around and give Nigerians a new year gift in the form of total eviscration of Boko Haram and other insurgent groups.

From all calculations it’s the nauseating “rat” odor emanating from the activities of the “rats” that was perceived in far away Washington DC thus attracting Trump’s attention. It is a known fact that cats cannot stand the sickening smell of rats and always act swiftly by chasing them out of their known comfort zone. The voice of the big cat resonated and sent shivers down the spines of Afghanistans after the 9/11 2001 horrific terrorist attacks on America.The same senario played out in Iraq and also in Libya. Infact, whenever the cat is let loose things are never the same, the rats either run for cover, are eliminated or commit suicide instead of enduring the lethal claws of the cat. The choice before the rats( Boko Haram and its offshoots) is clear: Immediately end your madness and embrace sanity or have the big, deadly claws of the world’s number one vicious cat( America) to contend with