The fears entertained by some Nigerians on the worrisome open romance and tolerance of insurgents and bandits by Vice President Kashim Shettima, when President Ahmed Tinubu chose him as his running mate, is appearing justified with his recent recommendation on how best to handle these murderous groups.
Shettima’s antidote for ending the protracted war against insurgency and banditry is the very same reason that the effort of the federal government has been unsuccessful till date.
Those who like Shettima have continued to compare the Late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s amnesty approach to Niger Delta militants to the problem of the north east and north west, are only being smart by half. They are being mischievous and insincere. In the case of Niger Delta militancy, it is the failure of successive governments to address their cry of environmental degradation of their farmland and waters. What will the sympathisers of Boko Haram and bandits say is their grouse against the government and people of the country?
Unfortunately, Shettima is the vice president and in a pivotal position to shape the pattern to be adopted by the Tinubu government in the fight against these murderers. And sadly too, as vice president he still holds that patronizing and misguided belief that the federal government should adopt the carrot and stick approach.
Just one question for Vice President Shettima and his likes, with all the carrots they have been indulging these killers with, what positive fruits have these so far yielded?
Recall that on being sworn in May 29, 2015 for a second term as Governor of Borno State, Shettima, said his administration would lobby the new federal government of President Muhammadu Buhari to consider granting amnesty to the militants.
As usual, Shettima who would never hesitate to blame Goodluck Jonathan as the fall guy, referred to that regime as “a hostile Federal Government, which lived in denial about the savagery of Boko Haram and which also saw the insurgency from the most perverted, narrow and irresponsible prism, that somehow, the insurgency had been fuelled against it, by the political and other elite of this part of Nigeria.”
Celebrating the coming of Buhari, he also said, “With our votes, we threw out a government at the centre, which did not work in the national interest and have now voted into power, President Muhammadu Buhari.”
Mr. Shettima said the people of Borno now have the opportunity to put their problems before a “listening president, who would be willing to assist us with utmost dispatch, to accelerate our development.”
He promised an all-inclusive “growth that would focus on reconciliation, rehabilitation and reconstruction – the three Rs.”
After eight years of enjoying the presence of a listening president and a government of their choice which they all dubiously brought to office, Shettima is still asking for carrots for the bandits, even when they all know that our farms have been taken over by Boko Haram and their bandits cousins, where will these endless carrots be sourced from?
Meanwhile, Shettima as governor of Borno State sabotaged and frustrated Jonathan’s administration in its effort to curb insecurity in Borno State. He failed to act on a security report and directive to close schools in remote parts of Borno State and relocate students to the more secure capital of Maiduguri to write their GCE examinations; thus creating the opening for the abduction of school girls in Chibok, Borno State.
And as though to reward the principal of the school after the abduction, the principal of the school was subsequently appointed as a commissioner in Borno State by Shettima; a development many considered as a compensation for her alleged role in the abduction.
He and his likes, for political expediency, nurtured insurgency to scandalise Jonathan and vote in a president of northern extraction. The least of their worries was the state of the nation. They saw everything through the narrow prism of tribe and religion. In fact, they gleefully told the world that Boko Haram insurgency was their own specimen of Niger Delta militancy and OPC in the south west.
Last week, during a visit to commiserate with the people of Kano over the passing of elder statesman Alhaji Abubakar Imam Galadanci, the vice president said the administration will unveil an initiative to address insurgency and poverty, among other challenges confronting Nigerians, especially those living in the northern region.
Hear him: “Unless we want to engage in an endless war of attrition, there cannot be a military solution to the crisis in the northwest. There has to be a kinetic and non-kinetic solution.
“In the next couple of weeks, we will unveil the Pulaku solution which will address the grievances and social exclusion of our Fulfulde cousins in the northwest and also towards addressing the root causes of all the banditry and insurgency in the nation.”
Mr Vice President, how about the satanic exclusion of the igbo and other groups in the southern and middle belt areas?
Shettima sincerely believes that terrorism and banditry in Northern Nigeria is “accentuated by poverty” and “social exclusion?”
When these monsters were rearing their ugly heads, what did the elite do to nip it in the bud? Was it not the same elite from the north who accused the Jonathan regime of trying to wipe-out their youths in the guise of fighting terrorism?
It was the same sentiments that propelled the then opposition presidential candidate, Buhari to ask for amnesty for murderers whose cause not any of them would define and explain to the nation or be prepared to be identified with in the open. Now these monsters have outgrown their creators and everybody except those who nurtured them are to be blamed. The entire nation’s wealth would be wasted placating bloodthirsty murderers even at the expense of their victims, including our unfortunate soldiers who are encumbered in their efforts by a half-hearted political class and elite, especially from the north.
When Shettima talks about poverty in the region is he trying to attribute insecurity to poverty? Are these insurgents and militants really poor? How can poor insurgents down a NAF jet on 18 July 2021, which led to its crash in Zamfara State. How can a poor group fight a nation for so long?
Or when he talks about poverty is he referring to the mass of poor youths who are readily available as recruits along the region? Both ways, their elite are to blame. It’s the resultant effect of denying the people quality education just to subjugate them and have them do their bidding at all times that is responsible for this. What does it cost to provide education to millions of people? Is it anything near the millions and billions their elite spend in politics and book launch, etc?
The real solution to banditry and insurgency lies with the elite of the region. Their hypocrisy must be addressed for what it truly is. They send their children abroad to Ivy League institutions while they build mosques and other worship centres for the poor. They indulge in profligacy around the globe while their misguided Hisbah police is busy chasing the unfortunate children of the poor for one offence or the other in the name of Shariah jurisprudence.
In March 2021, ex-presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, said the Federal Government declared no-fly-zone in Zamfara State because private aircraft were being used to supply weapons to criminal gangs that kidnap for ransom. He also said the choppers were used to evacuate gold and illegally smuggled out of the country.
Are these trappings or evidence of poverty? Shettima and his likes must provide answers.
In July 2020, Ali Ndume, senator representing Borno south, kicked against the reintegration of ex-Boko Haram fighters into the society, saying that they would never repent.
Recently, Auwal Daudawa, a bandit leader in Zamfara, who masterminded the abduction of over 300 students in neighbouring Katsina State went back to the trenches about three months after his celebrated repentance.
To win this war, President Tinubu must heed Ndume’s advice. With all the money (if you like carrots) so far given to bandits to stop their senseless killings, of what effect were they? While the rest of the nation cried against Buhari’s reintegration of these killers in the course of the war, they insisted and we are still alive to witness the futility of that approach. We must empower our military and allow them to do what they know how to do best; rout these criminals from wherever they are found in the country, without interference from politicians especially those within the corridors of power like Shettima.
