Terrorism Must Be Distinguished From Ordinary Rebellion Or Mere Revolt

Nigeria is encountering major security challenges today, as a retired senior Military officer in the rank of Major General, what will be your advice as the best solution to apply and end this insurgency?

yes, undeniably, Nigeria our dear country is undergoing some serious security challenges. The most devastating of these challenges is the Boko Haram which has unleashed an unprecedented terror campaign against our brothers and sisters in the North-Eastern part of the country. These terror attacks designed to induce fear and cause panic among the populace have mildly been referred to as “insurgency”. Nigeria, a relatively peaceful nation had experienced some periodic rebellious uprisings including the 1960 and 1964 Tiv crises, the 1965 Western electoral crisis, the Niger Delta insurgency and others. However, the advent of Boko Haram as a well planned and an orchestrated organization designed to terrorize Nigerians is the first of its kind in the history of our nation.

Terrorism must be distinguished from an ordinary rebellion or revolt designed to negotiate for some perceived rights and privileges from government as was the case with the Youths of the Niger Delta. Boko Haram first reared its head in Kano during the administration of General Yakubu Gowon, and was referred to as Maitatsine uprising. 

It was crushed immediately. Following the Kano experience, this particular sect took their time to plan and finally to metamorphose into what Nigerians wrongly and mildly refer to as “insurgency”. The aim of Boko Haram is to terrorize Nigerians until the group is allowed to carve out the area of the North-East to create a theocratic empire whose governance will be based on Islamic faith that is completely different from what is practiced by Nigerian Muslims, particularly in the north. In history several empires have risen and fallen across the Sahel Savannah Region beginning from Senegal to the Borno area. If the Europeans had not come and carved out nations in the West African sub-region including the Nigerian area to prevent potential empire builders, many empires would have risen and fallen in the area since then. Maitatsine and Boko Haram are desperate attempts to establish new theocratic States based on new Islamic faith.

The reason the Maitatsine marauders were unable to succeed in their bid to establish a new theocratic state in Kano was mainly because both the national society and the nation’s military were too strong. The movement was ruthlessly crushed by the Nigerian military. If any empire seekers find fault in the Nigerian national system, they will explore such fault lines to the fullest.