The Nigerian Government and the Menace of Boko Haram Terrorists.

According to the Amnesty International, as at May 9, 2014, the Boko Haram terrorists in Nigeria have killed at least 2,000 people this year alone. And that is not counting the latest 118 people killed in Jos and the earlier 5 people killed in a Kano bomb blast.

Personally, I don’t care what the Boko Haram animals are trying to achieve…the propagation of Islam, retrieval of political power or whatever the heck they have as their evil agenda… for how long will the animals be allowed to unleash their reigns of terror, rapes of teenage girls, arson and cold-blooded murders while the government of President Jonathan continue to appear helpless and spineless?

One can easily remember an unfortunate tragedy that took place in 1999 under the watch of President Obasanjo. There had been a spate of kidnappings and robberies being perpetrated by a “gang of criminals” (or terrorists?) in a town called Odi in Bayelsa State. The gang members went “beyond their boundaries” the day they killed one more police officer, making a total of twelve cops, murdered in cold blood while on active duty.

President Obasanjo was furious. He vowed to “teach them a lesson”. In the aftermath of the “lesson”, many people died and hundreds of homes were destroyed, most of them torched, in the operation launched on November 20, 1999 by a detachment of soldiers from the 2nd Amphibious Brigade to take over the town of Odi in Bayelsa State. Many people were shocked by this act of “killing a mere fly with a sledge hammer”.

Even the state governor (Diepreye Alameyeseigha) who had always detested the activities of the gang was stunned! In an interview in his office in the Bayelsa State capital, Yenagoa (outside Odi) the governor lamented that it was true that the Nigerian government "could  not tolerate criminals" in the town. "They were killing, they were stealing.  No responsible government could tolerate it any longer," he said. "The boys that have caused the trouble, they are not fighting for anybody. They are just criminals…but the army operation had been an ‘overkill’”

Yes, it was an “overkill”…but that was the end of the criminal gang!

Fast-forward to 2001. At the height of the longstanding disputes between the Tiv and Jukun ethnic groups (neighboring people in Benue and Taraba States), a militia gang was established among the Tiv ethnic group. With discreet supports from their fellow Tivs in the military, this gang began to launch heavy attacks against the Jukuns. They however overreached themselves when about 19 soldiers deployed to the area were kidnapped and murdered in cold blood on October 12, 2001 in a village called Zaki-Biam.

This incident was roundly condemned by many Nigerians but that was not enough for President Obasanjo. He decided to send a very strong “message” to the militias. Alas…it was on the extreme side.  The entire village of Zaki-Biam was razed to the ground!

Up till today, Obasanjo is being condemned for that action…except that his action brought about the end of the militia.

A leadership can always be accused of making a wrong decision or taking a wrong action in the face of a threat to national security such as President Obasanjo did during his tenure but the complete act of omission of President Jonathan in regard to the menace of the Boko Haram animals is tantamount to a criminal negligence!