The news of a ceasefire deal between the federal government and Boko Haram is turning out to be another hoax, writes Senior Correspondent, ISHAYA IBRAHIM.
The federal government (FG), on October 16, took the Islamic fundamentalist sect, Boko Haram, for its word, despite its antecedent of lies, and announced that it has signed a ceasefire deal with the murderous outfit. The deal was reached at a meeting in Ndjamena, the capital of Chad, between the Principal Secretary to President Goodluck Jonathan, Hassan Tukur; a representative of Boko Haram, Danladi Ahmadu; and a representative of the Chadian government.
miliThe insurgents had in April invaded Chibok, Borno State, and kidnapped over 200 schoolgirls said to be writing examination then. The release of the schoolgirls was said to be hanging in the alleged negotiation between the FG and Boko Haram leadership.
Special Adviser to the President on Public Affairs, Doyin Okupe, said, as part of the agreement, a significant number of the kidnapped Chibok girls would be released by the sect, though he did not specify when.
“A batch of them will be released shortly, and this will be followed by further actions from Boko Haram,” he said.
Apparently excited by the development, Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshall Alex Badeh, reportedly directed his troops to halt further assault on the terrorists.
“Without any prejudice to the outcome of our three-day interaction and the conclusion of this forum, I wish to inform this audience that a ceasefire agreement has been concluded between the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Jama’atu Ahlul Sunna Li Dawaati Wal Jihad (Boko Haram).
“I have accordingly directed the service chiefs to ensure immediate compliance with this development in the field,” he said.
The announcement came to many as a surprise. Analysts had, for instance, argued that Boko Haram actually started the hostility against the Nigerian state, and ought to be the party to declare the ceasefire. Professor Ademola Abass, Head of African Centre for Peace and Security Training in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, stressed that it was curious that the FG made the declaration.
“If the government did not start the fire against Boko Haram, how come it is the one declaring a ceasefire?” he queried.
Incidentally, there were no comments from the sect confirming the deal. The group, if anything, has earned a sorry reputation for itself as a dubious outfit, with no known ideology, principle or cause. Its campaign of terror spares no one – clergy, women, children, villagers, health workers, teachers, everyone.
It has never shown any accommodation for compromise, and has a track record for deception.
In November 2012, an obscure man, Abu Mohammed Ibn Abdulaziz, claiming to be second-in-command to the sect’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, told journalists in a telephone conference that they wanted peace talks with the FG, to be brokered by former Head of State, Muhammadu Buhari, and other people it termed “trusted” Nigerians.
Though Buhari rejected his nomination and distanced himself from the gang, the manner the negotiation was proposed was inconsistent with Boko Haram’s modus operandi. For instance, the name Abu Mohammed Ibn Abdulaziz had never featured, until that day, as a figure in Boko Haram’s ranks.
Known faces of Boko Haram at the time of the purported peace offer were Shekau and Abu Qaqa. The duo always featured on Boko Haram’s propaganda videos. Using one of them to transmit the peace message would have made a lot of sense, than an unknown Abdulaziz.
Boko Haram’s use of telephone conference to brief the media was suspect, when everyone knows that its preferred mode of communication has always been the YouTube video.
Also, early in July 2013, the chairman of the Presidential Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges in the North, Tanimu Turaki, said his committee had secured a ceasefire deal with Boko Haram.
“We have been having painstaking meetings with the leadership of Boko Haram, and like most of you must have heard, the directive for ceasefire that was given on tape, basically, they took into account the sincerity of the committee which is, by necessary implication also, the sincerity of the president, regarding resolving the issue of insecurity in the North.
“Number two; unlike their thinking that the committee was meant to serve as a trap for them, they also realised that not only is the committee very sincere, government, and indeed Mr. President, is also very sincere about the issue,” he said.
But while the so-called ceasefire deal was being worked out, elements of Boko Haram were busy attacking the Government Secondary School, Mamudo, in Yobe State, killing 42 pupils on July 6, 2013; most of the victims were boys between the ages of 10 and 15.
The purported ceasefire deal between the Nigerian government and the extremist sect, on October 16, followed the same flawed pattern.
Ahmed Salkida, a journalist with high profile contacts among the Boko Haram sect, said the ceasefire is a ruse.
On his tweeter handle, he said: “I guess Nigerians are tired and, as such, any news that offers respite on this protracted war between Nigeria and Boko Haram is always welcome.
“Sadly, anybody that dismissed such good news becomes Nigeria’s enemy. But the leadership of Boko Haram are said to be miffed that a nation of the profile and magnitude of Nigeria, with high level of intelligent people, is being easily encased in deceit, and nobody seems to be asking tough questions.
“What is most worrying here is, government at the highest level and the intelligence formations in Nigeria have embraced this ‘good news’. This shows lack of understanding of the reality that this is an ideology that can only be neutralised after long hard work that is yet to start. It also appears that government is more interested in shadows and bubbles than in substance and clear-headed engagement with the Boko Haram ideology. May God help Nigeria!”
Shehu Sani, an activist that has been involved in negotiation with Boko Haram, also doubted the story, saying that his contacts in the sect have denied knowing any Ahmadu, the purported Boko Haram representative.
“All my attempts to confirm the ceasefire deal did not produce any result. My sources are telling me that they don’t know who that person is. Any statement that is not coming from the leader of the group cannot be said to be credible and will not be complied with by the group members,” he said.
Sani’s submission also raised another poser. Is Shekau still alive? This is because Sani’s statement – “the leader is the only person they respect and listen to” – can only mean the dreaded Shekau.
But based on the account of the Nigerian military, Shekau is dead; so also is Bashir Mohammed, the man they said had been doubling Shekau. The military also dismissed a video in which Shekau claimed he was alive, saying it was either pre-recorded or doctored.
Salkida has dismissed the reported killing of Shekau, saying the Boko Haram top shot was hale and hearty.
His words: “Mark my words; I have it on authority that Shekau is well and alive. The picture going round is not the person who torments us with his group.”
It is now more difficult to believe which side is telling the truth between the Nigerian government and Boko Haram. But one fact is certain: whatever peace deal government reached with Boko Haram has collapsed.
This is because a few days after the purported truce, Boko Haram attacked Damboa community in Borno State, killing as many people it came across. The military responded and claimed that it killed 25 insurgents.
But public affairs analyst, Ogubundu Nwadike, said there is nothing to worry about, as such attacks are not unexpected in a complex negotiation with Boko Haram.
“In the circumstance, government is doing what it should about resolving the Boko Haram insurgency. That entails government negotiating from a flexible stand.
“Compromise can’t be ruled out. In fact, compromise is inevitable. We must not forget that it is a systemic process that will subsist for a long time; even if there is a truce, discussion continues.
“It does not matter if it is government that initiates the ceasefire. It is a wise sacrifice; it must make for national peace and unity. It is not out of place for Boko Haram leaders to dive in and out of the negotiation, just as it is not contradictory that the JTF (Joint Task Force) is killing more insurgents in the wake of the publicised ceasefire. The return of peace to Nigeria and the release of the Chibok girls should be paramount,” he said.
With the apparent collapse of the purported ceasefire deal even before take-off, there have been concerns on the ease at which virtually all the measures put forward to rein in the outlawed sect hit the rocks.
On May 17, for example, West African leaders agreed that Boko Haram was a common enemy, and hence pledged to work together to wage “total war” against it. The leaders took the decision in Paris, France, following the abduction of the Chibok girls.
The Paris meeting had been advertised as having the potential of changing the tide in the fight against insurgency. But in audacious response, the Islamists started series of attacks to press home their point.
The first attack was at a drinking bar in Kano on May 18. On that day, the terrorists loaded explosives in a car and rammed it there, killing five people, including the suicide bomber. The incident occurred in Sabon Gari area of the state.
On May 20, less than 48 hours after the Kano blast, the terrorists killed another 118 people at a busy market in Jos, Plateau State. Jos, incidentally, is more notorious for its religious and ethnic strife than Boko Haram attacks.
The ferocity of the attacks continued the following day, May 21, this time; it was in its usual operational environment – Borno State. There, 19 villagers were killed by the Islamists in Alagarno, a village near Chibok, the scene of the mass abduction. Witnesses said the sect fighters spent hours killing and looting without a response from the Nigerian military.
The attacks, curiously, came at a time the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China, Canada and Israel had deployed military assets to help locate the missing school girls. The onslaughts were also recorded when Nigerian neighbours, including Chad, Niger and Cameroon, had vowed to weed out Boko Haram elements operating in the fringes of their countries.
What is not certain is the new antic by the sect in the aftermath of the advertised truce by the FG that has obviously turned out a hoax. While the government, for instance, enthused on the prospects of a peace deal with the insurgents, media reports indicated that 40 ladies were abducted from Waga Mongoro District of Madagali Local Government Area of Adamawa State, few days ago. The villages affected included Mbororo, Moda, Kwabapale, Villag, Wa, Vi, Boka, Tilli, Murvwa, Wurogayandi, Mai and Wandu. Others are Futu, Yambele and Wat.
The insurgents were also said to have used the abducted ladies as human shields during counter-attacks by the Nigerian troops.
Critics blame the government for falling easily to decoys from the terrorists, attributing the trend to failure of intelligence. Onome Ezekiel, a security expert, accused the government of being hasty in “dropping its guard” in dealing with the sect.
“This is dangerous. It does not speak well of our intelligence capabilities. No matter how remorseful one’s enemy may appear, it does not warrant embracing him immediately. This is why the authorities in advanced countries would tell you that they do not negotiate with terrorists. But here, I think the government is always too hasty in dropping its guard against Boko Haram, maybe because it wants to end the hostilities too soon. But with the latest development, I hope the authorities may have learnt their lessons”, he said.
