Boko Haram: Stop blaming Jonathan for the lapses of northern politicians —Jude Tabai

A former Special Adviser to Governor Timipre Sylva of Bayelsa State on Niger Delta, Mr. Jude Tabai, in this interview, defends the steps taken by President Jonathan to tackle insurgency and re-position Nigeria, contending that those who facilitated the emergence of Boko Haram for political reasons should rise up and find an answer to the monster rather than blaming Jonathan for their atrocities. 

What steps do you think the Federal Government should take to end insurgency in the North-east?

First we need to know who the Boko Haram elements are and what they want to achieve. In one breath, they claim to be fighting to convert all Nigerians into Islam; in another, we are seeing the sect being effectively used by politicians to wage a political war. Boko Haram came in courtesy of some politicians, who made it popular.

Don’t forget that the situation in Borno before now was similar to that in the Niger Delta under a certain governor, who wanted to use the boys for political reason. Young men were carrying guns all over the place and threatening those perceived to be against the interest of the governor.   So, I want to believe that for us to get a solution to the insurgency, those who were in charge in Borno when the sect started its activities should be brought in to help government find solution to the problem.

What else should be done by government?

It is wrong for people to assume that Boko Haram is faceless and cannot be brought to its knees. There are people who know the sect leaders and members; these people are not ghosts, they are living among the natives of the state and they have relatives, who should speak out. They should be called upon to name and shame those involved in this despicable act that is claiming innocent lives on daily basis.

I believe that once their people rise up against them, the Boko Haram crisis would be over. For instance, in the Niger Delta, I know how we went about it. Borno State capital, Maiduguri, is calm  today because the people stood up and said they would not allow the sect to flourish in the city. This has been possible because the people knew who the attackers were and they came out and said ‘enough is enough’. The people should identify the protagonists and deal with them with the aid of security agencies.

How do you deal with the insurgents if you cannot identify them?

We did it in the Niger Delta and it can be done in the Northeast. I think what we did in the Niger Delta was that when the military came in, we assisted them to get to where the boys were and, secondly, every military man transferred to a place is a stranger. There is no way the military can succeed without the aid of an insider. And that is why we are  saying that the people of the North-east are the best solution to the insurgency in the area.

Some people are blaming the Federal Government for being slow in responding to the crisis especially the abduction of the over 200 schoolgirls in Chibok, which the government did not initially believe.

I don’t believe that government doubted the abduction in Chibok. But let me say that kidnapping as we speak can sometimes be stage managed and it can be real.

We have some instances where parents kidnap their own children and vice versa. But the issue of Chibok is that it is odd for a state to be depending on the Federal Government on the issue of abduction that happened in a state. What is the governor of the state as the chief security officer of the state doing?

The kidnapping in the Niger Delta was for ransom while the current one is for religious purpose, apparently to spite the government of the day.

In the Niger Delta, expatriates were kidnapped on daily basis. Whether you are kidnapping for money or religion, I want to tell you that there is always a link between the people and the kidnappers because the kidnappers are not strangers.

How does a governor, who is not controlling the security agencies like the police and the army, tackle insurgency?

In Rivers State, when insurgency was raging, it was the governors who spearheaded the efforts to bring the militancy to an end. Some of the governors like Amaechi adopted fire-for-fire approach while Sylva adopted the soft approach to end the crisis. What I am saying is that the governor of the state must rise up and help in finding the Chibok girls. These approaches worked for us and it can also be used to address the situation in the North-east. They should not come and tell us that the Boko Haram members are faceless.

It is not acceptable; the governors of the areas must stand up and assist the Federal Government in finding a lasting solution to the problems in their domains. They should not wait for the Federal Government to come and do what they are supposed to do because the government in Abuja does not know who a Boko Haram member is in Borno, Yobe or Adamawa more than the locals in those places. This is where the mistake is. Once the people are ready to fish out the elements, it will be easy to end the crisis.

But these states are under state of emergency and cannot do anything to stop the soldiers and the police deployed to their states

In that case, the federal government should declare a full state of emergency dismantling all the democratic structures to enable the security agencies take full control of the affected states.

As things are now, we want to know who to hold responsible. What I am saying is that the country is in crisis and we should all stand up to proffer solutions to the current of insurgency.

Some people blame the opposition for the crisis. Is this also your own view?

It is unfair if elder statesmen can go about threatening government and nothing is done about it. Nigerians should be interested in asking what has been done to those politicians who issued the threat in 2011 but instead of doing that they are busy blaming Jonathan. Jonathan is just one person who cannot solve all the problems by himself without the support and cooperation of all Nigerians.

Are you satisfied with the steps so far taken by the Presidency to address insurgency?

From my assessment, the president has done its own but but the actions must be stronger and sustained. And the President must be careful with the people he is dealing with because right now every action taken by him is being turned into politics by the opposition. How do you blame the president when he sent soldiers to quell the insurgency and the opposition is turning round to accuse him of committing genocide in the North?

This is a very dangerous and cruel accusation. Why should this happen at a time of national upheaval? Even if you don’t like the president, you should at least give him the respect for the patriotic actions he has taken to save this country from being destroyed by malevolent elements masquerading as Boko Haram insurgents. If you don’t like the president, wait for him at the polls and vote him out and stop shedding blood.

The opposition has been involved in some of these ugly situations by celebrating deaths and it is very unfortunate. Why celebrate the killings of human beings? Why celebrate bloodshed? This is wicked politics which should not be encouraged. Muslims and Christians have been more divided in this country than ever before because of the current state of insurgency. How do we make progress quarrelling every day?

If politics is our problem, let us do it at the party level and leave out the common man. The killing is too much and I suspect it is all about 2015. Fulani herdsmen now on the rampage are perhaps doing all that because of the 2015 election.

But Nigerians expect the president to be firm in tackling these issues. Do you think he has courageously responded to his duties?

The president’s disposition is tied to his respect for human rights and the rule of law. He is using the best and most peaceful approach to issues and we believe it is working for us in the Niger Delta. As we speak now, if the president moves against those who are accusing him, they would be the same people to accuse him of genocide.

I would not encourage him to take any decision that would portray him as a southern president out to kill northerners. That is why I think that his calm and friendly approach to issues suits the moment in which we have found ourselves. That is why I cannot blame him for being calm and calculated in his actions.

I am seeing political insurgency and not different from what happened in the Niger Delta. When Shekau was talking on Youtube, he was busy calling the president’s name and we were wondering why he was doing that. He said Nigerians were protesting against the abduction of the girls but the opposition came back to say the protest was against the President. So, where are we heading to?

Given the problems we have should Jonathan contest in 2015?

Jonathan as a Nigerian has the right to contest and it would be very unfair for anyone to try to stop him from contesting in 2015. If you don’t want him to be president in 2015 the best way is to campaign against him at the poll. But it   is unacceptable for anyone to incite bombing and killings just to give Jonathan a bad name as being incompetent and clueless all because you want to give him a bad name so as to lose the election. It will never and can never work in this country. And we the people of the Niger Delta will not fold our arms and allow him to be pushed away just like that.

 

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Boko Haram: Stop blaming Jonathan for the lapses of northern politicians —Jude Tabai