We live in a world where everyone thinks about himself or herself first, before thinking about others, which makes most of us egocentric. Of course, we all know that someone's toothache will pain him/her more than an earthquake in Japan that killed 30 persons.We love ourselves.
Do we really care about the bombing attacks of Boko Haram and how many people have died as a result, since the beginning of this year? Imagine the people who could no longer celebrate the Christmas on the 25th of December, 2011, because of the death of their loved ones. Some of those persons that have been untimely sent to their grave are young persons, with visions and prospects, and some are the bread winner of their family. It is very saddening. I wish to sympathize with the families of the victims of the bombing attacks. May the innocent soul of the Boko Haram’s bombing victims rest in peace.
Are we going to fold our hands and allow this insidious disease eat deeper into the fabric of our motherland? We can’t continue to watch innocent persons die like ‘cows.’ We need to find the way forward, and that is that is what I seek to achieve with this article.
Firstly, in solving a problem there is a need to clearly understand the nature and the origin of the problem. I have included a detailed historical background of the sect ‘Boko Haram’ in this text. The origin of the problem:
The group(Boko Haram)'s official name is People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet's Teachings and Jihad which is the Arabic translation of Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad (جماعة أهل السنة للدعوة والجهاد).In the town of Maiduguri, where the group was formed in 2002, the residents dubbed it Boko Haram. Loosely translated from the local Hausa language, this means Western education is forbidden. The group earned this name due to its strong opposition to Western education, which it sees as corrupting Muslims.
The Boko Haram sect is a cub that has grown into a roaring lion that has not be curbed. The fact is, whatever you pet too much will become a pest. I mean the government of Nigeria have to accept the fact that Boko Haram’s bombings is a priority and then seek to curb the dangerous sect because we don’t know what might happen next.
Next issue here is the motivation of the group. People do what they do for a reason. Why the rampant bombings these days and when did the bombings start?
If we want to react based on how we feel about the death of innocent souls and resort to fighting, we may find ourselves moving in a circle. Rap artiste, MI, says it better in his words “Silence is the best answer, not violence.”
Going back to the motivation of the Dangerous sect, I think it is political, and I stand to be corrected. I think they have something up their sleeves. Boko Haram means western education is bad, which means that they are against western education, but their action speak otherwise. If they think that western education is bad, then why have they not being disturbing since their inception? Why now that we have some national issues like fuel subsidy on ground, and other cogent issues?).
As a Neuro Linguistic Programming practitioner, I know that actions are better reflections of the state of the mind than words. This year alone, the sect have been responsible for killing 450 people (in the UN building and in the churches, among others) in Nigeria, so I see no correlation here with western education, and I stand to be corrected.
“On Tuesday February 8, 2011, Boko Haram gave conditions for peace. The radicals demanded that the Borno State Governor, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, should step down from office with immediate effect and also allow members to reclaim their mosque in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State. On 9th May 2011 Boko Haram rejected an offer for amnesty made by the governor-elect of Borno state, Kashim Shettima” (Wikipeadia).
Again, I wish to state here that the group is politically motivated. It is crystal clear that this sect has a strong back up. How else can one explain their use of sophisticated ammunition like bombs, if they don’t have financial godfathers sponsoring their evil plots? Could it be that they seek to frustrate the Goodluck Ebele Jonathan's administration? I strongly believe that this sect is up to something.
First, we looked at history of the sect, and second, we examined their motivation. Here I want to conclude by suggesting a way forward.
I am a life coach and I help people to solve their personal problems. Most times when people come to me, I find out that what people complain about are the symptoms. I use my initiative to discern the root course of the problem and provide solution.
The Boko Haram bombings could be symptoms to something deeper that has to be taken care of. Of course, violence is not the solution. The way forward is for our great president, His Excellency, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to help us save innocent lives.
Dialogue is the key. Who are the people, the springboard from which the Boko Haram sect bounce out to wreak havoc, funding the activities of this sect and what exactly do they want? That should be the bone of (non-violence) contention.
This is not the time to accept anything that happens in good fate. This is not the time to fold arms and watch. This is not time for extreme analysis. Too much analysis will lead to paralysis. This is the time to take a bold step. This is the time to checkmate the activities of the Boko Haram. We can’t enter into a new year with the fear of Boko Haram.
‘Mr. President’, please dialogue with the sect that is behind the actions of the Boko Harams. We don’t want more people to die. There is little, almost nothing, that we can do than to support you with prayers to provide a lasting solution because everything rises and falls on leadership. It is a political challenge, so to speak, and you have to use a lot of wisdom here. May God Almighty give you the wisdom to dissolve and resolve this sect.
In all we do we have to acknowledge God. We can never tell what our little drops of water will contribute to restoring peace and unity in our country. There is nothing God cannot do. If you read this article to this point, then pray to God to help us, to guide us and to protect us (Nigerians).
Please, note that the purpose of this article is to discuss the way forward for Nigeria, and not to discriminate against anybody or any religion. I have made my conclusions based on my own personal study.
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