In the early hours of Friday (December 26), the most powerful president in the world, the US President, Donald Trump, finally harkened to the call of well-meaning Nigerians, with the strike on ISIS terrorists in Sokoto, Northwest Nigeria.
What is without doubt from the reactions, so far, is that there is a general consensus that this development was well-received by Nigerians.
We must also thank the Nigerian government for the collaboration because it’s very unlikely that the US would want to do a thing as this without the knowledge of the Federal Government, especially since there is already an existing collaboration and exchange of visits of officials of both countries over this issue.
The confirmation by the Defence Headquarters that the joint air strikes conducted by Nigerian and United States military forces against ISIS terrorist elements in North-West Nigeria were executed with the approval of the appropriate Federal Government authorities has reinforced this position.
This is both timely and necessary.
Therefore, this is not so much about whether Donald Trump did this alone, without the Federal Government, but more about the fact that for the first time there is real and genuine effort to curtail the activities of these bloodthirsty demons.
For over 15 years or thereabouts, we have not known peace as Nigerians and this is not because we do not have the capacity or that our military is not up to the task but because of lack of willingness or willpower to confront the terrorists, and also because of the activities of several of their sympathisers, enablers and financiers who are in the corridors of government at all levels.
So, left for these people, and a Federal Government that appears not prepared to step on the toes of these criminals and their collaborators, this insecurity would last forever the way we are going.
When a minister of defence tells you that terrorists are in the forests that cannot be accessed by our military, but can be reached by fifth-columnists in and out of government, then you know the war was never meant to be won. When a key government official is seen dining with terrorists and they labour, albeit unsuccessfully, to explain the obvious, know it that their government link and sources are too strong and powerful.
Also, when a known terrorism sympathiser like Dr Ahmad Gumi tells you that terrorists and kidnappers are lesser evils and so should be negotiated with or that the Federal Government ought to have collaborated with terrorists enclaves rather than America, then you understand why the reign of these evil men has lasted this long.
Gumi and many others still in the closet derive joy in identifying with these mass murderers but they have never spared a thought for the victims of these animals. What happens to the thousands of widows, orphans and others incapacitated through injuries from the guns of these human beasts? How many times has Gumi and his likes visited IDP camps?
Why Trump Boxing Day gift has turned out to be a blessing is that what we have in our hands now is as a result of decades of ineffective governance which has culminated in a total breakdown of law and order in several parts of the country which is responsible for the killing of innocent Nigerians by insurgents, terrorists including killer herders.
Perhaps, the greatest validation these terrorists enjoy is from the double-faced elite in the north. While a few of them, like Sheik Gumi, are in the open, most of the enablers of these deadly groups are in covens pulling the strings and ensuring that no harm befalls these groups.
After the US strike last Friday, many of them can barely conceal their displeasure and discontentment.
Easily one of the most ridiculous was the one asking why Sokoto and not Zamfara, Borno, Katsina, Niger and parts of Kebbi State, which have hosted the deadliest killings by terrorists. For this school of thought, the strike by the US is more for the symbolism of it since Sokoto houses the caliphate.
But I dare ask, why not Sokoto, Lagos or Delta, if these places have camps for terrorists? Why not? What should be proved is if the so-called precision strikes were not what both the governments of America and Nigeria said they were. Were terrorists the main targets of the strikes in Sokoto or not?
If those targeted were truly ISIS terrorists camps, then they should not relent. Intensity of efforts is required now and they must come in quick succession.
It’s this kind of deflective and divisive rhetoric and narrative that have made Nigeria a land of thousands of unresolved deaths and murder cases, including those by Muslim fanatics in the name of blasphemy.
The pathetic logic behind this argument is that because these other places are where the murderous activities take place as epicentres, the US should have concentrated in those areas alone. For these individuals, the choice of Sokoto is symbolic.
“It is historically associated with the Sokoto Caliphate, a name that resonates far beyond Nigeria’s borders. A strike there sends a message. It photographs well. It fits neatly into global narratives about “Islamist terror.” But symbolism does not dismantle terror economies, nor does it end mass kidnappings in Zamfara, Katsina, or Niger where Nigerians are killed weekly. Symbolism does not rescue communities living under daily siege, nor does it interrupt the revenue chains of banditry that have thrived for years in plainly identifiable locations,” so argued one Mohammed Bello Doka.
What these people should rather be telling us is if those targeted in Sokoto were innocent citizens. In that case, their argument is valid, but if those targeted were terrorists or their financiers or sympathisers or sponsors, even if it’s just one person, then their argument falls flat in the face of reasoning.
This argument is deflective in the sense that it’s conveniently ignoring the issue of the status of those struck by the US and is dwelling on the choice of place to strike. By the way, if the Caliphate is so concerned about its reputation and realises how strategic it’s to Islam, why is it harbouring these elements? Why would the camps of these murderers be within the seat of the Caliphate?
If you are still wondering why insecurity has festered for so long, then you need look no further. Here you have it. These double speaking elite think it’s wiser for the US to chase the pawns in the fields while their kingpins are in safe havens somewhere. This strategy of chasing the minnows while their commanders are somewhere else is not wisdom. It’s foolishness.
Only a concrete proof that those targeted in Sokoto are innocent people can invalidate this postulation.
We remain eternally grateful to Trump for doing what we have refused to do these past 15 years or so. The hypocrisy of the ruling elite in the North and the compromised or complicit leadership at the centre have seen to it that the bloodletting continued unabated.
Both governments must maintain this tempo and ensure that these terrorists are routed. We are not interested in whether they are within the Caliphate, Presidency or wherever. All we want is a safe country where the poor can travel by road, since air travels are only for the rich.
We want a country where farmers can access their farms and provide food for the nation. We want freedom from all these demons who have held us down for so long.
Finally, Trump should also publish for us those behind these terrorists. Who are their sponsors and where are they? They should be smoked out and sent to their graves.
Hunting and killing these terrorism apologists is the surest way to ending these protracted crises across the country.
God bless Nigeria and America.
