Never in history has a group openly declared war on several media houses at the same time threatening to bomb them out of existence.
Boko Haram (Western Education is evil) the Islamist sect that has suddenly grown ferocious and deadly since the inception of Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s administration has stated categorically that it would not only attack government, but would unleash its terror on all newspapers that have allegedly carried negative news against it.
It revealed its deadly threat in a video celebrating their success in the bombing of This Day office and has declared fatwa, a declaration of religious war on all the newspapers.
On the danger list of Boko Haram are This Day Newspapers which it tagged the greatest offender, Punch, Daily Sun, Vanguard, Guardian, Nation, Tribune, National Accord, Leadership, Daily Trust, Peoples Daily, Sahara Reporters, Radio France International, and VOA Hausa radio.
The offence of the media houses was the carrying out of their duties, the dissemination of information.
The offence of This Day, according to the sect, dates back to 2002 when it allegedly dishonoured Prophet Mohammed during a beauty pageant in Kaduna.
Boko Haram said This Day has not been forgiven and that it was their duty to kill and not to forgive.
For the same offence, the lady involved at that time, one Isioma Daniel would also be killed and the newspaper house driven out of existence.
The group said it would destroy 500 houses for every one house of theirs destroyed by security forces, justifying its attack on tertiary institutions like that of Bayero University where two professors and other Christian worshippers were killed, on Sunday April 29, 2012.
The Joint Military Task Force, JTF, has been raiding Boko Haram hideouts, destroying houses suspected to be harbouring them, as it did in Bubbugaje area in Sharada Phase three, Kano.
Boko Haram has killed hundreds of people and destroyed properties worth several millions, this year alone, sending fear around most of the northern part of the country. It even led to the cancellation of May Day Celebration by workers on May 1, 2012, at Kaduna.
The federal government has been battling to curb the menace of the sect, but the efforts of the government have always been thwarted by the sect through their guerrilla-like attacks of hit and run.
According to the Brigade Commander, 3 Brigade, Nigeria Army, Kano, Brigadier General Iliyasu Abbah, “the most difficult fight you can have is with terrorists because they know you and you don’t know them and they have no permanent residence, they operate like nomads: If you uproot them from one particular place today, tomorrow, they move to another place, so, it is a very difficult battle to prosecute but with the cooperation of members of the public, we shall succeed.”
Obviously overwhelmed by the escalation of the atrocities of Boko Haram, the National Security Adviser, NSA, Gen. Owoye Azazi had blamed the ruling part, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, stating that it was an off-shoot of their undemocratic processes during the selection of leaders.
“I believe there is a strong element of politicization of the crisis, where some people were assured that they would win 80 percent and they did not win,” he went on to say.
On the other hand, the former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai blamed President Goodluck Jonathan and his Niger Delta kitchen cabinet members for the rise of Boko Haram, accusing them of taking the wrong cue.
He said the president and his cabinet, were wasting time, suspecting Northern leaders of collaborating with Boko Haram instead of taking the bull by the horn and going after the sect.
“Rather than spending first year in office to identify key formations and operations of the sect with the aim of nipping their activities in the bud, the president and his men were chasing shadows thereby creating enormous opportunities for the sect to grow to the present dangerous level.
“This narrative is believed by most Niger Delta leaders because of their own experience in organising, training and arming the militants and providing funding for MEND during the period of resource control agitations of the Obasanjo administration. Beacause there was a conspiracy of the political elite, they think the North must be doing the same. And they also feel that Boko Haram largely kills Northerners or “parasites” as one Presidential aide, Reno Omokri, tweeted; so the more they are killed, the less the burden on the ‘oil-rich hosts.’ Another presidential aide actually said these words to an old ex-OPC friend of his in London in June 2011. With this narrative wired in the brains of Jonathan’s inner circle, they spent their first year trying to link some of us in opposition to Boko Haram instead of honestly tracking the real problems. While wasting time on us, the sect grew stronger, bolder and better trained. The first step therefore is to unwind this narrative and honestly ask the right questions.”
Kenneth Amabipi
