Boko
Haram is taking a much huger toll on us than the killings, arson and
maiming that have become its trademark. While we are still grappling
with burying hundreds of the sect’s victims, rebuilding places of
worship, reconstructing ethnic and religious relationships, and peering
warily into a future that is looking increasingly gloomy, the sect has
both directly and indirectly created a unique trouble for everybody.
So far, we have passed the stage of arguing over whether to negotiate
with the sect or not, for it seems we have argued ourselves into a
stalemate, with the government more evidently at sixes and sevens than
the rest of us.
Now, we are at the stage of arguing over whether we are actually
negotiating with the sect’s representatives or not, and not trusting
what we see or hear. Self-doubt has begun to gnaw at our national
kidney.
After many months of handwringing, unsure whether to fight the sect
or not, the government finally decided to fight, even if half-heartedly.
Then, when it was discovered that winning the fight goes beyond the
mere determination to fight, the government, like a whirligig, again
began to contemplate dialogue; and the sect itself, with its hoary sense
of humour snickered as it baited the government.
Finally, a few weeks ago, after the sect announced its readiness to
enter into dialogue, presidential spokesman, Dr Reuben Abati,
acknowledged that some forms of negotiations were going on.
He had asserted, with the kind of confidence, “I can confirm to you
that talks are ongoing at the background. But the talks are not the
kinds being envisaged by Nigerians. I know that some Nigerians are
expecting that a venue should be chosen and a banner would be placed
there indicating that the Federal Government is holding dialogue with
the group there. That is not the kind of talks we are talking about
here. The ongoing talk is a back-channel one in which those who know
members of the group are talking with them on behalf of the government.”
Abati’s confident assertions supposedly put us out of misery. But the relief was short-lived.
Soon, the president himself, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, weighed in with an even more vigorous counter of his own.
Said he dismissively: “Government is not in dialogue with any of
group of people, not the least Boko Haram. They Boko Haramare still
operating under cover. They wear a mask. They don’t have a face. You
don’t dialogue with people you don’t know. We don’t have anybody to
dialogue with. There is no dialogue going on anywhere contrary to
reports that have been carried in the media.”
If Abati doesn’t have egg on his face because of his self-effacement,
on his behalf, we solemnly bear the pain. But who’ll break the logjam
and set the record straight?
Enter Dr Junaid Mohammed, the knight in shining armour, sweeping
pugnaciously into view, arms flailing, eyes blazing hot, and tongue
speaking daggers. He confirmed that the president was not telling the
truth on Boko Haram dialogue, and that, in fact, dialogue was already
taking place between the sect and government.
Hear the eloquent Jonathan tormentor: “This government (the Jonathan
presidency) has been having underground talks with Boko Haram, and if
the President says he is not negotiating with the sect, he is lying.
What the government is trying to do with the Boko Haram matter shows the
highest display of hypocrisy and dishonesty.”
Few people call a spade a spade as acerbically as Junaid.
Should we decide to cast the deciding ballot, how would
we vote? All three gentlemen ought to know the truth; but all three have
chosen to tell colourful stories. Somewhere between them lie the
unvarnished facts, and perhaps it is only Boko Haram that is not
misrepresenting the reality. The winner in all this, it is obvious, is
Boko Haram, a sect that repeatedly sets a cat among the pigeons, our
pigeons, frightens us out of our wits, and causes the power elite to
find fact and fiction indistinguishable.
InformationNigeria.org
