The recent suicide bomb attack in Gwoza, Borno State that left over 32 persons dead during a wedding ceremony is one attack too many. Too bad that the country has been in this situation for a very long time, and we do not know when it would end. The terrorists are emboldened every other day, leaving blood on their trail whenever they struck. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu who reacted at the wake of the attack as usual, commiserated with the people of the state, especially the victims’ families. He was also emphatic that his government will not be cowed by this latest development in Borno State. He described the attackers as cowards whose ideology, and what it represents should not be tolerated in a progressive society like Nigeria.
Throughout the eight years of the previous administration, no week passed by that Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the Information and Culture Minister did not tell Nigerians that Boko Haram was either degraded or decimated. Victims’ families too, at the time, were swiftly consoled in the event of any attack with assurance of government’s prompt action to deal with those behind the heinous crime. Simply put, throughout the period of eight years of the administration, it was same commiseration and condemnation, while the attackers kept attacking with reckless abandon. Not even the rehabilitation and reintegration of those caught by the military, back to the society assuaged the criminals to lay down their weapons and embrace peace.
The state even went further to feed and clothe them with tax payers’ money while their victims were left languishing in Internally Displaced People’s Camps, surprisingly! Looking at the manner in which these insurgents, including Boko Haram, Islamic State of Africa (ISWAP), and other terror groups operate at will, causing the citizens pains and untold hardship, we are fed up with condolence messages to the victims’ families, but instead, the authorities should adopt decisive measures to stamp out the aggressors, else, the blood of the innocent will continue to be wasted, unfortunately. It can be recalled that former president Goodluck Jonathan said Boko Haram members were in his government, which raises the question of how possible it is for this rag-tag group to hold down Nigeria military for this long? Certainly, their informants are in high places and it is time for government to go full strength against them.
The argument of using kinetic and non-kinetic approach in dealing with the ugly situation may not suffice, if the government is determined to win the war against the terrorists in the North East and North West. The story of the terror war going on in Nigeria cannot be over-emphsised, and this begs the question whether we should continue with the same method being used in fighting the war, or to adopt new measures to see if this group could be exterminated once and for all? The investment drive which this administration has promised Nigerians would only thrive if there is security of lives and properties in the country. Government should put on its thinking cap and ensure that the Borno State episode does not repeat itself. Stories that young maidens have been recruited by these killer groups as suicide bombers to kill themselves and others with explosives should be nipped in the bud as quickly as possible by the authorities.
The federal and state governments should, as a matter of urgency, sensitise the people on security tips to avoid further loss of lives. This is also the time for the northern governors to rally round each other and take the war to the enclave of the aggressors. Moves made by the government in returning those who fled from their ancestral home, owing to Boko Haram onslaught should continue. We want to see new and better approaches in tackling this hydra headed problem in Nigeria, especially in the northern parts of the country where there has been unimaginable bloodshed since Boko Haram was formed in 1999.