By Obong Akpaekong
Professor Babagana Zulum was elected governor of Borno State on March 9, 2019 under the platform of All Progressive Congress, APC. But many Nigerians do not envy him because of the fatal encounters he and the people of the state have been having with Boko Haram insurgents that have made the state their home for about a decade now.
Because of these encounters, Zulum has been in the news now and again. Two days ago, the governor expressed his disappointment at the inability of the Nigerian military and security agencies that have for sometime now been deployed to the state to secure the lives of citizens and residents and that of those passing through the state.
He said that the military had dimmed the hope of their ability to defeat the Boko Haram insurgency as they (the military) have continued to show that they cannot secure lives and property 20 kilometres away from Maiduguri, the state capital.
Prof. Zulum expressed the disappointment during his visit to Jakana, a village on the Maiduguri-Damaturu highway, where 35 commuters were abducted by Boko Haram insurgents on December 18.
His words: “I have had occasions to defend the Nigerian military in order to boost the morale of commanders and their troops at the front lines because I know the true picture of things. However, I am really disappointed that despite all support from both the federal government and from us in Borno State, our military is failing to secure an area of 20 kilometers, which is the distance between Auno and Jakana.”
The governor lamented further that majority of Boko Haram’s attacks along the Maiduguri-Damaturu-Kano road, took place between Auno and Jakana. He is also quoted as accusing the soldiers of leaving their job of providing security to extorting from people.
I agree that it was frustrating and disappointing that as Zulum travelled with journalists to Jakana three days after the abduction, he did not see the Nigerian soldiers nor his own Rapid Response Squad men, said to combine with well-equipped policemen, vigilantes and local hunters to compliment the effort of the soldiers on the 20-kilometre road.
I believe that his outburst, which the Defence Headquarters, DHQ, did not take kindly was justified. Reports have it that Boko Haram has killed 363 civilians between January and September this year. Zulum has also been the target of several failed assassination attempts by the insurgents.
On 26 November, his convoy was attacked by Boko Haram insurgents near Lake Chad. At least 18 people were reportedly killed, including 14 police officers and soldiers and four civilians. The death toll was updated to 30 as more bodies were found later. Earlier on November 22, the insurgents ambushed and attacked the governor’s convoy on Garijam-Monguno Road, killing seven soldiers and two civilians. Zulum escaped unhurt.
Boko Haram also launched a deadly attack against Zulum’s convoy on September 27, as he was returning from an escort of internally displaced persons, IDPs, to a resettlement centre. While the governor survived, at least 18 people, including four civilians, were killed.
On August 18, Boko Haram insurgents attacked an IDPs settlement in Kukawa Local Government Area and abducted at least 100 people. There are about two million IDPs in the state.
When Gov. Zulum’s convoy was attacked by the insurgents on July 29 on the same Maiduguri-Damaturu highway, five people, including three policemen were killed. Yet there was a previous ambush by the insurgents in July.
In June, three rocket-propelled explosives fired from outside Maiduguri killed four people and injured three others in the city, an area previously considered relatively safe because of the strong presence of the military. This added to the sad memory of an attack on February, where 30 people were burnt to death on the road.
Read also: Zulum begs FG to help 200,000 refugees return home
With all these threats and actual destruction of lives in the state, Borno State can prove a little difficult to govern. It is also easy to understand the frustration of Gov. Zulum and why he could no longer hide his feelings on the performance of the army in Maiduguri and Borno State in general. It was even more painful when as the governor put it, the soldiers, members of the state packaged Rapid Response Squad and vigilantes were not visible on the road when he visited Jakana.
When it responded to Gov. Zulum’s fury, the Defence Headquarters, DHQ, cautioned against referring to its personnel as extortioners. In a statement signed by Maj. Gen. John Enenche, Defence spokesman, the military said it was inappropriate for the governor to tag military personnel on check point duty as extortionists.
“The attention of the Nigerian military has been drawn to the accusation by the Executive Governor of Borno State that Nigerian Army personnel deployed at check points in Operation Lafiya Dole collect money from commuters.
“While the Nigerian military is in no way joining issues with the governor, it is necessary to clarify this generalised statement against the troops who without hesitation lay down their lives for all Nigerians,” it said. He explained that the nation’s Armed Forces have internal mechanism to checkmate and sanction appropriately its erring personnel and that reported cases from the public in this regard are investigated and given the desired attention.
Enenche went on to say: “Thus, it will not be correct to rely on media or open air accusation to tag our gallant Nigerian Army personnel as extortionists at checkpoints in Borno State. All personnel of the Armed Forces are patriotic and focused on their call of duty,” he added.
There is no doubt that all members of the nation’s armed forces are gallant men and women that have sacrificed their lives for the good of Nigerians.
But the fact remains that a greater number of Nigerian soldiers on check points are avowed extortioners like other uniformed personnel performing road duties in parts of the country. If Gov. Zulum or any other person in Borno State has found them extorting money from motorists and raised an alarm, military authorities should investigate the matter appropriately rather than vent anger on the governor or any other person.
Borno State is in far away north east of the country while Cross River State, where I am, is in the south south region. I like to bring to Maj. Gen. Enenche’s notice that extortion is common place on military checkpoints on Calabar-Odukpani Road in this state. Extortion is lucrative business for the military on Itu bridge along the near-impassable Calabar-Itu Road, which links Cross River State with Akwa Ibom State. There are two check points on the bridge heads, one at the Akwa Ibom end and the other at the Cross River end of the bridge, which serves as boundary to the two states.
I will like to inform the Major-General that a number of military check points are also found between the bridge that serves as boundary between Ikot Abasi villages of Akwa Ibom State and Bori junction, which leads to Ken Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic, Bori, in Rivers State. All these have always been extortion points. It is needless mentioning extortion by the Nigeria Police.
When the Federal Roads Safety Corps, FRSC, was established and handed over to Nobel laureate Professor Wole Soyinka to nurture, all the personnel were admired for their anti-corruption stance. They were not known for extortion on the nation’s roads. But that apron of personal or corporate integrity and uprightness has since been put off. Nowadays, the agency’s personnel are the leaders on extortion – a very shameful type of corrupt practice.
If the Nigerian military is truly sanctioning its personnel that are tempted in the practice, let the evidence show at check points.
As for Boko Haram insurgency, its extermination remains the major denominator of the change Nigerians voted for in 2015. Borno State is part of Nigeria. Gov. Zulum and the people of the state must be free from Boko Haram. Where there is a will, there is a way, the saying goes*
* Akpaekong is a columnist and member of the editorial board of The Southern Examiner.