State. It is, therefore, not in doubt that the admin- istration is in full charge of the entire situation and will eventually rein in the insurgency in due course.
But another dimension was added to the terror war narra- tives when on Wednesday, some national dailies widely reported the call by the leadership of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) on the Federal Government to prosecute for- mer governor of Borno State, Ali Modu Sheriff and erstwhile Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika (rtd) over alleged sponsorship of the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-
East part of the country. While addressing newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday, the National Chair- man of APC, Chief John Odigie- Oyegun reportedly called on the government to hand over Sheriff and Gen. Ihejirika to the Interna- tional Criminal Court (ICC) for investigation and prosecution.
This call was based primarily on the report that the Australian negotiator, Dr. Stephen Davis, hired by the Federal Govern- ment to negotiate with Boko Haram for the release of abduct- ed Chibok girls had last week Thursday named Senator Sheriff and Gen. Ihejirika as sponsors of the terror group. Both Sheriff and Ihejirika had dismissed the allegation. While Sheriff saw the allegation as a ploy by his de- tractors to tarnish his image, Ihe- jirika dismissed former Federal
Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nasir el-Rufai’s claim on the issue. Sheriff had also denied funding the group as incumbent governor and after leaving office.
Just like the APC, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has equally called for an investigation of the weighty allegation. Reacting to the allegation, the ruling Peo- ples Democratic Party (PDP) yes- terday advised the APC to reveal all the facts as presented by Davis. The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, also accused the APC of twisting the claims and observations of Davis to achieve political gains amongst other things.
Without holding brief for any of those mentioned in the allega- tion, it is pertinent that the war against the insurgency is not po- liticized. The problem should be seen as a pan-Nigerian one that should require concerted effort to overcome. I have said it before and I still say it that the blame game in the ongoing war against the insurgents would never yield the desired result. Rather such at- titude to the fight against terrorism will be counter productive and of no effect whatsoever. While I am not against any investigation of the allegation as demanded by some groups, but the matter on its face value should be treated as mere al- legation until proven otherwise.
It should not in any way give room for over-sweeping conclu- sions and the tagging of individu- als as sponsors of the terror group when the veracity of the allegation
is yet to be determined. The APC or any other political party in the country should not hype the mat- ter beyond the allegation that it is from a foreign negotiator. Issues bordering on national security should be left to those adept at handling such matters. This is not the first time some people should be alleged of being sponsors of the Islamic sect and yet at the end of the day it came out to be a ruse. We should be careful in categoriz- ing people and institutions based on allegations of this sort. The labelling of people unjustifiably based on allegations should be dis- carded because it will not help in the fight against terrorism in the country.
To Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, who waged a relentless battle against the insurgents until he re- tired as the Chief of Army Staff, the recent allegation of being one of the sponsors of the very in- surgents he fought against would appear highly irreconcilable. It is like standing truth on its head hence his immediate dismissal of the allegation. It is paradoxical that the same Ihejirika who was accused by the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) sometime ago of al- leged human rights abuses in the prosecution of the war on terror- ism is the same person being al- leged as its sponsor.
Do the two differing positions on the same issue add up to some- thing believable or is somebody somewhere trying to stoke un- necessary controversy in the na- tion’s task to rid the North-East of
insurgency? How can somebody of Ihejirika’s pedigree in the na- tion’s Armed Forces, a Christian from the South-East, be named as a sponsor of Boko Haram, a sect that is fighting to establish its own form of Islamic theocracy in some parts of the country? What, if I may ask those propounding this theory of conspiracy, does he stand to gain in such proposition? Are not some people playing out a script to tar Ihejirika black and impugn his hard-earned reputa- tion as an outstanding military officer since earlier attempt to drag him to ICC was not convinc- ing and did not succeed? I can recall that during the NEF’s vow to drag Ihejirika to ICC over his alleged role in Bama and Giwa Barracks in Borno State while fighting Boko Haram, the former Army Chief had said then that the northern elders’ statement was ill- conceived and based on misinfor- mation. This can probably explain why he has dismissed the current allegation outright.
Therefore, Nigerians should avoid any distractions in its war against all forms of insurgency in the country. They should wear their thinking caps and come out with strategies that will contribute meaningfully to overcoming the war against terrorism. Nigerians should rally round the security agents in their resolve to rid the country of insurgents. Let us dis- sipate more energy on how to win the war than engaging in strange tales and blame game that may worsen the situation at hand.
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APC, Ihejirika and alleged sponsorship of insurgency |
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