Predictably, all the right things have been said about the need for greater international support to shut down Boko Haram’s weapons and funding supply. After last week’s summit, Nigeria and its regional allies have belatedly recognised the need for a more coordinated approach to curb the funding and logistics of the terrorist group.
This is all very well and good. So let us start walking the talk. About time too! This is because the insurgents are now striking at the very heart of Nigeria’s existence as a corporate entity. They have gone beyond mere insurgency to territorial acquisition. They are now encircling the North East of Nigeria and have developed clearly formulated expansionist strategies.
The time has now come for collective action. And not just regionally. At home, the political formations have to unite and show a collective resolve. This is because we have moved on from what appeared to have started as a ‘low-intensity’ skirmish. It is now a full scale war. This is why there must be a national agreement to separate the fight against Boko Haram from political brinkmanship as well as the 2015 general elections.
Elections, after all, only matter if there is a coherent well defined territory to govern over. The key element here has been correctly defined as Boko Haram’s source of funding. Their funding must be curtailed and eventually cut off. The main obstacle here is Nigeria’s weak institutions. Both the taxation service organisation and the financial payments system are clearly not aligned to tracking down the flow and movement of illicit cash to the terrorists.
Key organisations will now have to be retooled and in the process aligned to the new realities. Where necessary, a raft of new legislation will have to be fast-tracked through the National Assembly. This is important because the blood thirsty terrorists are certainly gaining ground. This means that their source of acquiring sophisticated weaponry and logistics coordination have to be checkmated.
In this way, Nigeria’s Armed Forces can play catch up, for Boko Haram has gone up from just having AK-47s, ammunition and bombs. Moving up the weaponry ladder they now have machine guns mounted on trucks, anti-aircraft and anti-tank guns. We can only speculate as to what they will acquire next. In contradistinction, the Nigerian Armed Forces are hamstrung by a procurement system directed in favour of pilfering, misallocation and misapplication as opposed to operational effectiveness and service welfare.
In addition, Nigeria has to work out the protocols which will enable the United States government to share intelligence with our armed forces and our government. This is a complicated process. For a start, trust has to be re-established. No one is going to share intelligence if there is a perception that it will be leaked and in the process jeopardise their own positions. Further, legislative assent has to be obtained. We must do the necessary now with all deliberate speed.
Finally, there is a lot to be said about the admirable determination shown by all over the Ebola crisis. For a welcome change, partisan mudslinging has been set aside. A coherent national response has also been worked out. This response is proving to be effective. It is this sort of template that is required to fight Boko Haram in particular and terrorism in general. In actual fact, if we want to save the country there is no alternative.
