latest
In this fresh piece, Okanga Agila from
Benue state writes on the recent feat by officials of the Department of State
Service (DSS) against Boko Haram elements in Nigeria.
He writes extensively on the arrest of five Islamic State (ISIS)-linked
Boko Haram terrorists (BHTs) without the use of bomb and guns like the United
State of America did in Afghanistan.
Ending terrorism without bombs and guns by Okanga Agila
Recent incidents in the Security Power
House of the anti-terrorism campaigns in Nigeria galvanized my interest. The
Department of State Security Service (DSS) arrested some five Islamic State
(ISIS)-linked Boko Haram Terrorists (BHTs) in obscure Benue state and the FCT,
Abuja end of last month, while plotting atrocities.
The recurrent arrests of fleeing remnants
of terrorists in different parts of the country have persisted for months,
since soldiers collapsed Sambisa forest in Borno state, Northeast Nigeria.
It is unmistakable, the DSS operations
leading to the earlier and latest arrests abundantly proclaims and begs for a
shift focus in the anti-terrorism war.
Terror war now should transcend the
boundaries of military bombs and guns. Terrorists are a scattered camp now and
this is the pertinence conveyed to all of us by these arrests. It leans on the
timely sensitization of Nigerians of the necessity to blend the gulf between
artillery gunfire and the adoption of the olive branch as an alternative means
of finally ending terrorism.
No Nigerian has a modicum of doubt about
the defeat of terrorism in Nigeria by the Nigerian troops. The world is aware
of this unalterable reality, with respected world leaders and institutions
paying the rare accolades to the Nigerian Government and troops.
But as I have always maintained, terrorism
battles manifest in varying nuances.
The first approach of battlefield confrontations
as done by the Nigerian Army is necessary to decapitate and defeat them, to
minimize the scale of their exhibition of violent, blood-thirsty instincts,
manifest in the mass murders of innocent people.
Boko Haram terrorists and their agents have
also engaged the Nigerian state in cyberspace terrorism in the past, but
defeated too.
Luckily for us, an astute soldier and
helmsman of the counter-insurgency war and Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS)
Lt. Gen. Tukur Yusufu Buratai detected all the dimensions of the terrorism war
on Nigeria, which initially required aggressive combativeness and tackled them
effectively. Now the anti-terrorism war has migrated to a different level.
We know the remnants of fleeing Boko Haram terrorists have infused
into the larger society and have been arrested scores of times by security
agents in Abuja and Lagos.
Security intelligence reports disclose that
these terrorists operating under cover are spreading tentacles in their secrecy,
more out of fear, than bravery, in parts of Nigeria.
And when an opportunity renders itself,
they strike a bomb or are caught in the act by our vigilant security forces.
And what interests me more is listening to
the confessions of these fleeing terrorists, who are arrested by security
agents. In the tone of their voices, confessions and physique, they admit in
lucid terms of how they were lured, charmed and influenced by all manner of
inordinate things to unconsciously enlist in the terrorism war of the Boko
Haram sect.
To put it bluntly, stitches of recent
investigations on some captured terrorists commanders disclose in unambiguous
terms that they are still engaged in an involuntary fight and that much as they
love to surrender earlier before their capture, the fear of the Army and what
happens if they dare to surrender extinguished the desire to relinquish the
devious act.
READ ALSO: Fayose's aide spots a hidden detail on recovered cash which
will leave you puzzled (photo)
The few survivors speak of weakness in
spirit, body and soul to continue with terrorism.
And some are still out in secret hideouts,
plotting this evil on their fatherland, but ready to surrender, if the
appropriate platform is raised.
Obviously, having stayed too long in the
trenches, the veil has been cleared off their eyes.
They were hoodwinked and misled by soulless
terrorists-colleagues and ex-commanders, who lured them into this ignominious
path of life, but who have either been killed in the battlefield or are on the
run themselves.
But I don’t think it is entirely correct to
allow this scenario to persist.
The civil populace in Nigeria, the Nigerian
Army and the DSS can evolve more strategies to woo into willful surrender the
few terrorists still in the trenches/hideouts.
At the peak of the battlefield encounters, scores of them surrendered
and I feel, with the defeat of terrorism now, the template has been clearly
more defined for them to turn-in themselves, if genuinely persuaded.
We must not forget the simple human
psychology that no man fights a losing battle and that is the position and
status of the residues of Boko Haram insurgents.
And they are aware of this immutable
reality. It is everybody’s duty to unload this psychological burden, fears and
inhibitions preventing these terrorists from walking the noble and dignified
path of self-surrender.
We must deliberately cause it happen and it
is neither a difficult nor an expensive task.
It is my ultimate conviction, like millions
of other Nigerians that having defeated terrorism, President Buhari’s body
language shows his interest in the life of these careless Nigerians who were
ignorantly deceived into these fake Islamic ideologies.
Moreso, as most of them were compelled and
forced into bloodletting as terrorism based on voodoo powers beyond their
comprehension and control.
As Nigerians, I am sure, we shall be doing
the bidding of true religion and gladden the heart of God Almighty, if we do
not only unconditionally allow terrorists ready to repent of their old ways to
do so freely, but also erect a platform that would assure them of their unencumbered
liberty when they eventually succumb as expected.
To this end, I did like to suggest some
working panaceas or tips that might be useful.
The Nigerian Secret Police in alliance with
the Nigerian Army should work out a strategic action plan, imbued with credible
witnesses and trusted facilitators to assist in anchoring the new deal of
seeing to the surrender of these tired terrorists commanders and renunciation
of their awkward and evil ideologies.
The package should also necessarily include
granting an unpretentious and sincere amnesty to these repented terrorists and
adherence to it.
The civil populace in Nigeria, especially
civil society organizations and human rights bodies should also step up
sensitization campaigns to convince the remnants of terrorists about the
sincerity of government to accord them unconditional liberty when they
surrender.
In fact, it behooves on every Nigerian and lover of peace, to become
the self-appointed crusader of this cause.
We have reached a stage in the
anti-terrorism war, where I feel these soft and non-combative means of tackling
the vestiges of terrorism is more lucrative and would help us better as a
people and a nation.
It is germane for us as a people to finally
end the war against terrorism without dust and the fury of the sounds of guns
by disconnecting them from their sources of nourishment in terrorism.
And the best time to deploy these
strategies is now that Boko Haram camp is in disarray. It will be foolhardy for
us to allow this opportunity slip off our hands and thus, create the room for
these terrorists, out of desperation, to again strike new alliances with evil
souls who intend to use them for mischief ends.
It will expose our amazing internal
strength in overcoming our worse moments in life. Time to finally end terrorism
without the force of bombs and guns is now. We should wake up from the slumber
and act accordingly.
The views and opinions expressed here are
those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or
position of NAIJTUTS.com
Your own opinion articles are welcome at
info@corp.naij.com— drop an email telling us what you want to write about and
why.
We’re ready to trade your news for our
money: submit news and photo reports from your area using our Citizen Journalism App.
Contact us if you have any feedback,
suggestions, complaints or compliments. We are also available on Facebook and
Twitter.
Watch this NAIJTUTS.com video of stories of Boko
Haram survivors below:
0 Comments:
You can subscribe to our e-mail