Confab of Fear


•ACF confirms that for it, the fear of Boko Haram is the beginning of wisdom


THE Peace and Unity Conference organised by the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), an organisation of pre-eminent northerners has come and gone.

The meeting, attended by Vice-President Namadi Sambo, Senate President David Mark, and General Yakubu Gowon, chairman of the occasion and former military head of state, among others, would be remembered more for the ambivalence of its attendees than for its lofty mission of seeking ways of attaining peace and unity across the country.  

The meeting was convened to address the increasing wave of insecurity in the north, and to come up with panacea to it as well as prevent its spread to other parts of the country. But an agitating dimension was added when there occurred serious bomb explosion in Kaduna, the host state of the conference, a day after, killing some people.

We are aware that the greatest threat to the north today, and perhaps national stability, is the Boko Haram, an insurgent Islamic sect that has been wreaking havoc in parts of the northern region. The sect could have masterminded the Kaduna blast even though it has not, like it did in the past, come out publicly to claim responsibility. 

Curiously too, prominent attendees/speakers at the conference took turn to speak but appallingly refrained from alluding to nor mention the name, Boko Haram. Senate President David Mark realised the conspiracy of silence on Boko Haram when he wondered: “Are we afraid to openly condemn Boko Haram, either for political reasons or out of fear of possible attack by the sect?” 

The attendees of the conference acted in a cowardly manner, quite contrary to Gowon’s remark to them to be fearless and blunt in their contributions during the opening ceremony. This conduct by the northern leaders underscored insinuations in the public domain that northern leaders maintain a disgusting silence because prominent northern politicians and public officers are financiers of the sect. 

For instance, a former minister was said to have twice bailed Yusuf, Boko Haram’s late leader when he was arrested by the police. Also, the recently jailed spokesman of the group reportedly named a senator, Ali Ndume, who is currently standing trial, and Ali Modu Sheriff, former Borno State Governor as alleged backers of the sect.

The group, which appears to be growing in complexity reportedly admitted links with the terrorist al-Qaeda group that bombed the US on September 11, 2001. Its own activities too have been replete with bombing of churches, homes and high profile public buildings, including the Police and the United Nations (UN) headquarters, both in Abuja, among others. 

We have come to realise that the problem of insecurity in the north is beyond what an Arewa conference can effectively resolve. There is the belief that President Goodluck Jonathan is not  doing enough to reach out to the north, despite his much touted pan-Nigerian mandate.

The President is the leader  of the entire country and the north is part of the sovereign entity called Nigeria. He should be decisive on this issue. Not necessarily through the use of force, he must earnestly embrace the carrot approach so as to give the north a sense of belonging, in order to assuage their obvious feeling of angst against his person and his government.

On their part, northern leaders should assist the government to rein-in the restive youths by forcefully condemning their activities and using traditional and religious institutions to educate the sect on the danger its activities pose to the nation. 
We consider the two-day conference by Arewa as a waste of time since northern leaders have now publicly shown their fear for Boko Haram that is threatening the corporate existence of the country.

The northern elites are suspects in the avoidable destruction and killings being perpetrated by the sect. Indeed, Alhaji Ibrahim Gujungu, Chairman of the Arewa Youth Forum succinctly captured the Arewa conference as no more than another opportunity for elite re-union aimed at renewing political linkages. We concur.


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