Playing the ostrich.

Written by Mahmoon Baba-Ahmed.

inSharMany Nigerians can expectantly heave a sigh of relief with the indication that the Boko Haram sect is now engaged in dialogue with the federal government in a bid to end the protracted unrest that is bedevilling some parts of northern states. Malam Habu Mohammed, purportedly speaking on behalf of the sect’s leader, told a Voice of America correspondent in far away Saudi Arabia that talks are ongoing to bring respite to the northern states already overwhelmed by hostilities.

That was not the first time Nigerians are treated to such seemingly heart warming information only for their hopes to be dashed, making them depressed, dejected and discouraged. However, majority of Nigerians are optimistic about the possibility of a dialogue and are having a hopeful view of its positive outcome in future. This is more so because they are extremely worried over how the lingering catastrophe caused serious social upheavals and disrupted economic activities in major northern cities and other urban centres that had been turned into the theatres of the conflict.

Some sympathetic and concerned southerners are living with their hearts in their mouths fearing that the escalation of uncertainty and the insecurity in the land may extend to their areas. Everybody was weary, disenchanted and disillusioned until that infrequent news broadcast from America came to uplift the souls of the miserable people and put a smile on their dispirited faces.

Whatever joy that piece of news had elicited was short-lived, for as soon as that broadcast was made, Mr Labaran Maku, the voluble Information Minister, subtly and diplomatically dismissed the sect’s claim that talks were going on between Boko Haram warriors and federal government’s ubiquitous security forces. He posited that his government was aware of that development and that its doors are always open for dialogue so as to bring that orgy of unmitigated violence to an end.

Nevertheless the two statements were contradictory as they were perplexing, making people doubt the genuineness of the Boko Haram claim or the sincerity of the government in engaging members of the sect in any meaningful dialogue now or in the nearest future. The sect contends that dialogue has commenced while the government is renouncing that assertion, insisting that if that gesture was an invitation from the sect it will be eagerly and delightedly accepted. In that case it can be said there is more to it than meets the eye.

Undoubtedly the onus of convening the dialogue rests squarely on the shoulders of the government and it should therefore rise to the occasion. On its part, the sect has always been forthcoming about initiatives that will lead to either truce or complete resolution of the conflict. Similarly notable statesmen have risked their lives and staked their reputation in trying new ideas that will pave way to a peaceful, workable solution without any tangible result. In the end the government was indicted of being responsible for the failure of various peace initiatives, or for scuttling efforts aimed at bringing the feuding Boko Haram to negotiating table.

Could there be anything that deterred the government from initiating a move that would have prescribed a lasting solution to Boko Haram menace? The government had in the past set a precedent in that direction when it dispatched a presidential jet to convey leaders of the Niger Delta insurgency to Aso Rock to negotiate terms for their surrender and the ultimate amnesty. Why is the government always apathetic in considering suggestions for peaceful settlement with Boko Haram? It ought to do more to convince everyone that it is indeed interested in ending that embarrassing situation.

It is hard to convince Nigerians that their government is incapable of dealing with terrorism and insurgency in whatever guise despite extensive deployment of its security personnel in all the troubled areas. It is argued that the government was being deliberately immobilised as a ploy to enlist the support of foreign countries in quelling the unrest it had woefully failed to contain.

Despite the fact that Western countries, including the United States, are complicit in the emergence of Goodluck Jonathan in the April 2011 elections, though by many to have been rigged, they refused to be dragged into the Boko Haram crises which some say has roots in the social and economic deprivations caused largely by misguided policies, therefore only the Federal Government can proffer solution to them. Thus, there is a growing sense that the government takes responsibility for allowing the Boko Haram problem to fester and assume alarming dimension.

If indeed there is religious nuances to the insurgency saga the Americans, known to be extremely intolerant with the rising profile of Islam, would have intervened to nip the uprising in the bud as it had been doing across the world. As the opposite is the case, the Americans are not worried by Nigeria’s intractable insurgency even though there are some wicked people who are bent on besmearing Nigeria’s integrity by calling for its inclusion into infamous American register of terrorist nations. Even as Hillary Clinton, the U.S.  Secretary of State, came calling awhile ago, she avoided any reference to Boko Haram insurgency and deliberately cited corruption and social injustice as the bane of Jonathan’s administration. She advised him to take remedial measures so as to bring to an end the malevolent regime of instability propelled by corruption and maladministration.

It is obvious that persistent instability in the country is caused, not by the menace of the Boko Haram alone, but also by the perverse values that reared their heads since the inception of the Jonathan administration in the name of democracy. It is now an open secret that the Federal Government is not interested in dialogue and is opting for the prolongation of the crisis for the advancement of its warped political ideals. That explains why it is playing ostrich, believing that nobody really knows how it is approaching the Boko Haram calamity.