We can’t assume solution without understanding its root cause. The Boko Haram was a sect which wasn’t violent at the beginning of their formation; this should be known to those who were privileged to monitor either directly or indirectly their activities. I was on ground (Bauchi State) when the groups staged their first violent act by breaking a jail. This jail was situated right in front of Emir’s palace.
       

And thier reasons??. . . Illegal clamping, jailing and continue detention of their members without any recourse to justice, ordered by the state government.  This was done purposely to satisfy “other” high ranking Islamic scholars in the state (pseudo-political scholars) with different ideology and doctrine. Before this, there was the incident of refusal of allowing them to continue practicing their faith in the state.
The slain leader of Boko Haram was a cool guy (No pun intended), which can be invited to ANY discussion without any hesitant or refusal. From my personal study and understanding the motive of the group, I won’t be far from the truth if I say the group came out to protest against the long failure of northern political oligarchy, which has violated every opportunity to transform and educate their masses. I have listen and watched Yusuf (slain Boko Haram) leader defending his ideology, which I think to some extent is mainly trying to create awareness to the crime of the politicians. Don’t get me wrong, the group is a RELIGIOUS extreme movement.

After the Bauchi incident, they move in-ward to Gombe, which was no better than the treatment they receive from Bauchi(WHY DO THINK BOTH BAUCHI AND GOMBE STATE GOVERNORS ISSUED A PUBLIC STATEMENT APOLOGISING TO THE GROUP ON THE PAGES OF NEWS PAPER?).

Finally, they arrived at Borno and the government was willing to sponsor their activities. Governor Ali Modu Sherriff (A known thug and commander in-chief of touts), was having a different plan to use the group against his oppositions during the election process (Read General J.T Useni’s verbal conversation with the governor). To facilitate the relationship between the government and his new found friends, he made a commissioner for religious affairs as their contact person, saddled with the task to make all their needs available (financially or otherwise). But along the line the leader of the sect notice a sheer diversion and attempt by sheriff to lunch at the oppositions. There was a crack in the friendship, followed by an open confrontation from both parties. So, when the governor fully comprehends the threat, he quickly mobilizes the state commissioner of police to quench the fire and brandishing his “own” commissioner as their financier (Betrayal!). He re-branded the group to suit his intention and gear up sympathy from the central government and then the name “BOKO HARAM” was over blown to the public. Western education forbidden and yet you find qualified Engineers, doctors as the member of the sect??

In the heat of this confrontation and the fear of allowing the members to speak out, the governor connives with yar adua’s government to “take them out”, a usual tactics employ by the government to bury issues. So, the federal government gave full green light for the crack-down. The army went in, violates and bastardized the sect members, the fracas left several hundred dead with properties running in to millions damaged. Little did the government knew was, the military guys while handing over the captured members of the sect (Including the sect leader) invited the press, and there was a photo show! 
Hence, the many conflicting stories . . . The government, made initial publications that they were brought in dead (BID) .The press released a live footage and photos of the sect leader. Then the government quickly, retrieved and replaced their initial press statement with a very un-intelligent one “They try escaping and were shot!!”

The remaining sect members saw the  incident as a confirmation of the serial brainwashing of their leaders. Let me not bore you with history.

They recent actions of the group are suggesting either foreign help or some politicians have hijacked the group again. Still accessing the situation and monitoring every incident to reach my conclusion on this. My verdict shall be when they attack any SOUTHERN location.

OBASONJO’S VISIT.
Obasonjo’s visit was a bad visit made to the wrong location with a good intention.

1. The leadership of such group in non-transferable to family members by succession, as they have the 2nd, 3rd,. . ., nth  most ranking and  qualification  based on the group rules. More like trying to appeal to the families of Osama. In fact, most family members are oblivion of the activities.

2. The person to contact shouldn’t have been the family member but rather the group’s spoke person.

3. The group view his visit as a “VICTORY” mark and his appeal as way of confirming their actions. More like saying” You guys are right and we are wrong, so please forgive US”

KILLING OF THE GUY OBASONJO MET.
One of these may be the reason why the guy was killed.
1. His demands was NOT enough to the sect members

2. He is not in the position to speak for the group or he did not seek clearance from other top members

3. They felt he is giving then out by precisely, mentioning the locations of the sect members, which can be viewed as an act of sabotage by any group.




SOLUTION:
1. This may not be best option for others as, we always view situation differently. Personally, I think the best way to arrest this menace is by infiltrating the group by our intelligent community. Sponsoring under-cover agents to join the movement. This will enable the government be on top of the situation with both informant supplying pieces and traces of information. Very cost effective and less causalities. The use of force can only harden the minds of the retar.ded members.

2. The government can dialogue with the group, but not APPEAL or BEG!. When you start begging or appealing to radicals or terrorist then, be ready to face foolish and un-imaginable demands continually. The dialogue should be made on a different location (very important!) agreed by both aggrieved parties. So that the government won’t be encouraging others.


3. The real culprits involve in any killing or breaking of laws must be sanction. Former governor of Borno state should be quickly put on trial. All the sect members found wanting should face the music of the law. Doing this will deter any others with similar intention or brewing similar idea. No one should be ABOVE THE LAW.

4. Those police guys on trial of killing the sect leader should be giving a fair hearing. Their culpability should be punished accordingly. This will ensure orderliness in the force.       


5. Government should be wary of paying “off” or “settling” criminals with financial rewards as doing so will encourage others. There should a proper instituted benefit if there was any loss in the first place.

6. A fully function commission of enquiry should be set-up by the government and the recommendations should be implemented.

THIS IS MY PERSONAL VIEW.

Very thought provoking write up. But regarding obasanjo's visit to the family, I am almost certain that the old tortoise just went there to divide them and get vital info (as u pointed out) . I have learned to never underestimate that man's methods

Sensible stuff up there, Rhino!

Very good one from Rhino, please when are you going to replace the one in Aso Rock?

Good,very apt.The rumour in maiduguri now is the guy was killed by Ali sheriff(commander in chief of touts)coz he was going to indict him

Nice one. GEJ needs give u special advicer on this

Nice idea

Very nice thoughts and straight to the point. . .Mazaaaaaaaaa!. . . .

mazaje:

Very nice thoughts and straight to the point. . .Mazaaaaaaaaa!. . . .

Thank you brother. Mazaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaje! kana ta ho le wa abin ka

nuclearboy:

Sensible stuff up there, Rhino!

Thanks Nuke.

hercules07:

Very good one from Rhino, please when are you going to replace the one in Aso Rock?

Nna Aso Rock no be moi-moi ooh.

Mos_D:

Nice one. GEJ needs give u special advicer on this

Guy, make you no allow Beaf catch you.

russellino:

Very thought provoking write up. But regarding obasanjo's visit to the family.

Obj is one chap i hardly agree with. His intention was clear and to some extent he meant well with the visit. But, You don't just beg and appeal to ANY group/s, the massage is that the central government is weak.

I should expect him to communicate to the group's spoke person openly, extend hand of deadly friendship through invitation to dialoque, chip in divide and rule then watch the house crumble.

Babakura(the late guy that met with Obj) has shown that the group can be cracked easily with little effort. Else, how then do you explain him telling Obj the right location of other members?

Rhino

Thanks for the wonderful piece. It is deep. However, you missed a point in the solution.

You captured my heart at the paragraph where you mentioned that Boko Haram is an expression of the failure of the nation state (not northern political oligarchy) to deliver education to the northern child. Its sad, but with the high level of illiteracy in the north i didn't expect less.

As far back as 1999, one of my organization colleagues wrote a paper analyzing the illiteracy crises in the north. He did a statistical comparison of school attendance (from primary to tertiary level) between the north and the south. The statistics in the piece were unbelievable. We drew up a program of action that we move into the northern region with "campaign for the educational development of the northern child". Unfortunately, our program never saw the light of the day. I look back and appreciate my friend's ingenuity.

The fundamental solution to Boko Haram is the direct opposite of the name. There is need for the Federal Government to draw up a 10 years program of action towards the educational development of the northern child. Anything short of that, is a mere cosmetic solution to the end we all dread- the break-up of Nigeria.

Following your perspective, i ask that we both do paper to one of the national dailies- as our small bit to correct this problem.

Cheers

  Government should be wary of paying “off” or “settling” criminals with financial rewards as doing so will encourage others. There should a proper instituted benefit if there was any loss in the first place.

that is the main point to this amnesty that the FG started at the first place

it shows that[b] terrorism and crime does pay[/b] if u are violent enough

I am afraid you are confusing issues. The amnesty in the Niger Delta was less than the FG needed to resolve the problem in that region, but one that has calmed things down "for now" - and I emphasize "for now".

Back to the point, ND militants were protesting the national "taking" of resources from the region and destruction of their land. That is a legitimate basis for protest.

The question is what is BH's grouse that they have to go into bombing innocent lives a.k.a. terrorism?

alj_harem:

that is the main point to this amnesty that the FG started at the first place

it shows that[b] terrorism and crime does pay[/b] if u are violent enough

koruji:

I am afraid you are confusing issues. The amnesty in the Niger Delta was less than the FG needed to resolve the problem in that region, but one that has calmed things down "for now" - and I emphasize "for now".

Back to the point, ND militants were protesting the national "taking" of resources from the region and destruction of their land. That is a legitimate basis for protest.

The question is what is BH's grouse that they have to go into bombing innocent lives a.k.a. terrorism?

hmmmm
maybe so

The multiple claims from different factions of the so-called Boko Haram is suggesting either, a deep buried conspiracy between the northern political class and the dreaded Boko Haram to continue erasing their traces by picking and eliminating any potential lead or a script from the SSS guys to create an illusion of "another" faction wrestling with the "real" Boko haram(Profoundly the best options). You just have to infiltrate the group to gain access to their base.

If true Boko Haram did NOT kill the guy that met with OBJ, then i will say its just a matter of days before the mystery of Boko haram shall be uncover.

@ rhino - you've confirmed that obj has succeeded in dismantling or at least removing all the vital bolts and nuts that are holding the group together. Kai! I no like am b4 but obj is truly a general.now I know what he meant when he said he will lay down his life for naija.

@ Poster:
Thank you for this eye opening thread, which no doubt will go a long way towards removing some of the stereotyping and misconception with regards to the complexity behind this relatively new insurgent group, especially as often misunderstood by our southern brothers.

The fact that their membership also draws from some of the elites (doctors, engineers etc) does adduce to your observation that the name Boko Haram (i.e. western education is sinful) is indeed over blown and that the group are far from being a bunch of misguided illiterates but quite sophisticated than they are given credit for, as can be judged from their deadly modus operadi.

My biggest regret is the association of their name and identity with the religion of Islam; because any true Muslim would tell you that their actions does not represent Islam.

koruji:


Back to the point, ND militants were protesting the national "taking" of resources from the region and destruction of their land. That is a legitimate basis for protest.

The question is what is BH's grouse that they have to go into bombing innocent lives a.k.a. terrorism?

Sorry to disagree, the killing and kidnapping of innocent civilians does not and can never represent a legitimate cause for protest - for whatever reason; besides how does targeting and killing of people constitute an accetable form of protest.

Bump!

This personal view is very flawed.

Nigeria as a nation has no intelligence at all; the other day i was at Port Harcourt Airport and the announcer was saying that such and such a plane will land in 5 minutes time, this is a plane that was already on the tarmac disembarking passengers. Prior to the attack on Yobe state the security forces in the north were announcing their preparedness to ensure a peaceful holiday and see how peaceful it is.

The rise of militancy be in Niger delta or Boko Haram if you look closely is associated with our return to democracy. These people are simply hired helps of the political class so there is not much they can do by way of bringing them to justice unless they are ready to expose themselves.

Going by the near fracas that happened in UNIPORT today, sad but let me be bold to say that there is little or no difference between boko haram and a muslim. It took wisdom by the private security forces to prevent a carnage of immense proportions.

This is another unhelpful thread packed with thinly veiled fawning and filled to the brim with inaccuracies. This is one highly dangerous example:

The government, made initial publications that they were brought in dead (BID) .The press released a live footage and photos of the sect leader. Then the government quickly, retrieved and replaced their initial press statement with a very un-intelligent one “They try escaping and were shot!!”

It was the police and army that released conflicting statements, not the govt. There are reasons why policemen are facing trial for the murder of Yusuf, which the OP is best served to find out.
I wonder whose interests are served by such manipulation of recent history?

And thier reasons??. . . Illegal clamping, jailing and continue detention of their members without any recourse to justice, ordered by the state government.  This was done purposely to satisfy “other” high ranking Islamic scholars in the state (pseudo-political scholars) with different ideology and doctrine. Before this, there was the incident of refusal of allowing them to continue practicing their faith in the state.
The slain leader of Boko Haram was a cool guy (No pun intended), which can be invited to ANY discussion without any hesitant or refusal. From my personal study and understanding the motive of the group, [b]I won’t be far from the truth if I say the group came out to protest against the long failure of northern political oligarch[/b]y, which has violated every opportunity to transform and educate their masses. I have listen and watched Yusuf (slain Boko Haram) leader defending his ideology, which I think to some extent is mainly trying to create awareness to the crime of the politicians.

Talk about praising evil. I'm sure to the OP, the innocent souls lost to the mindless bombings have been govt officials. Also, those the "cool" Yusufs thugs killed were mere items on the shopping list to get at the "northern political oligarchy."

This thread is at best, dangerously foolish and at worst, treasonable.

The  view is flawed and you didn't care to contribute any? . . .

otokx:

This personal view is very flawed.

Nigeria as a nation has no intelligence at all; the other day i was at Port Harcourt Airport and the announcer was saying that such and such a plane will land in 5 minutes time, this is a plane that was already on the tarmac disembarking passengers. Prior to the attack on Yobe state the security forces in the north were announcing their preparedness to ensure a peaceful holiday and see how peaceful it is.

The rise of militancy be in Niger delta or Boko Haram if you look closely is associated with our return to democracy. These people are simply hired helps of the political class so there is not much they can do by way of bringing them to justice unless they are ready to expose themselves.

Going by the near fracas that happened in UNIPORT today, sad but let me be bold to say that there is little or no difference between boko haram and a muslim. It took wisdom by the private security forces to prevent a carnage of immense proportions.

Let me assume you are just seeing this thread for the first time and play along.


Take a sucker punch the OP is all yours.

@ Bold
Put a spin on that, it wont change the fact on ground. Tell me what wrong do you think Danjuma Goja, Isa Yuguda and all, did to Boko Haram that warrant full page news paper apologies?


Why did it took the government 2 years to commence the trial of the police officers?? I guess they are still "investigating". Talking about looking for a scape goat.

Beaf:

This is another unhelpful thread packed with thinly veiled fawning and filled to the brim with inaccuracies. This is one highly dangerous example:

It was the police and army that released conflicting statements, not the govt. There are reasons why policemen are facing trial for the murder of Yusuf, which the OP is best served to find out.
I wonder whose interests are served by such manipulation of recent history?

Talk about praising evil. I'm sure to the OP, the innocent souls lost to the mindless bombings have been govt officials. Also, those the "cool" Yusufs thugs killed were mere items on the shopping list to get at the "northern political oligarchy."

This thread is at best, dangerously foolish and at worst, treasonable.