… Where is YWCA, FOMWAN and what the clerics preached?
The two villagers asked the same question at the same time: how many Boko Harams were killed?
The two had patiently waited for me to finish eulogizing the Nigerian military; how they gallantly swooped on Sambisa Forest, from the Konduga side and made nonsense of the Boko Haram strongholds, before they bravely freed the latest batch of 243 women and children on Thursday.
I naturally pretended I didn’t hear their question; as I boldly proceeded to celebrate how the fearless Nigerian soldiers had, not too long ago, swooped on another side of Sambisa forest, ruthlessly turned it upside down, before freeing the first batch of 293 girls and women. Only to be followed, soon after, with another batch of over 160 women, also freed!
Again, they asked: “How many Boko Harams were killed?!”, even as one added; “and how many were arrested?”:
Villagers have peculiar ways of looking at things, that sometimes, may be unnerving: if I told them 20, they would want to know if it was just for 20 untrained, ragtag youths that I was celebrating the army for. If I said they killed less, it would look like the gallant military men merely walked into the bush, found stranded girls and women; and encouraged them out! Was that what happened? Why are we hiding vital information and leaving several lose ends hanging?
If you were in my position, what would you tell them?
Yet, in all these, no one has told us the roles of the two groups who should be most ‘up and doing’ by now: the Young Christians Women Association (YWCA) and the Federation of Muslims Women Association of Nigeria (FOMWAN).
What did the clerics preached? The Bible is not against using the un-righteous mammon for humanitarian purposes. Does it??
The Defence Headquarters and the Army Director of Information, Chris Olukolade said the military would “screen”, and “profile” them. But our Village friends, though impressed by Olukolade’s words, nonetheless insisted that the two technical words would be grossly insufficient, if it does not include taking them to hospital, fetching elderly or professional teams, to work on their traumatized minds and bodies. These must be done, prior to paying them some monetary compensation; before setting them free!
Were there any of the freed women that were now pregnant? Are we going to return her now, to her husband, with such pregnancy? What has our Christian or Islamic religion to offer them, at this stage, as succour?!
The President has vowed to handover, to his successor and President-elect a Boko-Haram-free country on May 29, 2015. He is, commendably and meticulously working towards it. Yet, commendably as the gesture is, does it stop us from knowing those who advised the president to pursue a clueless political solution; when a military option was all we needed to demonstrate when we were effective and could possibly remain in power?
The failure of the State and the paraphernalia of the State, culminated in their being taken as hostages.
The people were diligently and lawfully going about their daily chores….no one warned them to stay clear of those areas. And even after they were railroaded into captivity, didn’t the State still retain the obligation to free them timely? Did the State do that?
Gone were the days when all that the officers of the Nigeria Customs Service did was simply impound the contrabands and report that the smugglers escape arrest. Since their Comptroller General (Dikko Inde Abdullahi) insisted that they must bring the smugglers too, fewer and fewer suspects have been escaping. Are you in doubt? Ask David Victor Dinka, the Customs Federal Operations Unit Controller in Owerri!
The army is doing a wonderful job, flushing deadly elements, within six weeks, out of a sacred forest. Same gallant officers who couldn’t do it in three years! Another lose end, deliberately left, hanging!
Gone were the days, when Boko Haram took over an entire military barracks, without firing a short; armed with sticks, noise and video cameras; and the military boys would flee for their life. Only for the Boko boys, to cart away needed equipments and hardware!
They once fled into neighbouring country, once or twice! And the told us, after an initial denial, that it was tactical withdrawals.
But now, time has changed. When the military sneezes now; it is not only that the Boko Haram catches cold and flee! They also leave behind, hundreds of helpless girls, women and children, to be technically “freed” by gallant officers!
When they finish freeing Sambisa forest of Boko Haram, pray they would also free the nation of the man, who would give Nigerian masses, 24/7 electricity power supply!
