It takes strong determination and focus to deflate enemies unleashed from the pit of hell against a nation. It is a patriotic task for both the leaders and the governed. It can only work when both are in one accord and have an unbreakable resolve to triumph over these hardened enemies.
Nigeria is one lucky country. It is fortunate to have had the privilege of its leadership by President Muhammadu Buhari at this point in history. Very dreary and fearful internal and external forces were unchained against Nigeria to cause the country’s destabilization and eventual breakup.
The Boko Haram terrorism was the kernel of this pot and plot. It has internal and external sponsors, who have been spending fortunes in hard currencies to cause crises of varying dimensions. Boko Haram leaders in Nigeria publicly confessed their sponsorship from the Republic of Iran, a nation globally identified as the deadliest terrorism destination in the world.
A member of the United Nations (UN), but Iran displays consistent recalcitrance and disloyalty to UN unrestrained. The elusive Islamic State militant sect (ISIS) leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi branded Boko Haram terrorists in Nigeria led by Abubakar Shekau as the West African Province of ISIS. That was the fathom of Nigeria’s insecurity dilemma.
So, with ceaseless funding and a dozen paid internal agents scattered all over Nigeria, Boko Haram insurgents were on the verge of capturing the entire Northern Nigeria by 2015, before President Buhari emerged to quench the fire. The Islamic extremists and fanatics mindlessly attacked, killed thousands, destroyed, abducted, displaced millions of natives and dehumanized its captives.
While Boko Haram terrorism raged to suffocating points, a demonic separatist movement by the identity of Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) led by a delinquent, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu budded from the South eastern region of the country. The assemblage of miscreants, touts, daredevil cultists and hoodlums who operated under the banner of secession agitations propagated violence as their central ideology.
They were fearless, crude and barbaric in the execution of their separatism agenda. IPOB members were incensed to the level that they could wake up any day and seal up the entire South east for days, looting, committing armed robbery, kidnappings and summary execution of scores of innocent people opposed to the struggle.
They flagrantly attacked and killed security agents without qualms and challenged the state to a combat duel. They fruitlessly toyed with the idea of operating an independent state within a sovereign Nigeria, by declaring the “Republic of Biafra”; constituted a cabinet and launched its own security apparatuses it tagged ” Biafra Security Service (BSS) and Biafra National Guards (BNG)
As the dust whirled, the irritant and ferocious Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) popularly called the Shiites in Nigeria, led by a demented Islamic cleric, Sheik Ibraheem El-Zakzaky staged their own onslaught against law abiding Nigerians in the ancient of Zaria in Kaduna state. They enunciated a bizarre religious ideology, which centered on bloodletting. It was yet another budding terrorists’ sect sponsored by Iran.
With enough weapons at their disposal, the Shiites recklessly terrorized residents during their so-called religious processions; attacked and killed innocent souls, including security agents. Each time the lawless Shiites stepped out on their irreligious procession, Nigerians in that part of the country would experience a saturnalia of violence and bloodbath.
However, determined to extricate Nigeria from the manacles of these terrorists in accordance with his oath of office to protect lives and property of Nigerians, President Buhari commissioned the Nigerian military to aid civil security in halting the menace of these satanic sects.
The Nigerian Army, led by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and leader of the anti-terrorism campaigns went to extremes to tame these destructive sects and forerunners of the foreign sponsored destabilizations plots against the country. But as hard as these terror sects attempted to overrun the country, the Nigerian troops suppressed their might and conquered them to triumph.
When the voice of victory of the Army against these foreign backed insurrectional sects became apparent and irreversible, it angered some foreign organizations clearly in oblique connivance with these sects. And one of such international organizations’ piqued by the actions of the Nigerian Army and sister security agencies stood out clearly. Amnesty International (AI) failed to conceal its emotions and suspected affinity to foreign forces funding these sects against Nigeria by its official stamp.
It is an organization which lay claims to humanitarian mandate and assignment on human rights abuses and violations in Nigeria. But Nigerians found it curious and irreconcilable that AI was only interested in publicizing what it deemed was bruises to members of these terror sects during violent encounters with state security forces. And in most cases, the organization fabricated claims or twisted the truth in favour of the sects.
AI made no pretenses about its indifference to what the terrorists neither did to vulnerable innocent and law abiding Nigerians nor to security agents, who are also human, with rights more pathetically and inhumanly abused by these sects.
These various sects killed Nigerians wantonly in bombings; could cut-off the throats of victims and sometimes, killed slowly through mutilation of body parts of hapless victims. But series of released official reports or commentaries by AI, it only preoccupied itself with presumed rights abuses and violations of the violent members of the sects.
AI completely ignored the rights violations of Nigerians by the terrorists. And each time AI released such despicable reports or commentaries, it bolstered the subdued terrorists, who would launch fresh strikes or protests, understandably from the sympathy extended to them in the reports by their suspected ally, the AI.
But AI exposed their nakedness and betrayed their concealed espionage mission in Nigeria when they released a report in 2016/2017, christened “State of Human Rights in Nigeria.” The organization chronicled cooked lies and spurious allegations against the Nigerian military and other security agencies on human rights abuses in the counter-insurgency operations in the country. AI shamelessly alleged extra-judicial killings and mass burials in secret graves, torture, and prolonged detention of suspects without trials, disappearance and starvation of detainees against Nigerian military.
The report shocked Nigerians when it alleged soldiers killed and mass buried over 300 Muslim Shiites and about 2, 000 pro- Biafra activists in Southeast. The fake claims provoked national outrage from Nigerians against AI, who staged protests for days, demanding the eviction of AI from Nigeria by the Federal Government.
But while AI was excited to publicize the skewed report and phantom allegations to promote foreign interests, it recoiled when the time came for it to officially prove the authenticity of the claims. First, it was through a Special Military Board of Inquiry inaugurated by Gen. Buratai and secondly, through a Presidential Panel on the same matter commissioned by President Buhari.
AI declined, even with pleadings to clear its name and hold its reputation proudly and impeccably. It thus, dawned on Nigerians, the organization could probably be one of the many silent and masked forces working in a ring with foreign forces in emboldening terrorists sects against Nigeria.
But hard as AI tried, it failed to break the resolve of Nigerians to defend their country against terrorists and the determination of the Nigerian Amy to free the citizenry from terrorism.
AI’s covert operations to support or strengthen the festering of terrorism, extremism and separatism were courageously deflated by a Nigerian military, that is more committed to humanity and security of Nigerians than any other in the world. Nigerian Army realized that to win the war against Boko Haram terrorism and other insurgencies, it must win the minds of the people.
This has accounted for the popular support the Army enjoyed during the tough times it battled the multifaceted monsters to earn victory. The Army’s victory has weakened AI upon the discovery that neither the terrorists nor their paid agents have succeeded against the Nigerian people with the ruination project.
Haughtily today, the Nigerian security agencies have triumphed against AI and its foreign allies. The Nigerian Army has risen above conspiracies and the war on terrorism is irreversibly won.
Written by Prince Ugo, a Mediapreneur, from SwissCottage, London.
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