Comments Karl Marx’s thesis that economic
conditions determine the basis of existence is
yet to be proved wrong. It is one tool I always
apply in the course of
discovering the real motives behind what
people say or do. But I must confess that
unravelling “Boko Haram", which many now call
insurgency in the north, has put this scientific
method in doubt for the
past five years.
Somebody solved the riddle on Wednesday:
former Senate president and former minister Dr
Iyorchia Ayu.
In brief, this is what Ayu said at the 5th
Convocation Lecture of the Adekunle Ajasin
University: The oil wealth beneath the Chad
Basin is fanning the embers of insurgency in
the country because prominent businessmen
and politicians in both Nigeria
and Chad, in association with French
companies, have
invested heavily in oil exploration and
exploitation. They are the principal financiers
of, and arms suppliers to, Boko Haram. The
group's destabilisation of the north-eastern
part of Nigeria benefits these investors because
it delays exploration
and production on the Nigerian side of Lake
Chad. The Lake Chad Basin is estimated to
have a reserve of 2.32billion barrels of oil, and
14.65trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The oil
and gas flows underground across
the countries sharing the Lake Chad Basin:
Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroun. Using 3D
drilling, Chad is not only tapping oil within its
territory but also from Nigeria, to push up its
production levels.

Boko Haram is made up of Nigerians and a
large number of Chadians from the Chadian
provinces of Lac and Hadjer Lamis – provinces
that share a long border with north-eastern
Nigeria around the Lake Chad
region and provide Boko Haram with trained
Chadian fighters.The drying up of Lake Chad,
once the largest water
body in Africa, is affecting the economic and
social life of over 30 million people in the four
countries around the lake. This has resulted in
the migration of many
farmers and herdsmen as well as engineered
local conflicts between Camerounian and
Nigerian nationals; fishermen are fighting
farmers and
herdsmen to stop diverting water from the lake
to their farms and livestock. The disappearance
of Lake Chad and subsidiary rivers has also
created a large population of unemployed and
discontented youth who have become a reserve
army easily available for recruitment by the
insurgents. So far, Boko Haram has not
attacked any territory in Chad but has a cluster
of bases in Chad from where it
launches its terrorist activities in Nigeria.
President Idris Deby of Chad is said to have
cordial relations with the insurgents.

The accuracy of Ayu's postulation could be
doubted only by fools. Many of us have often
pointed fingers at politicians as those behind
terrorism in the country. But Ayu has mentioned
the type of politicians – those
with economic interests to protect. Therefore,
Boko Haram is not sponsored by anyone
aspiring to be the president of Nigeria. It is not
backed by the PDP or the
APC. Also, Boko Haram has nothing to do with
Islam or Christianity, north or south. Neither is
it a crusade against western education. The
people behind the masks have used all these
and
other tricks to cause a war that would enable
them to corner the oil wealth flowing under the
north-east's soil. Have they really succeeded?
Oil is a curse indeed.

From the early days of
insurgency in the north-east, the suspicion that
some
foreign powers were behind it has persisted.
The Nigerian government itself seems to know
the truth but has done little to tackle the
enemy despite the myriad of agencies
pretending to be protecting the safety and
security of Nigerians and the Nigerian borders.
The security agencies seem to be fighting one
another because a lot of cash has been made
available for the “Boko Haram” war. A strong
Nigerian leader would have since sent troops
to overrun Chad or any other neighbouring
country that provides a haven for terrorists. If
France or any foreign oil company came to the
aid of such a country, we would be able to
consume both the beans and the
weevils inside them. The Nigerian armed forces
should work; soldiers exist to fight wars, not to
eat pepper-soup or accumulate money with
which to contest elections after retirement.

The
Black man deserves pity. While the White man
looks a century ahead and strives to achieve
his goal, the Black man offers himself to be
used to destroy his own people. The plot to
balkanise Nigeria and steal the oil in the north-
east must have preceded the forecast that
Nigeria would break up in 2015. For anything
that threatens the economic interests of
certain powers does not stand. During the Cold
War, we learned how progressive leaders in
Africa were removed or killed through
sponsored coups and counter-coups. In recent
times, we have witnessed the overthrow of
Muammar Ghaddafi of Libya. Each plot was
carried out with the citizens of each country.
It is in this light that all Nigerians should now
see the patriotism exhibited by Gen.
Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu 46 years ago.
Many know that the Nigeria-Biafra war was
instigated by foreigners, but only a few know
that it was also about oil. In the
middle of the war, the Soviets approached
Ojukwu and asked for a part of Biafra's oil in
return for fighting on Biafra's side. Ojukwu
vehemently rejected the request because he did
not want his country to be a theatre of war
among the western powers. The federal side
gratefully received the
British in order to “crush” the "rebels".Yet, had
Ojukwu accepted the Russians’ proposal, Biafra
would have survived and perhaps millions of
Nigerians more would have been killed.

Compare Ojukwu with the Nigerian
businessmen that have been fuelling terrorism
in the north-east. While
Ojukwu fought in defence of his people, the
terrorists of the north-east are killing their own
people. It is laughable that a Lagos court had
to jail one of those found guilty of financing
terrorism for only 10 years.
These are people working with foreigners to
destroy their country; they have killed almost
20, 000 and displaced millions of people. Their
wickedness is made more manifest by the fact
that they have been
killing and kidnapping students and defenceless
villagers.

My gratitude goes to Dr Ayu for solving the
mystery surrounding Boko Haram. I have little
doubt that the 2015 elections – if they
eventually take place – will be the last straw.
The invading forces are likely to lavish money
on saboteurs and impoverished Nigerians to kill
themselves so that this mineral-rich land would
be
left for them to exploit. Indeed, the heart of
man is wicked.

If Nigeria would not work as one nation, let us
revisit the idea of confederation. Rather than
prepare for polls in 2015, we should implement
the National Conference's report, especially as
it concerns the
six-state structure. A semi-independen t north-
east might even decide to merge with its kith
and kin in Chad, Cameroun and Niger. Under an
effective government, no region would be
helpless in defending
its people from external aggressors.
www.muriprovince.com

ok oo, let us wait and see. The end is near for them.

It seems Dr Iyorchia Ayu said the truth in this thread. Check it out https://www.nairaland.com/2010349/political-associate-chadian-president-idriss#28256652