After Orire rescue, what next?

By SUNNY IKHIOYA

The Orire school kidnapping ended on a happy note for the whole country, although a sad one for the family of the slaughtered maths teacher, Oyedokun. Overall, we give thanks; it could have been worse. For once, in a long time, the terrorists’ campaign ended in a total loss for them, with no concession granted to any of their requests. For once, the intelligence capabilities of the Nigerian combined armed forces were put to work with absolute success. For once, the professionalism of our soldiers was put to the test and they excelled. So, all along, it has always been a lack of willpower on the part of the people running our country. Now that the weakness of the bandits has been laid bare under this dispensation, it is time to put an end to their activities all over the country. 

By this single operation, the Nigerian armed forces have restored the dignity and respect that they once enjoyed in the seventies to the nineties. That they are a well-trained and professional force is no longer in doubt; now is the time to put the activities of those clowns to permanent rest. They must adhere strictly to the instructions of the minister of defence, to take the battle to the bandits and attack them without waiting for orders. They must now be proactive instead of being reactive as they have been in the past. The saboteurs among them must be identified and neutralised. The solution to banditry and terrorism has never been through negotiations; it is always by strong will and superior power, backed by strong passion for the national cause. We must begin to evaluate our orientation and culture towards our oneness. Ideologies, religions and cultures that are antithetical to our common goal and unity must be brutally suppressed. 

We must return to the Nigeria where citizens are free to travel anywhere they want, anytime they want, without fear of molestation, harassment, kidnapping and killing. Yes, it is possible because this was the Nigeria we grew up in during the days of yore, the sixties to the nineties. Solve the problem of insecurity and religious fanaticism and the glory of Nigeria will begin to shine again. It was predicted that this country would be no more by 2015, but somehow our amoebic—shapeless and formless—nature has enabled us to wobble and stumble on. Some agents of destabilisation had sown seeds of discord among us using religion and ethnicity. They were bent on bringing the nation to its knees, went as far as importing foreigners masquerading as religious and ethnic brothers; it was a total catastrophe. The northern cities and towns lie desolate, living in constant fear and subjugation to bandit interests. 

Foreign business buccaneers come into our territory, do whatever they like with our citizens and cart away our precious resources without any scruples. It was and is still very bad in the north, and they have been emboldened to extend their campaigns to the south of the country, and that is where we are now. It is important that we consolidate on the Orire gain by taking the battle to them now. This will also help quench the rumour that the release of the teachers and students was an arranged one. No matter the rumours that are being churned out, one thing is clear: the intelligence gathering and implementation was spot on, which destabilised the plans of the ISWAP terrorists. We must go after them before they commit further damage to the national foundation. As they were releasing the Orire victims on Tuesday, July 14, armed men stormed the Government Secondary School, Olowa, Dekina local government area of Kogi State and abducted the principal and students who were writing the National Examination Council, NECO, examination. 

According to the Vanguard newspaper of July 19, “The incident sparked fears of yet another prolonged school kidnapping. However, before those fears could deepen, Kogi State government announced on Thursday that all victims had been rescued safely and reunited with security agencies for debriefing and medical evaluation.” Although the response is heartwarming, the same Vanguard headlined a new story thus: “After Orire, Kogi operation: 529 kidnapped school children, worshippers, farmers, others remain in captivity.” The government must find all means to release these people and others still in captivity. The bandits, kidnappers and terrorists must be put under constant retreat; they should not be allowed to reassemble. Wherever they are, find them using local security and intelligence, then bomb them out. We will not succeed if we do not go after religious leaders preaching hate and divisiveness in the land, whether in the mosques or churches. 

There are too many loose cannons flying over our lands, with no control whatsoever. The aides to religious organisations must be monitored and also, foreign scholarships and trainings should be scrutinised. I read about the country of Burkina Faso taking a roll call of its students undergoing studies in Saudi Arabia, where 800 of them are reading religious studies. The leadership questioned how this could bring development to their country. The same thing is happening in our country, where students go abroad to study and end up getting radicalised and return as dissidents against their own country. We must discourage radical preaching and teachings in our lands; the government must not take this for granted. Find the sponsors of these insurgents and deal with them decisively. 

There must be a new orientation for the people on the values of our unity. Make education compulsory for northern children, return victims of terrorism to their homes and properly rehabilitate them. This is so that hatred will not continue into generations yet unborn. Let the healing be total. In the light of the above, we must look at wider governance. Make governance transparent. Stories like that of Adeyemi Adeniyi breed discontent in the land. Give everyone a sense of belonging; there must be no discrimination in any hue or form. People must be able to live freely and seek for elections anywhere they live without discrimination. This is because the source of discontent in man is injustice. When there is fairness and equitable distribution of resources, done in a transparent manner, the people are happy. Even this war against terrorism is not being done in a transparent manner; there are too many saboteurs both within and outside government. President Jonathan once admitted this fact while he was in government. President Tinubu must learn from this.

•Ikhioya writes from Lagos.