Nine lives of Boko Haram

Long before the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) began its most recent strike, their colleagues in the University of Maiduguri, Borno State, had walked out of the classrooms, insisting that the now intractable insurgent group, Boko Haram, had made life unbearable and had, in fact, made the university unsafe for teaching and learning.
Unending sad news, including flood disasters, kidnap of students from the model college in Epe, the exploits of the Badoo group in Ikorodu and, lately, the heartless killings in church at Ozubulu, Anambra state, among others, have knocked the series of suicide incidents in the university off the front burner.
The recent video by Abubakar Shekau, the cat with nine lives, tangentially pushed the group back into our faces. The citadel of learning, University of Maiduguri, which was largely spared the deadly operations of the insurgents, has become the new hotbed for its operations. The university has embarked on a drastic survivalist measure to ensure that the group allows studies to  go on  there. It is digging a 27 kilometre trench to keep the insurgents out. No fewer than 20 people have been sent to the great beyond on account of suicide bombs going off in staff quarters. Examinations were shelved and ASUU says more than 70 lecturers have resigned since the renewed outbreak of Boko Haram attacks in the institution. It says five lecturers have been killed and three were being held by the insurgents by August 6, 2017. The chairman of ASUU, UNIMAID chapter, Dr. Dani Mamman, said, “About 70 lecturers have left, about five died and three are held hostage by Boko Haram. The admission figures of students have been dropping since the insurgency started. We don’t know what will happen to admission of students this year. The exit of such lecturers has affected research and learning because some are specialist in their fields. Usually, such exodus affects accreditation of some programmes and courses.”
In practical terms, the insurgents have halted activities in the school to a large extent and may, in fact, shut down the place, if the authorities do not pay more than lip service to routing them. The defeat, in this instance, ought to be something more evident than  the “technical defeat” tale we have been told for some time. If the insurgents scare people from the University of Maiduguri, as they have done, to the point of zero applications for admission, they would have fulfilled part of their mandate. They abhor education and have shown it in the abduction the Chibok schoolgirls and the killing of boys in their dormitory in school in Bunu Yadi, Yobe State. More adverse effects of their operations in the university is a sign of success, in spite of their so-called defeat. Such evident obstruction to education clearly shows that they are on top of their mandate, in spite of the touted defeat. The other day, Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbanjo, ordered the military to intensify action against the insurgents. As late as two days ago, reports still had it that no fewer than 30 people were killed and more than 80 others injured in a triple suicide attack Tuesday in the town of Mandarari, Borno State. Three suicide bombers detonated their explosive belts in a local market and outside a nearby camp for people displaced by Boko Haram violence.
According to civilian vigilante, Buka Kyari, “The first bomber struck outside the IDP (internally displaced persons) camp overlooking the market around 6pm, hitting some people from the town and causing confusion as people tried to flee.”
From the report, while traders were trying to close their shops and evacuate their wares, two female bombers hit the market “almost simultaneously.” The attack happened on a weekly market day when people from the town and nearby towns and villages flooded the market to buy and sell food, clothing and livestock. Twenty-eight people were initially killed at the explosion site, and two others died in hospital in Maiduguri.
As I write, those who saw the incident say the death toll is expected to rise. The Konduga district, where the incident happened, is known to be a flashpoint of the insurgents. This attack happened two days ago, a clear indication that the insurgents are still in their element. This is not to undermine the tremendous efforts of the military, but to remind them and the authorities that victory is still in sight. The fight has gone beyond arms. There is need for more intelligence than physical combat. Researchers at the Combating Terrorism Centre at West Point and Yale University have analysed the 343 suicide bombings carried out by Nigeria-based militants, Boko Haram since 2011, and found that at least 244 of the 338 attacks in which the bomber’s gender could be identified were carried out by women. What is it about women that exposes them to such deadly use? One of the reasons, according to the report, is that they are far less likely to be searched than their male counterparts. They also carry explosives under their billowing clothing, or inside hand bags, and in some cases have even strapped explosives on their backs. This aspect is a rather hard nut to crack and the authorities must not give up on the challenge.
The crux of the matter is that Boko Haram has not been defeated. The group still kills people and disrupts education in the land. I am intrigued that Abubatar Shekau, whom security agencies say has long been put away, still makes fresh videos and taunts the government and soldiers, an indication that he has nine lives, just as his group. This is a clear challenge this regime must combat.

from The Sun News http://ift.tt/2w3Mdk8
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