- Gov. Zulum must be circumspect in his utterances and itinerary
It is curious that Borno State governor Babagana Zulum’s convoy could be attacked by Boko Haram elements thrice within two months. The first time was in July when the governor’s convoy came under gun attack from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) outside Baga, a town in Kukawa Local Government Area of the state, thus forcing him to cancel his trip to the town. Governor Zulum had left Maiduguri, the state capital, for the northern part of the state to continue his food distribution programme that he started earlier in the month. He was scheduled to visit Baga, which had been under the control of Boko Haram for some years until the military said the town had been liberated and that no Nigerian town was under the control of the insurgents. It was in spite of this assurance that gunmen opened fire on the governor and his entourage, just a few kilometres to the beleaguered town.
Even as the dust of that attack was only beginning to settle, the governor’s convoy suffered another attack on September 25, between Monguno and Baga, which left about 30 persons dead. This time, he was on assessment tour of Baga, preparatory to the return of thousands of residents displaced from the town by Boko Haram in 2014, to their original homes. Most of them had taken refuge in Monguno and Maiduguri following their displacement by the insurgents.
And, as if to underscore the determination of the insurgents to exterminate the governor, they launched yet another attack on his convoy, barely 48 hours after the September 25 incident. Fortunately, no life was lost in that attack, although the windscreens of some of the vehicles were damaged. According to one of the persons on the entourage: “There was no death recorded this time around, except some minor injuries. The windscreen of some vehicles was shattered, some vehicles had their tyres busted by gunshots, including the Government House Press Crew bus. The military gun truck was also shot at and a soldier had his shoulder scalded with a gunshot.”
What all these attacks seem to suggest is that the insurgents are unhappy with their dislodgement by the Nigerian military from Baga, especially since they once occupied the place from where they were launching attacks on other parts of the northeast. Second, they are unhappy with the governor’s determination to return the people to their natural abode, because the government can no longer afford the huge resources required to keep them in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps, in spite of the assistance from within and outside the country. Moreover, successfully resettling the IDPs in their homes would give an impression of return of normalcy to Baga, and, by extension, the state. The terrorists, apparently do not want any such impression.
However, that the terrorists still have the capacity to launch such deadly attacks on the governor’s convoy, not once, not twice, is an indication that the insurgents have not been completely dislodged from Baga and its vicinity. The remaining Boko Haram elements in the area must be routed for peace to return there.
That the terror war appears interminable would buttress the claim in some quarters that the war has now become a huge industry that some people are benefiting from, and which they would not want to end. This brings us to the question of intelligence. For a war that has lasted over a decade and has claimed so many lives and led to the displacement of millions of people, it is sad that the country has not made any progress in at least identifying some of the sponsors, not to talk of making them face justice.
We have stated it before; and we are restating that the terror war needs fresh ideas if we are to get out of it. The present prosecutors of the war seemed to have reached their wits’ end.
Meanwhile, we do not think the time is ripe for people to be returned to Baga. If the governor’s convoys could be subjected to heavy attacks by terrorists in spite of the tight security that he enjoys, we can only imagine how the terrorists would make mincemeat of defenceless civilians. So, let the authorities tarry awhile and flush out the remnants of the terrorists before contemplating returning the people to their homes.
Governor Zulum, on his part, has to be cautious in his utterances and more circumspect about his itinerary. We can’t be sure that there are no moles even among his own aides who are releasing vital information about his activities and movements to the enemy. We acknowledge the governor’s passion for service; but he has to be mindful of the security implications of whatever he does. He must realise that he has to be alive to solve his people’s problems. Passion alone is not enough.
