Boko Haram is like a plague out to destroy anything that stands on its way of achieving its delusional goal of imposing extreme brand of Islam on Nigerians. It is an organization that has always been regarded as a dangerous threat to the cooperate existence of Nigeria state. Their theater of operation is concentrated largely in northeastern states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe. They told the indigenes of those states when they came into being that they are out to protect the interest of Muslims so some of the residents of those states appeared indifferent when they were massacring the Christian populations. It was unfortunate that large segments of the Muslim population only became extra-ordinarily concerned when Boko Haram turned their guns on them. Boko Haram has been unleashing unimaginable violence and mayhem ever since.
Kidnapping of over 200 Christian Chibok girls was a watershed moment for Nigeria and the entire world. The world never took Boko Haram serious till the kidnappings. To date, very few Chibok girls have returned to their parents. The remaining Chibok girls have been married off to Boko Haram fighters as I suspected from the beginning. I have always thought that the main reason for the kidnapping was a simple case of Boko Haram leaders, who decidedly made a conscious decision to seek comfort girls for their fighters, and young Christian girls whom they have no affinity or empathy for was deliberately chosen for that purpose.
Recent capture of the town of Mubi in Adamawa states by Boko Haram has basically raised the stake for Nigeria. Boko Haram was on the run in August, September and October of this year. They were routed by Nigerian soldiers to the point that some of their members were surrendering. Some of their leaders were killed in the battle of Kodunga in Borno state. In the mist of their rout, out of nowhere, Boko Haram sent a mystery man whom they later disowned to negotiate peace deal with the federal government of Nigeria on their behalf, and Nigeria government unwittingly fell into their trap by agreeing to negotiate in the first place. The end result was that the time spent in negotiation provided Boko Haram with a much needed break and breathing room to replenish their weapons. They subsequently went on the offensive and captured the business town of Mubi in Adamawa state. Mubi is the second largest town in Adamawa state.
The capture of Mubi now makes it abundantly clear to the Federal government that Boko Haram cannot be negotiated with. They must be confronted with full Nigeria military might, which will lead to their ultimate defeat in the battlefield. The federal government must never enter into another negotiation with this murderous group. They are megalomaniacs masquerading as religious fighters. They have robbed, kidnapped and killed thousands of people so they must be stopped before they gain more followers, influence and territories.
People that have been following the activities of this group for years like me will tell you that this group is unlike anything we have had in Nigeria since our independence. We have had pogroms, uprisings and religious extremism in the northern parts of Nigeria, sometimes it is between Muslims and Christians, Christians and Muslims, one sect of Muslim against another sect, but Nigeria has never experienced anything like Boko Haram. Boko Haram imported suicide bombing into Nigeria. Boko Haram is the first terrorist organization in Nigeria to learn and master the building and use of all kinds of improvised explosive devices. The time we had anything that is even close was during the civil war. Anybody who is knowledgeable in jihadist operations around the world knows that Boko Haram military operation and tactics is not indigenous to Nigeria. It bears foreign jihadist fingerprints.
Their operation is more like that of Al-Qaeda, Pakistan Taliban and Iraq ISIS. Their method of operation indicates that they are funded and trained by one or all the groups listed above. Their method of operation bears out my suspicion. I have always thought from the beginning that this evil organization was trained and funded by foreign terrorist Jihadist organization from the Middle East and Asia. It is also true that some of their money is coming from ransom payments from kidnappings, robberies and protection money, but that kind of income is not enough to sustain Boko Haram for all these years.
Some Southern Nigerians who are predominately Christians have always believed that Boko Haram was formed, funded and equipped by prominent northern Muslims to undermine the government of President Goodluck Jonathan who is a Christian and a southerner. I believe that some prominent northern Muslims may be giving money to Boko Haram, but the money they are giving is more like protection money so they will not target them or their families or their political associates. One should bear in mind that they was a time when Boko Haram were kidnapping and killing prominent northern Muslims which sent shockwave across the north. Such actions are still taking place today. Fellow Southerners must disabuse their mind of the idea that Boko Haram was an organized attempt by the northern Muslims to destabilize president Jonathan’s government by making Nigeria ungovernable.
Just take a look at Abubakar Shekau, head of Boko Haram and all his recent actions. He is mini Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, head of ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi captured some provinces in Iraq and Syria and proclaimed the area under his control a caliphate, Shekau captured towns and some local governments and declared those areas a caliphate and even renamed some of those areas. Shekau was sighted in Mubi, the town they just captured with a flowing Muslim gab similar to that of ISIS leader, Boko Haram flag resembles that of ISIS and the group have even pledged allegiance to the ISIS leader. Boko Haram and ISIS have same goals and believe. Boko Haram leaders adores Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the ISIS leaders. It is indisputable from evidences so far that Boko Haram are been trained and funded by foreign terrorist organizations. All Nigerian must participate in the elimination of Boko Haram. If they allowed to seize and settle in any part of Nigerian territory, it will not be long before other hard-core jihadist around the world will establish their base of operation in Nigeria. Nigeria cannot afford prolonged jihadist war. Nigeria military has to go in with over-whelming force if they want to successfully root out this cancer called Boko Haram before they metastasize.