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The Goodluck Jonathan administration, mistakenly viewed the Boko Haram insurgency through the narrow prism of partisan politics. It was interpreted as the North’s response to loss of power. The blunder was highlighted by then NSA, Owoye Azazi, while speaking in Asaba the Delta state capital, on the occasion of the south-south economic summit in April 2012, attempted to link the Boko Haram insurgency to the power struggle within the PDP, by muddling up the terror group’s activities with the post-election violence. Goodluck Jonathan was apparently fixated on this narrative that for a long time, he treated the issue politically, by being none too committal to finding a lasting solution to the insurgency. He simply viewed it as self-inflicted crisis aimed at discrediting his administration. This impression by the presidency was largely responsible for the non-implementation of Amb Usman Gaji Galtimari report, which substantially addressed the remote and near causes as well as short and long term solutions to the problem. The gross misunderstanding of the Boko Haram terror group was also responsible for the initial doubts expressed by the Jonathan presidency about the abduction of the Chibok girls, from their dormitories by the terror group.
However, the blame for the misunderstanding of the Boko Haram terror group is not entirely that of the Jonathan presidency. The larger Muslim community in Nigeria helped, in no small measure to adding to the confusion by consistently denouncing members of the sect as non-Muslims. The living in denial by the Muslim community in Nigeria compounded the issue immensely. A ridiculous conspiracy theory was even evolved which was widely believed by many to the effect that enemies of Islam, possibly aided and abetted by the Jonathan presidency was responsible for the Boko Haram insurgency to give the religion of Islam a bad image. The resentment of Jonathan by the northern political establishment, also added to the cacophony of confusing voices. The inability of the Jonathan presidency to reign in the insurgent group successfully was politically capitalized to ridicule the administration as incompetent. Even the various military operations and strategy to curb to spiralling menace of the group were either interpreted as punitive or genocide against the north by reducing their population to give demographic electoral advantage to the south. Nigeria simply could not form a consensus of opinion on a common enemy, due to our deep fault lines.
The resurgence of the Boko Haram terror group, under a Northern Muslim Presidency of Muhammadu Buhari has shattered all the myths and reveals the various conspiracy theories as mere fallacies that have obscured the true nature and motives of one of the deadliest groups in the world. Within a fort night, two army battalion commanders were ambushed and killed in Borno with frequent suicide bombings claiming civilian lives. It is becoming clearer that Boko Haram does not fit into any of the beliefs long held by different stakeholders. Boko Haram is not Islamic but Muslim. It is a Muslim problem which can only be solved by Muslims in the short and long term, by reforming and doing away with poisonous doctrines which is at the roots of radical Islam. Boko Haram came about as result of entrenched and sustained intolerant and violent doctrine which is not only found in deviant Muslim sects like Boko Haram, but in main stream Muslim theology. The seeds of radical Islam were sown in main stream Islam and it is still being nurtured by some mainstream Islamic authorities who share the same aspiration of Islamic rule in Nigeria and this have created a critical mass of millions of Nigerian Muslims that are latently radicalized with the potential of easy recruitment by the terror group. The Boko Haram insurgents are only putting to practice what has been taught and imbibed over a long period of time. Northern Nigeria is a fertile soil for nurturing the seeds of radicalization because of the pervasive revivalist Islamist sentiments that pervades the entire environment. This region was part of the historic western Sudan, where violent Islamic revivalist and reform movements thrived and continues to thrive. Modern day groups like Boko Haram, draw inspirations from earlier and successful Jihadi movements especially the Uthman Ibn Fodio Jihad of 1804, which established the Sokoto Caliphate over a large part of northern Nigeria. Boko Haram is group driven by ideology. The aim of the group is establish a Muslim theocracy over Nigeria, an aspiration shared by millions of Nigerian Muslims who are not even members of the sect. The concept of Caliphacy; a successor state to that of the Holy Prophet Muhammad PBUH is the major driving force of radical Islam. The caliphate system have never been achieved successfully because it is not Islamic but a Muslim invention which has been a source of acrimony among even Muslims, leading to bloodshed and eventual schism into the Sunni/Shia divides. Muslims should understand that Islam is an empire of faith and not a religious hegemony to be presided over by one man. In a multi religious country like Nigeria, sharia faith and not sharia law should be imbibed and practiced by Muslims. Sharia faith should reflect in the individual lives of Muslims as the true successors of the Prophet, by being obedient to Allah in doing good and abstaining from vice. Nigeria cannot and should not be a country of multiple legal systems. Nigeria is a constitutional democracy which guarantees freedom of religion with additional safe guards against violation of rights of Muslims to worship freely. Nigerians should submit to constituted authority, law and order.
•Concluded
