Another old piece trailed and reshared... ------------------------- Maiduguri: A Mega-Barracks Or In A Deeper Shit? 18th March, 2012 I left my home, my family and friends said to me, a Suya man, situated alongside the Lagos Street bridge, when one night I was attracted to patronize him by the business of the scene of his Suya place and the titillating aroma produced by the ingredients concocted in the suya, that filled and indeed most appropriately, dominated the entire atmosphere of the area, which promised to attract any passer-by (whose olfactory nerves are really functioning well); and had a little chat with him before I would be served, he continued...to earn for me and my family, that is why Im here. And here I cant even afford to leave for any reason considering the large profit I generate daily.... As those who have idea of my curiosity would expect, I instantly gave in to it and asked him how large that profit could be, indeed out of my silly immodesty - perhaps immodesty it is, to delve into ones personal business affair. Surprisingly (if you like not), the man is lost and could not recollect precisely what he covets daily. However this says much more about how large that amount is than he probably could express. The fortunes of this man - this downtrodden self-employed downmost commoner, he didnt know, is to come to jump in a back-flip somersault to the reverse, not in the too distant. The man has getting to about 10 errand boys in his confines who are actively and effectively managing the almost overbearing and overtrooping patrons, who also may have left their homes solely for that, with similar dependants on them. This man who overweeningly speaks of his business and the profit he generates therefrom is now helplessly made to lose virtually 50% of that earlier profit by an ineffective policy called curfew (hell!) that does not in the slightest serve its purpose, let alone, the interest of the live-to-see what they dictate to us 99% masses. This no doubt affects the dependancies of this man - his family; the errand boys and their families, all. Too bad and pathetic! The security situation in Borno is very very abnormal (everywhere in Nigeria is), yes, grudges aside. But this is so because the country, plus the self-serving ruling class in Abuja, dwelling in that me-FAF pitiless world... - and so possess no iota of feelings for fellow humans - are not normal too. One should not be faulted for further saying about them as: waging a frontless silent war and an economic terrorism against the masses funnily through the protection of the also below-poverty-line military men who seem to have forgotten that they belong also to the 99% bamboozled masses. The federal government of Nigeria who hardly has interest in solving the security anomaly that holds hostage of Borno imposed a stylish state of emergency everyone wonders how it works (in the real sense, added to the injury by rubbing a salt), and later, a curfew...(and later abandoned the whole thing). Then resultantly two bi-products hatched out thereof: aggravated hardship; and the insecurity got monopolized. Thats all! For example, the president, who could not come to see for himself what has been happening in Borno, but only for campaign, still has the guts to flaunt about his government being on top of it - which if thoroughly looked, may mean that: yes, they are on top of it, but because they want it to continue, they choose not to stop it. And this same president, occupant of the 1% strata, could, despite not having to visit the place and has very limited idea of what has been going on, and probably sends no one, faulted the state-based elders when they, being aware of every bit of the issue, demanded for immediate withdrawal of the security men (and replaced with well-trained mopol) as they are unbecoming of the point behind their deployment, and embrace a more diplomatic means of ending the issue. And unless the man is on a strategic mission to make the state a sort of mega-barracks (laughs, yes but straight faced), from that demand, considering the personalities pushing for it, the only choice he has was to, as a level headed man would, withdraw them, even if he would not resort to other viable means of ending it. The presidency despite the caliber of the men pushing for the withdrawal of the blood thirty JTF, denied them base on a very illogical, sentiment boosted reason that: Churches safety could not be guaranteed. Since then, the insecurity promised to remain (Churches remain ever vulnerable, too) and the soldiers made no single step towards stopping/reducing it, but even derailed and turned against the unarmed civilians: extortion, rape and etc, became the rules of their engagement, lately; and it seems certain that it is approved of by the presidency. For example, when Boko Haram attacks innocent people, Reuben Abati would tell us that the president described it as terrorist act; others would begin to link it with Al Qaeda, much as it could be, but when JTF kills 11 innocent young boys, you would not hear Reuben (describing it as terrorist act, but an unfortunate incidence, which really is). (Anyway if this is a notice: telling us that the population of Nigeria is too much for Borno people, that we should move east-wards, out of the country, or strategically pushing us out; notice as well: we have no problem with that, but at least, it should be made clear to us. And I recommend that to those behind this mission to read the history of the Kanem Borno empire, there they will know that we really have no problem; and also, come for a case study and see whether Kanem Republic will not do...) Now to know that the situation is really at its worst in Maiduguri, a spree of burning the heart of our school system - primary schools, have come into being (this is why we need security men around, but...). So far about five schools have already faced the wrath of whoever was/were behind it who, by doing so, claim to have been taking vengeance of the recent marching of the holy Koran by some soldiers. But the schools surprisingly are being burnt at the mid of the night when the only mortals on the street are certainly security men. Though one will not suspect a security man of setting a government property on fire, when he is to protect it, under oath, we must as well admit one of these two: it is either some of the security men know about it; or, if not, then, simply the curfew they imposed on us is totally ineffective. This is so because, in any effective security operation, if five schools would be burnt, at different times, from the first two, if not first one, with the influx of the men in khaki that occupied the Maiduguri streets that one can easily mistake the place for Gaza or even worse places; they should provide shield to all other schools within the metropolis to make sure that there is no recurrence, but. However this is a clear manifestation of the inefficacy of the curfew in Maiduguri in particular. People are facing serious hardship besides, but even as they endure, the security men are not making any difference. Anyone who refuses to walk along with history and criticisms as friends who proffer the most level headed advice, it is said, is bound to betray all sorts of blunders, such as the kind the presidency has been bringing out to the open. If the FG of Nigeria fails to realize that it was the security approach that the scandal-surfing Ali Sheriff ignorantly confronted the issue with at the first place that catapulted the whole issue to this prominence, it is the duty of the good Nigerians of understanding to bring the FG to order by fearlessly telling them; and by setting straight to them the fact that it was amnesty, not miracle, that ended the long-simmering militancy in the Niger Delta. And that therefore it is necessary for the federal government to grant the same amnesty to the so-called Boko Haram insurgents and enter into dialogue; indeed not even because it is the only way to end it, but perhaps, if you ask me, because the case of Niger Delta amnesty is a precedent, and for it did work, and also because the government doesnt have any other sensible solution. All over the world, all military men, even the most advanced and organized, have the history of excesses in their operations whenever they are given a free end. Just recently, BBC reported the killings of 16 Afghans by the NATO soldiers, this is just a recent event, for the sake of example. But the dialogue in most cases, hardly fails, as there is no other as redoubtable proof as is shown in the Niger Deltas case. However the good people of Borno on their part should not relent in their efforts to press the federal government to act (one of the key agendas that should be on the tray of the proposed Borno stakeholders conference – which we all heartily welcome) and at their level also, try their best to make sure that those behind this dont succeed. Everyone knows what burning primary schools means. And everyone knows what allowing this to continue will translate into. People within and outside Borno must rise up and arrest this. Perhaps, this schools need to be renovated immediately and students recalled back to their classes while efforts to totally end this trouble continues (and this should not be left entirely for the state government to but all well meaning sons and daughters of Borno, those who enjoyed our hospitality and felt at home while here, et al). After defending Sanusi Lamido throughout these two weeks for his N100m donation to the Boko Haram victims of Kano, this is the time we need his hands, and the hands of all the good people of Nigeria from the North to the South. Wait, one more thing (the voice of the commoners): The federal government should also kindly lift the curfew it imposed on us, or at least adjust the time, because it only adds to our hardships. Allow our Suya men and all other nightly operated businesses and businessmen be given the chance to go about their activities unhindered, lets in turn enjoy our suya. Lets enjoy our shayi in the night time; our night majlis; our El Classico matches; ...give boys and girls of good intention the chance to meet and sharpen their future marriage lives (laughs, I heard a news that very few weddings take place now, before it used to be circa 20 per week, now 2/week, I.V.card printers can, whether true or false, better explain this); the masu wainas/akaras/name it, too should be freed. Really as things stand in Maiduguri now, all these people earning through this categories of businesses are deprived of their sources of daily earning/livelihood. And make no mistake about it, without all these activities taking place as used to, in compliance to one anti freedom policy, curfew, Borno people are simply trapped into slavery. And if at all it is not, I await for the next edition of the Oxford Dictionary, to see whether in the course of time, the meaning of the word has totally changed, or developed into the reverse of its earlier usage. Who, withal, is yet to understand that keeping animals in the zoo, for human selfish study purposes, conservation et al, is enslavement of innocent animals, even as the forest is a place characterized by a life known as the survival of the fittest? (Give one of these animals a voice, he would tell you that the forest is safer for them and they prefer being there) Who is yet to understand that putting human beings under lock is nothing less? If we cant speak for fear, when we are mal treated, or choose not to, we are simply saying that we are in a principle no less with animals, who could not speak up even after facing repeated mal treatment from human beings; or if we are made to remain silent (or compromised), then we have been done to the end - animals. Abdulhamid Al-Gazali, algazali04@yahoo
Posted on: Tue, 29 Oct 2013 15:39:43 +0000
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