How to end Boko Haram crisis, by Ahmad Salkida

Do you think the extra-judicial killing of Mohammed Yusuf led to the insurgency by the Boko Haram group?

I think the extra-judicial killing of their leader is symbolic because it served as a proof to the hundreds of sect members and other innocent bystanders that were picked up since 2009 till date and executed in the same manner Yusuf was killed. Apparently, extra-judicial killings have never stopped till date. If independent-minded investigative journalists will be allowed to operate in the state they will reveal mass graves of thousands of youths, some of them women and children, killed in cold blood in Maiduguri. Many have taken arms today not necessarily because they subscribe to the ideology of the sect but because of the despair they find themselves, occasioned by the abuse of the rule of law and the constant denial of any form of injustice by the security agencies even in the face of documentary evidence.

As one who understands the issues around the sect, is the Boko Haram sect linked to Algeria’s al-Qaeda?

Yes, they are in touch and in some kind of partnership and collaboration, and I think that relationship is growing.

Shehu Sani, a human right activist, said you can call for a truce between government and the Boko Haram sect. Why you?

I can’t speak for Shehu Sani but what I know is only God can bring an end to this crisis and no one person with access can do it. If government is not committed and sincere, whatever access a person has will be lost. I also want to say here categorically that the sect have always shown readiness to talk whenever I approached them but the people in government, I sense, have frequently laid up too much confidence in their ability to subdue the insurgents militarily. You see total lack of enthusiasm and absorbing obsession with pecuniary interests.

Moreover, top politicians seem not to find it acceptable that the purveyor of such strategic mediatory offers was me. Last year we were in the middle of developing a blueprint for action to resolve this whole mess that if government can release unconditionally women and children in various detention locations and treat the detained in a civilized manner for all to see, the sect may consider a partial ceasefire where unarmed civilians would be spared. The government officials stonewalled, arguing that there were no women and children in detention. The window collapsed. So I was helpless.

You have extensively covered the conflict between the government and Islamist sect Boko Haram. Is your life under threat?

My life has always been on the line since 2009. It is not easy dealing with the insurgents as a journalist, not everything they give you can be news and the slightest change in your report by your editor who does not know how erratic they can be to you, that may cost you your life. The same thing with the authorities who always wanted me to report only what they want Nigerians to know. I have been invited severally by top security officials to be wired during some of my interviews in order to arrest them. I was put under a lot of pressure to betray my sources. My refusal to do any of these things, therefore, was interpreted by many as unpatrotism and cold complicity. I can assure you it has never been the same for me and my family after my arrest in 2009. My first daughter, who is 10 years old, once came home in 2010 to say some kids would not play with her because their parents told them her father was Boko Haram. Before 2009 I was an attractive bride in journalism in the North but in the last few years I could no longer get proper employment (in cases where I get the chance, rivalry and suspicion trail my everyday activities). Many media houses have suddenly realised that I am not a graduate and my nearly 13 years journalism experience no longer count in giving me proper employment. That in itself is a threat to a husband and a father to four kids.

Why did you flee Nigeria for the United Arab Emirates, Dubai?

I think the revelation that I came to the UAE was a mistake on the part of my colleagues. Since the threat to my life intensified after my article on the questionable ceasefire declared by one Abdulaziz (whom Abubakar Shekau has disowned) in February 2013, it became absolutely necessary for me to flee. I cannot remain in Nigeria just because God saved my life several times. I had to flee not to seek asylum, but as a law-abiding citizen of the world and open a grocery shop and support my family whom I feel I have exposed a lot with the constant trauma I caused them as a result of my work as a reporter in Nigeria.

You once said the government’s security agents have accused you of being a member of the sect. Again, I ask, are you a Boko Haram member?

Even as a child in the 80s I have seen a lot of misgivings towards me. The moment my parents and every senior member of my community realized my disdain for formal education they lashed at me. People believe that every person must go to school to succeed in life, no one thinks that by learning handicraft or any other skill-acquisition you can succeed. I was stigmatised and many parents would warn their kids not to come close to me. Also, as a young convert to Islam in the 90s till date, I experienced all kinds of stigma by many Christians; of course, many Muslims will react violently if someone renounces the Islamic faith but both violence and stigma can kill or break any person. Also as a journalist, I have seen a lot of violence and stigma because of my rare professional access to a dreaded sect and, to many, this is wrong; they want me to work like any other journalist who depends on press releases by the Joint Task Force (set up by government to curb terrorism in Nigeria) to report the crisis. My exclusives were never seen by many as a journalistic feat, instead all I get are mere unfounded allegations of being “one of them”. I don’t believe in violence. Every Sunday I pray that my mother, who is always among the first to go to church, will come back home alive and save. To answer your question directly, I am not a member of Boko Haram and never will be.

Do you agree for amnesty to Boko Haram as proposed by some politicians and religious leaders?

If you read my last interviews with Abul Qaqa, he has always said that if amnesty means forgiveness then they are the ones that should forgive government for the wrong done to them in 2009. According to them, many Nigerians don’t see what they undergo, instead it is only what they do that is easily shown in the media. And I think issues as sensitive as amnesty are supposed to have been tabled first through a trusted mediator who has access to the leadership of the sect before you take it to the media. The sect, as I understand, heard about the amnesty on the pages of newspapers. Abang, how would you feel if you heard about your marriage proposition with a man from a third party and not from the man? I think you would feel irritated at best.

Bauchi state Governor, Isa Yuguda, has said political Boko Haram is behind rejection of amnesty. Do you agree?

The question is, Malam Shekau has spoken on the amnesty. Is he the political Boko Haram?

How many types of Boko Haram groups do we currently have? As Isa Yuguda has said, there is political Boko Haram.

Of course, there are many elements that hide under the cover of the group to carry out all kinds of atrocities. There are some that were once members but they have been cut off by the main group but I don’t believe there is any faction. Abdulaziz that is in contact with the Borno government insisted that he is speaking on behalf of Malam Shekau even when Shekau denied that; he never called himself a factional leader. Even the Ansaru remained imaginary to me, because one of the main criteria for any Jihadi armed group is to have an Amir, leader. So who is the leader of any of these factions? At least many will know the leader and his antecedents when he was a loyal follower of late Mohammed Yusuf or Shekau?

What is that one thing you believe is driving the Boko Haram ideology and how commited are they?

The state of lawlessness and injustice has not changed in Nigeria for many decades now and it serves as the pillar for the ideology of resistance. They are committed and believe without doubt that they are God’s warriors.

You once said the way out of the conflict is for a trusted and independent body to ferry moderate clerics to a third friendly country with the leadership of Boko Haram. Are you speaking the mind of the sect? Because they (Boko Haram) had requested former head of state Muhammadu Buhari to lead the peace deal to hold in Saudi Arabia.

First of all, the sect never said Buhari should be a mediator or mentioned going to Saudi. It is the same Abdulaziz group that declared ceasefire that made the pronouncement on Buhari and co. When they called me to dispatch this same message to the media, I asked the caller several questions about who he was and why haven’t the sect reached me through the usual source. He could not give me answers, so he called ignorant journalists that spread his message like wild fire.

I am sorry to say this, if the sect knows where to find General Buhari (someone I respect a lot) they would make an attempt on his life. To them, any retired and serving soldier, police, politician or civil servant is an infidel that deserves to be killed. So how can the same sect with such an ideology listen to General Buhari, the governor of Borno state or any other politician or the Sultan? The average member of this sect sees all these people – whether they are Muslims or not – as ‘living corpses’. For God’s sake, have we not been listening to these people in the last couple of years? Am I the only one listening to them? It seems the sect have been more consistent with their message than the federal and state governments involved in this conflict.

Your second question about going to a third friendly nation to have an ideological debate with the sect. For me, I will always maintain that since this is a problem of doctrine then it must be tackled through a coherent, profound counter-doctrine. There has not been any concrete ideological intervention by the appropriate authorities, only military intervention. If the sect members say the Qur’an allows them to kill Christians and fellow Muslim security agents, politicians, teachers, vaccinators and opposing clerics, I think it is wise for Muslims that disagree with them to understand their arguments clearly and bring a superior one to counter it, and I don’t think you can hold such a debate before the eyes of the JTF. It can best be done with the assurances of a third friendly nation whom the sect can trust and the clerics of this nation may serve alongside other international clerics as arbiters. I think such an informal dialogue will not only make us understand the reasons of this conflict but what is feeding it and it will provide us with the best possible way to approach dialogue or amnesty.

President Goodluck Jonathan did describe Boko Haram as a “ghost” when he visited Borno. Do you agree they are ghosts?

They are human beings like us. I told you about my contact with many of them. So am I in contact with ghosts? When I single-handedly facilitated Dr. Datti Ahmed’s attempts to dialogue by the special Grace of God, did I have meetings with ghosts? Do Nigerians believe in ghosts?

Who is the true and real leader of Boko Haram?

The sect has always had one leader and nobody within the group or outside the group has ever disputed that.

What do you make of the killings of innocent women and children by the Boko Haram sect?

It is shameful and sad!

Do you think the Nigerian government is prepared to put to an end the insurgency in the North?

How they will do that remains to be seen.

What is your biggest regret?

Our leaders that are responsible in resolving this conflict are too arrogant to learn and study their opponent. You can only solve a problem if you understand him in the first place, and so far, all I see in the media and amongst religious and political leaders is a fatal guessing game and Nigerians continue to die in their ignorance.

What is your recommendation for the security agencies and the sect to bring about sustainable peace?

The sect must understand that Islam teaches Muslims that forgiveness is the highest level of strength while revenge is the highest level of weakness. Our leaders must also be truthful to Nigerians and deal with these security challenges without bringing in the usual corruption they employ in every facet of our national life; at least they should know that human lives are involved here.

http://blueprintng.com/2013/04/how-to-end-boko-haram-crisis-by-ahmad-salkida/

Make of this guy what you like but the only conclusion I can draw from this is Boko haram is not much of a ghost

MI5 or CIA would have taken out Shekau and his top lieutenants by now

we have no intelligence. we need a 21st century counter terror unit built for the digital age!!!!

This woman is making some sense. I just pray God guide our Nigerian army on this expedition.

mikeansy: Make of this guy what you like but the only conclusion I can draw from this is Boko haram is not much of a ghost

MI5 or CIA would have taken out Shekau and his top lieutenants by now

we have no intelligence. we need a 21st century counter terror unit built for the digital age!!!!

my boy!!! Don't you think this newsman is a member of Boko Haram The guy life no pure

Its been reported dat 1 of 9ja fighter jet as been it by those bastards bt no calsualties and the jet as returned to base. God bless the Nigerian army, God bless Nigeria.

chidindufrank: my boy!!! Don't you think this newsman is a member of Boko Haram The guy life no pure

The person being interviewed is a woman not a guy, mr chidindu.

chidindufrank: my boy!!! Don't you think this newsman is a member of Boko Haram The guy life no pure

I dont know what to make of Ahmad Salkida

But he simply can not be ignored. If the Nigerian intelligence community dont know how to use him, they should seek help from CIA.

This interview should also make front page.

Who is this Ahmed Alqaeda

She has the liver to say she cant betray her sources,when the country is at war Naija dey dull america would have sent this terrorist to guantanamo by now

Am Tired of Reading these BoKo news oo

Who are these Boko Haram people trying to fool?
Were they not the ones who started violence and senseless killings against christians all over the North and Borno in particular before the Yar'Adua government clamped down on them?
Why are they playing victim & 'oppressed people' when they are in fact the aggressors?

.

those refering to the interviewed as a woman this excerpt is from the interview which i believe most of you didnt read My
first daughter, who is 10 years old, once came home in 2010 to
say some kids would not play with her because their parents told
them her father was Boko Haram.

What is that one thing you believe is driving the Boko Haram ideology and how commited are they?


The state of lawlessness and injustice has not changed in Nigeria for many decades now and it serves as the pillar for the ideology of resistance. They are committed and believe without doubt that they are God’s warriors.

You once said the way out of the conflict is for a trusted and independent body to ferry moderate clerics to a third friendly country with the leadership of Boko Haram. Are you speaking the mind of the sect? Because they (Boko Haram) had requested former head of state Muhammadu Buhari to lead the peace deal to hold in Saudi Arabia.

First of all, the sect never said Buhari should be a mediator or mentioned going to Saudi. It is the same Abdulaziz group that declared ceasefire that made the pronouncement on Buhari and co. When they called me to dispatch this same message to the media, I asked the caller several questions about who he was and why haven’t the sect reached me through the usual source. He could not give me answers, so he called ignorant journalists that spread his message like wild fire.

I am sorry to say this, if the sect knows where to find General Buhari (someone I respect a lot) they would make an attempt on his life. To them, any retired and serving soldier, police, politician or civil servant is an infidel that deserves to be killed. So how can the same sect with such an ideology listen to General Buhari, the governor of Borno state or any other politician or the Sultan? The average member of this sect sees all these people – whether they are Muslims or not – as ‘living corpses’. For God’s sake, have we not been listening to these people in the last couple of years? Am I the only one listening to them? It seems the sect have been more consistent with their message than the federal and state governments involved in this conflict.

Your second question about going to a third friendly nation to have an ideological debate with the sect. For me, I will always maintain that since this is a problem of doctrine then it must be tackled through a coherent, profound counter-doctrine. There has not been any concrete ideological intervention by the appropriate authorities, only military intervention. If the sect members say the Qur’an allows them to kill Christians and fellow Muslim security agents, politicians, teachers, vaccinators and opposing clerics, I think it is wise for Muslims that disagree with them to understand their arguments clearly and bring a superior one to counter it, and I don’t think you can hold such a debate before the eyes of the JTF. It can best be done with the assurances of a third friendly nation whom the sect can trust and the clerics of this nation may serve alongside other international clerics as arbiters. I think such an informal dialogue will not only make us understand the reasons of this conflict but what is feeding it and it will provide us with the best possible way to approach dialogue or amnesty.

If the federal government had declared this state of emergency since 2011 instead of playing the usual north/south politics,I'm very sure boko haram would have been decimated a long time ago.There is no point dialoguing with bunch of heartless people who take pride in killing innocent people and trying to justify it with their religious or political ideology.

An extension of either religious or political ideology which is fundamentally structured to be achieved through widepread instigation of violence and civil disobedience with resultant loss of lives and damage to properties should not and never be tolerated.The best approach to terrorism/insurgency is to use maximum force on them since the terrorists have chosen to become internal aggressors and their acts constitute a threat to the sovereignity of Nigeria.

My humble opinion is that the instigators of violence should be crushed and if at the barest minimum later they surrender and accept diplomacy,then the government can bring them to the table for negotiation for peace.

The below quotation also reveals the Nigerian in Ahmad Salkida. He wants to benefit from his access to Boko Haram and cash in from being a negotiator! If the solution does not run through Ahmad Salkida it sounds like Ahmad will rather have the violence continue!

Shehu Sani, a human right activist, said you can call for a truce between government and the Boko Haram sect. Why you?

I can’t speak for Shehu Sani but what I know is only God can bring an end to this crisis and no one person with access can do it. If government is not committed and sincere, whatever access a person has will be lost. I also want to say here categorically that the sect have always shown readiness to talk whenever I approached them but the people in government, I sense, have frequently laid up too much confidence in their ability to subdue the insurgents militarily. You see total lack of enthusiasm and absorbing obsession with pecuniary interests.

Moreover, top politicians seem not to find it acceptable that the purveyor of such strategic mediatory offers was me. Last year we were in the middle of developing a blueprint for action to resolve this whole mess that if government can release unconditionally women and children in various detention locations and treat the detained in a civilized manner for all to see, the sect may consider a partial ceasefire where unarmed civilians would be spared. The government officials stonewalled, arguing that there were no women and children in detention. The window collapsed. So I was helpless.

Do you agree for amnesty to Boko Haram as proposed by some politicians and religious leaders?

If you read my last interviews with Abul Qaqa, he has always said that if amnesty means forgiveness then they are the ones that should forgive government for the wrong done to them in 2009. According to them, many Nigerians don’t see what they undergo, instead it is only what they do that is easily shown in the media. And I think issues as sensitive as amnesty are supposed to have been tabled first through a trusted mediator who has access to the leadership of the sect before you take it to the media. The sect, as I understand, heard about the amnesty on the pages of newspapers. Abang, how would you feel if you heard about your marriage proposition with a man from a third party and not from the man? I think you would feel irritated at best.

President Goodluck Jonathan did describe Boko Haram as a “ghost” when he visited Borno. Do you agree they are ghosts?

They are human beings like us. I told you about my contact with many of them. So am I in contact with ghosts? When I single-handedly facilitated Dr. Datti Ahmed’s attempts to dialogue by the special Grace of God, did I have meetings with ghosts? Do Nigerians believe in ghosts?

The sect must understand that Islam teaches Muslims that forgiveness is the highest level of strength while revenge is the highest level of weakness.

supported

slimming:

supported

boko haram issue isnt only a nigerian problem,it is an international one and the result of the military offensive against them will have a serious effect on the security of the ecowas region ,that is why chad,niger and cameroon are joining forces to push them out ,it started as an internal one though ,but now ppl must understand that bh is now fully linked with international terrorist organisations seeking a foothold in west africa,now that they have been driven out from northern mali they are trying to settle in northern nigeria and if nigeria drives them out now they will try another west african country.

mike404: Who is this Ahmed Alqaeda

Not funny, we are talking national security here.

mikeansy: The below quotation also reveals the Nigerian in Ahmad Salkida. He wants to benefit from his access to Boko Haram and cash in from being a negotiator! If the solution does not run through Ahmad Salkida it sounds like Ahmad will rather have the violence continue!

What alternative did Nigeria has since all these while ? The guy was only talking about a missed chance by the government to have utilized his accessibility to Boko haram to dailogue with them.It's a common thing for people in government to politicise every issue especially if the other party involved is not a politician or from the same political party like them.

Issue of ego won't have been an issue so far the dialogue worked out and peace is achieved.

Front page MOD

DiS dOsent make sense,instead of Boko haram to kill d people in poWer,Whom dey Are accUSsing of coRruptIOn AnD Mismanagement dey are killing innocent And defEnsless PEople who know nothinG.AnD SheKAi is here coming to justify their killingS.No mata wat boko's act is wrong and not justifiable.Any wAy I Don't blAMe shekai he dosent wAnt Boko hAram too wAste him AnD hIs Family dats why He Is tAking sides publicly.

Chiopatra: No mata wat boko's act is wrong and not justifiable.Any wAy I Don't blAMe shekai he dosent wAnt Boko hAram too wAste him AnD hIs Family dats why He Is tAking sides publicly.

perfect

He is Boko Haram's Jomo Gbomo

although he is not hiding

THE GOVERNMENT TACTICS AND STRATEGIES ARE ALREADY KNOWN;

1. CONVERTING THE CURRENT SECTARIAN UPROAR TO A FULL BLOWN CIVIL WAR, WITH THE WAR FRONT AT THE NORTH DOORS, KILLING BOTH OUR YOUTH AND COMMUNITY LEADERS E.G EMIRS, TOP POLITICIANS AND UNIFORM MEN OF NORTHERN ORIGIN, IN A BID TO TOTALLY WEAKEN THE REGION SO AS TO EITHER CONTINUE THEIR DEVILISH RULE AGENDA OR SIMPLY DIVIDE THE COUNTRY.

THIS IS A VERY GOOD STRATEGY INDEED,(courtesy Devil MENTOR) IT WORKS IN MANY INSTANCES E.G SYRIA. BUT ALAS, IT WOULD NEVER WORK IN NIGERIA.
B/COS;
THE BRAVE NORTHERN YOUTH IN THE MILITARY WOULD NEVER TOLERATE OR ALLOW THIS.
THE NORTH HAS GOOD FRIENDS( ALIAS) THAT WOULD STAND BY NORTH FOR SURE.
AS USUAL THE YORUBAS WOULD ISOLATE THEMSELVES, LEAVING, ND/IGBOS/MIDDLE BELTANS TO FACE NORTH IF THE PLAN BACKFIRES !

THE STRATEGY FURTHER ENTAILS WIDER S.O.E TO INFLICT MORE DAMAGES, MORE CASUALTIES , BLACKMAIL, ASSASSINATION AND MORE....

ALTHOUGH, THE TACTICS WAS ON FINAL STAGES, NIGERIA IS GODS OWN AS SAID BY MANY WOULD ONCE AGAIN SURVIVE THIS PLOT, THIS AGENDA IS BOUND TO FAIL, B/COS OF ILL EXECUTION OF THE DETAILS ENSHRINED.

LONG LIVE NORTH, LONG LIVE NIGERIA, LONG LIVE FREE AFRICA!

^^^^^^ i guess the latest air strike missed you as a vital target. With such ideology of yours, u merit being tied to a stake and left to be sun dried.

Do we have muppets as security and intelligence agencies in this country? All I can deduce about the BH sect from this interview is that they can be hunted down and destroyed but this hasn't been the case because the security agencies are too busy looting from the security budget largesse.
This country is a joke