Israel, Boko-Haram, El-Zakzaky and our troubled nation

By Muhammad Al-Ghazali

These are not the best of times to be a Nigerian or indeed a citizen of the world. In the Middle East – and we should never be deluded to imagine that we are immune from events so far from our own shores – Israel continued its gruesome massacre of innocent women and children with the declared intent to defend itself even though it has occupied the territory belonging to its victims cast in the mould of aggressors for more than half a century in defiance of the United Nations.

In the words of Noam Chomsky, himself of Jewish ancestry, “Israel uses sophisticated attack jets and naval vessels to bomb densely-crowded refugee camps, schools, apartment blocks, mosques, and slums to attack a population that has no air force, no air defence, no navy, no heavy weapons, no artillery units, no mechanized armour, no command in control, no army… and calls it a war. It is not a war, it is murder.” 

But he did not end there:  “When Israelis in the occupied territories now claim that they have to defend themselves, they are defending themselves in the sense that any military occupier has to defend itself against the population they are crushing. You can’t defend yourself when you’re militarily occupying someone else’s land. That’s not defence. Call it what you like, it’s not defence.”

 Fittingly, Chomsky’s umbrage at Israel’s barbaric treatment of Palestinians resonated with the attitude of a sprinkling of other Jews who joined hundreds of thousands of civilized people to protest the slaughters in major capitals of the world. Their gesture proved beyond all reasonable doubt that if we all embrace civility, it is possible for our common humanity to triumph over our primitive impulses.

Only the current Israel leaders can explain why they have become so scornful of their history or its tragic lessons. Only they can also explain why their condemnable behaviour induced such nostalgia for Adolf Hitler as evidenced by those who carried posters of the leader of the Third Reich during the protests. On the surface such gestures may appear obscene, but given the realities of unfolding events in Gaza, we can hardly gloss over their significance.

Back home in Nigeria, the first hints emerged that the Boko Haram insurgents in the North East were beginning to gain the upper hand in their war with the Nigerian Army, a prospect that appeared highly unlikely only a few years ago. As I wrote this, news reached me of four separate bomb blasts in Kano, to go with the previous two in Kaduna which targeted Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi and General Muhammadu Buhari. Only the previous week, the sect was said to have been emboldened enough to hoist its flag in the town of Damboa, in Borno State, effectively annexing a portion of Nigeria.

As incredible as it may appear, the ‘ragtag’ army of insurgents, now appear to have put the modern Nigerian military on the defensive. Morale among the rank and file is thought to be at its lowest ebb no thanks to endemic corruption. There has been at least one reported incident of a mutiny against the GOC of the 7th Division established to confront the insurgency.

 And quite incredibly the President has written to the National Assembly for approval to borrow a billion dollars to purchase military hardware! Didn’t the Governor of Borno State Kashim Shettima alert the nation months ago that the insurgents had superior weapons? Didn’t he also warn about the issue of low morale of the troops? What was the reaction of the presidency at the time?

If this were to be a sane country, any approval of additional military funding to battle the insurgency must be accompanied by a well publicized apology to Governor Shettima from the presidency. The request itself is the clearest proof yet that the presidency fiddled while Rome burnt for its belated reaction to the threat posed by the insurgency.

Just like with his attitude to the kidnap-ping of the Chibok girls, the President stands accused for his wrong perception and reaction to the threat posed by the Boko Haram at the initial stages. He lost too much time listening to the theory of the short-sighted hawks around him who encouraged him to believe the insurgency was a ploy by northern elites to undermine his presidency. 

 Nigeria, under President Jonathan failed to conclusively prosecute the killers of Mohammed Yusuf, the pioneer leader of Boko Haram. His government failed to bring to justice the perpetrators of other well-documented atrocities against innocent Nigerians in the fight against the sect – a documented fact cited by the American military for its unwillingness to work with the Nigerian army.

Quite unfortunately, it now appears our security forces have not learnt anything from its recent past. Lest we forgot, the genesis of the conflict with Boko Haram and the Nigerian state commenced with the police ambush of a funeral procession by its members in Borno State.  Obviously, the troops who gunned down over 30 Shiite Muslims including three sons of their leader Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, during their annual procession through the city of Zaria, must be from another planet. It may be history about to repeat itself.

This will not be the first time Nigerians would be faced with such monumental crises in the history of the nation. But there can hardly be another epoch in the evolution of the nation that we have all felt more vulnerable individually and collectively. 

With each passing day, the feeling of fear among ordinary Nigerians has become more palpable. We fear for our children in schools. Fear stalks us on the way to our places of worship. We visit our markets and malls with apprehension.

With Nigerians now perpetually crouched under a relentless shower of bombs, they should ordinarily be entitled to competent and decisive leadership of the type provided by General Gowon during our civil war. With Jonathan’s reactive and fidgety style of leadership, they are certain to be disappointed. 

Since independence, Nigeria has had a ceremonial president (Azikiwe). It had a Prime Minister (Balewa), and Executive Civilian Presidents (Shagari, Obasanjo and Yar’adua). It also had a Military President (Babangida), numerous military Heads of States (Ironsi, Gowon, Murtala, Obasanjo, Buhari, Abacha, and Abdulsallam).  Compared to all these gentlemen, President Jonathan appears the least gifted or inspiring as a leader. He also undoubtedly differs in intellect and other qualities. And by ‘other qualities’, I refer to the pedestrian definition of the subject itself. Leaders are often accessed by their abilities to unite people of diverse backgrounds and creed towards the attainment of common objectives and greatness. Where has President Jonathan taken Nigeria in the past five years except closer to the abyss?

His presidency is easily the most divisive in our history. His antecedents bear that to be true. But if the Fourth Republic is allowed to collapse, and its history is eventually written, the narrative is sure to be dominated by the detailed account of the failed state institutions that also contributed in various ways to its demise.

Its epitaph may read: ‘Here lie the wretched remains of Mr Fourth Republic, betrayed by docile and irresponsible citizenship and compromised by visionless leadership’; but the greater share of the blame will also be apportioned to the various state institutions that failed in their constitutionally prescribed responsibilities.

 Few Nigerians can deny that our NASS aided the enthronement of tyranny in the land when it metamorphosed into a mere appendage of the Presidency under David Mark; that under our corrupt Judiciary justice is now for the highest bidder; that allegations of graft and incompetence against our military by the international community are true; that our Civil Service is among the most corrupt in the world, or even that under the Jonathan presidency, the SSS has become ridiculously partisan.

Al-Ghazali is a columnist with the Dailytrust Newspapers