War Against Terror: Nigeria Needs Foreign Assistance

 By Emeka Alex Duru

A significant prayer point among the Igbo is that challenges do not force one to seek favours from an enemy. The supplication is deep. Seeking assistance from one’s enemy is an extreme point in desperation and fraught with uncertainties.

If it is turned down, the supplicant is left with shame; if answered, it is like drinking from a poisoned chalice in which the beneficiary, if ever he survives, is perpetually beholden to the questionable benefactor. It is dicey, from whatever angle it is looked at. A Nollywood flick of the early 1990’s, titled Living in Bondage, offers an analogy here.

 In the first part of the drama, the star actor, Andy (Kenneth Okonkwo), in desperate urge to acquire wealth, was introduced to a cult group which assured him of getting rich on condition that he sacrificed his beautiful wife, Merit. After initial hesitation, Andy caved in and money came his way. But he did not have peace of mind. He ended up running mad and ate from the bins. The joy of the richness he had dreamed of, ended up short lived. His condition became worse than it was before he embarked on the deadly mission.

That is what is currently playing out in the hide-and-seek game Nigeria is playing with terrorists. In a bid to attain momentary breather, save face, appear to be in charge and advertise a fleeting impression of responsiveness to the ordeals of traumatized citizens in the hands of terrorists, the Nigerian authorities have unwittingly yielded the country to criminal elements. From all indications, terrorists have taken over. 

They dictate the pace while Nigeria tags along, living at their mercy and whims. More than any other time, developments surrounding the recovery of the 38 Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) worshippers abducted in Eruku, Kwara State, 51 out of the missing students of the Catholic School in Niger State and 24 students of the Government Comprehensive Girls Secondary School, Maga, in Danko Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State, confirm the extent of advantage the terrorists have over the country.

 Though the federal government lacks the face to say it, Nigerians know that various ranges of ransom must have been paid to secure the release of the abductees. Viral video clips of the criminals mocking the government for begging them to re lease the 24 Kebbi school girls is a pointer to what must have happened on the Kwara issue. But what rankles more is the statement credited to the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, on why the kid nappers of the CAC worshippers were not arrested. Egbetokun was quoted to have said that the abductors were not nabbed because they assisted in negotiations for the release of the hostages. Horrible in deed! The tepid explanation summarizes the despondency in the land, particularly coming from the head of an institution that should be looked upon for security and succour.

By succumbing to the terms and antics of the terrorists, Nigeria has played fully into their hands and fallen for their game. The end to the blackmail thus remains far. Terrorism is ideological. It entails the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The agenda is to instill fear, wide spread insecurity and render victims vulnerable.

Terrorists leverage fear as a strategic tool to influence decision makers. This is why it is dangerous to negotiate with them or their sponsors. Terrorists operate on the framework of entitlement. They are blackmailers and do not keep to their terms but rather ask for more concessions. They can hardly be appeased or bought off. Terrorists only yield to the language of force and superior firepower. The day the Nigerian government shrunk to the point of negotiating with terrorists for the release of its abducted citizens was the day it traded off whatever remained of its claims to legitimacy over the affairs of the nation. For those faulty steps, the country should brace up for more embarrassments, more blackmail and more assaults from criminals of all hues.

Bandits, terrorists, insurgents or whatever names they bear, are like soulless gods that cannot be appeased. They must always make demands that the government must attend to if only to keep them momentarily at bay. This has opened another conduit for frittering the nation’s resources. More worrisome is that with the hoodlums being pampered, Nigeria can no longer lay sufficient claims to being in charge and control of its citizens and territory.

In that regard, the propagan da by high officials of the state and commissioned commentators against the United States (US) classification of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) is mere engagement in effusions without substance. That a coterie of ragtag non-state actors could easily take on many parts of the country and render its entire security network utterly dis organized is enough indication that the system is in bad shape. 

In fact, Nigeria, as presently constituted and governed, has shown to lack the capacity to protect itself and citizens. This is unfortunate. I can now clearly appreciate an off-the-record confession by a former Head of State who saw action during the 1967-1970 civil war that but for lack of effective naval power, the gallant forces of the defunct Republic of Biafra would have overrun the rest of the of the country in a matter of weeks after the outbreak of hostilities.

To get itself out of the present embarrassment in the hands of terrorists, Nigeria needs con structive thinking and strategic alliances, not the juvenile tantrums from loose presidential aides. These are distracters and hangers on who do not understand the magnitude of challenges assailing the country.

Nigeria of today is literally on its fours and its sovereignty under huge stress. Whatever that can be done without com promising its statehood should be grabbed with open arms. The situation on ground does not permit rootless grandstanding but proactive statesmanship. A system needs to be on its feet before asserting its prestige, if ever it exists. The very thought of a disintegrated Nigeria conjures a picture of awfulness. Given its strategic importance in West Africa and the African continent, a fragmented Nigeria portends dire consequences for its citizens and international community. Realities on ground are grim and clear that Nigeria under its current leadership and configuration is overwhelmed by the menace of terrorists and other hideous elements.

This is why the offer of support by the United States in taming the merchants of instability is in order and the best way to go. Pretending that external assistance is not required in confronting the challenge while the country keeps going down amounts to hiding behind a finger. It is high time President Tinubu brushed aside whatever sentiments as sociated with the so-called national pride and welcomed the initiative by Washington to get the roughnecks off our necks. It is instructive that America is not contemplating or suggesting invasion of Nigeria but strategic intervention to contain the widening dimensions of terrorist activities in the country. The proposed intervention neither poses a threat to the national security nor the sovereignty of the nation.

*Duru is a commentator on public issues ( nwaukpala@yahoo.com)