The coalition against terror

By Bayo Fasunwon
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Nigeria is our country; dear to our hearts, and cherished by our unborn generations. The heroes past and fathers in the grave beyond gave us hope of a better tomorrow. A tomorrow hinged on the hope that though tribes and tongues differ, our unity in diversity remains the beauty of greatness.

They believed and have made us to imbibe the indoctrination that while diverse tongues halted the development of the tower of Babel and led to the disintegration of the entire human race, our 250 ethnic groups and close to 300 diversified language would invalidate the conclusion of the Babel anatomy.

This thought was the basis for the civil war, the disbandment of Niger Delta militias, the demonization of OPC and the denigration of MASSOB and IPOB. Now, concerted efforts are in place against the Boko Haram insurgents and unimpressive crackdowns on fulani herdsmen /bandits.

In Nigeria’s postcolonial history, till date, Nigeria, the Big Brother of Africa had never fought an external aggressor.  Like America, their wars have been fought outside the shores of her land. The dexterity of the Nigeria armed forces was applauded in Congo, in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Sudan. The tenacity of the nation in her war against apartheid was commended to high heavens and Angola could trace her independence to Nigeria’s military and financial support. The wars that had shook Nigeria to the marrow were her internal wars: the civil war, the Maitasine uprising, Niger Delta agitations, Boko Haram and armed land grabbers. Unfortunately, in these wars, Nigeria had never won the war, though the battle was not lost.

It was very sad to note the Dapchi, Chibok and Benue peoples have been attacked on several occasions with success. On several occasions, the peoples of these communities have had a coalition of tears to commemorate their irreparable losses. These areas have become easy targets and bounties of war to the insurgents and terrorists. While they bury their hopes and progenitors in pain and anguish, they are made to watch as their assailants are given scholarships, air travels and special favours. So their fears no respite knows, and they must live in undying fear and tremor, every day of their lives. The torture of betrayal and disappointment lives with them forever, and are not even sure that anyone of their clans, tongues and tribes may be alive in years to come, to tell the story of their near annihilation. These harmless victims have become preys nurtured for the predators to feast on, with impunity. In the face of hopelessness and staring genocide, what should be done to end the coalition of tears?

The Germans were sure that they could take over the world, and exterminate the inferior bloods. Nations watch unconcerned as Jews were being exterminated. Most sovereign nations at first held their peace and condemned with their mouths the barbaric acts of the German war machines. Therefore, the Nazis under the binding force of their Swastika left trails of blood and coalition of tears in their trails. In order to have a successful warfare, men became guinea pigs and gas became a weapon of war. However, it took the coalition of France, Great Britain, America and their colonies to stop the genocide. War was met with war, and Germany fell against the strategy of coalition. In pre-colonial times, the British did not conquer their territories on the altar of superior firepower. Their ‘successful’ expeditions were based on the fact that while they attacked specific and isolated territories, the neighbours of the subdued gave no helping hand. Hence conquest was in bits and pieces until the entire territories were subdued.

From history we learnt that the fourteen kingdoms of the Hausa States, Hausa Bokwai and Banza Bokwai had heroic leaders, including Queen Aminat of Zaria. These kingdoms were on their own strong, and engulfed in internal and external rivalries. Therefore disunity was the order of the day, when the Fulanis, stirred by the teachings of Othman Dan Fodio took flags and took the Hausa States, one after the other. The Habe rulers of the Hausa States did not form a coalition against their attackers, so they fell one after the other. Oyo kingdom could have fallen prey to the rampaging Dan Fodio’s disciples had they not formed a coalition against the subtle betrayer of Alimi in Kwara. The Ekiti would have also lost their ancestral homes, had they not formed the Ekiti Parapo.

The rain and planting season is here again, and the bandits would strike. The middle belt should not see Benue as an unfortunate beneficiary of deaths, Once Benue is subdued, and the entire Middle belt would become the prizes of war. The Middle Belt States need to realize that the various skirmishes against one another in their area are meant to create a weak resistance against attacks. The time is now, for them to also rise up and form a coalition against their common enemy. When the need to resist the demonic thirst of Adolf Hitler, other nations subsumed their differences and egos under the need for survival, survival must be the guiding light of the Middle Belt and all other geopolitical zones in Nigeria. The idea is not to cause another civil war., but to ‘uphold and defend; their portion of the nation for national development. All the victims of insurgencies must form a solid coalition, well equipped, trained and ready to deter any attack anytime of the day. The time to play the Ostrich is over. The Yorubas would say, ‘O god if you cannot help me, leave me as I was’. That is the message to the Federal Government of Nigeria. The time is right and ripe for the government to allow victims of incessant attacks to bear arms. If the oppressor could bear arms to destroy, and still get amnesty; it should be the right of their victims to bear arms and gain life.

Now that AMOTEKUN has been legalized, caution is the word. AMOTEKUN should wean itself from the barbaric anti-people behaviour of FSARS and trigger happy police. They should be wary of the ‘Alimis’ who would like to sneak into the outfit. AMOTEKUN is a Coalition Against Terrorism, so let it be.