Can we say Boko Haram is the threat or our ignorance to the real fact of this problem, pls read below and comment.
BOKO HARAM, is dialogue the issue?

MY DIARY

Another focus to the Boko Haram saga (social problem)

1. What is Boko Haram and its meaning?

Could mean “school forbidden” relating to western education and way of life, but its literal meaning could be ‘Threat to our Principles/Values and Heritage’.

2. Who is responsible?

Can be any group of people who are bound radically in their religious precept on the way to living, worship, fellowship and interaction and they are residence within the north and north central geopolitical zone of Nigeria.

3. What are the values of this group of people?

Their core values are tied in their religious principles and heritage; they prize their lives within the tenet of their religion. They coexist and leave apart, and do not see themselves as others and prefer to reside with their kind. They applied their system of coexistence from their religion.

Every tribe in Nigeria has a unique identity in relationship, personality, ego etc, theirs is tied to their religion’s precept.

4. Are their values being threatened?

The answer is yes! Let’s give empathy into the two core values of this group which I term their Principles and Heritage.

Principle: The coexistence of these people which had being tied to their religious tenets has being gravely endangered by Alien and Modern philosophy’s imported into their community borrowed from the western world.

 Alien: these are infusion of alien moral standards into their community by settlers, government or its agencies with outright disregard to their value system, there by bringing friction amongst them.

What are threatened?

a. Standards relating to the place of women in their homes and community.
b. Their religion has made them carefree, giving reliefs pertaining how to live, work, marry etc.

 Modern: this has to do with western standard brought into a religious principled polity. It brings outright disregard to their value system, there by bringing fiction amongst them.

What are threatened?
a. Western laws are not in harmony with the Islamic law, and it is not pleasant for their Islamic laws to be disregarded in favour of western laws in their community.
b. Islamic law favour modest living and dressing, western disregard modesty and approves freedom of piecing, tattoos, whoredom dressing etc. This is brought into their community.
c. Women are no longer or refused to be betroth to ordinary men which was not the case in the past.

Let’s not forget that when the British settled there before independence, they where wise enough to recognize their religious values and introduced an indirect rule system which contributed to the hugh success they had in their relationship governing of them, because they did not interfere with their cultural or religious values, but used it to govern them successfully, without really introducing anything new.

Heritage: Commerce and Colony

 Commerce: Their farmland and trade are gradually eluding them, due mostly to external factors, government, education, etc. They have been betrayed in giving all they have in the promising of entrepreneurship or partnership but left with nothing.

 Colony: They have being threaten continually by not being accepted in areas they call home, areas they have occupied for centuries by the host communities, denying them even a slot in governance, even when there see themselves as indigenes of the locality. They are denied the right of heritage in communities they claim to be part of.

5. Why are they grieved?

They are grieved because their religion did not give them succour or a peaceful alternative concerning these unparalleled issues bedevilling them. So they harmonized certain teachings of their holy book to interpret their grievances and justify their radical actions in perpetuating violence in their locality.

6. Is there a history?

There is a history, which has begun decades ago between indigenes of the north and those settlers from other geopolitical zones who had relocated there for trade amongst others. Different factors have constantly created discomfort between the north and their settlers, from unprovoked libel against the host communities to consummating the businesses of the northerners. This invariably is one factor that has degenerated into hatred and vengeance against the host and settlers (merchants), which where demonstrated through sectarian violence in the North and their place of worship was later absolved a target for their perceived enemies.

7. Is it an ethnic issue?

This grievance was born out of ethnic indifferences that had a history since independence, and it must be taken into cognisance of the various riots and violence which over decades had succeeded in given birth to this dreaded Boko Haram. History can give us a better interpretation of what Boko Haram stands for. We have seen how tribal violence has been succeeded by religious violence and can be succeeded into a civil unrest if not managed properly.

8. Is Boko Haram a terrorist group set to distabilize the country?

From my analysis, I will say not yet, why? Terrorist groups whose aim is to destabilize the country will target hot spots that can cripple Nigeria and not necessarily churches in their locality. Areas like shopping malls, traffic jams, and government institutions would have been continual targets for the groups. Take Lagos for example, every Nigerian knows what will happen if a bomb goes off in a traffic jam in Lagos, it will affect every department in the economy.
But we see their mode of operandi centres majorly around North Central, North East zones. At this time its still centres around their grievances, (lets not rule out a fact that if they want to operate in any part of this country, it is not impossible) If this matter is not managed on time, it can degenerate into a terrorist group that can birth a civil war once their activities crosses into another region.

9. Is there a possible solution?

There is a solution, which can come from two angles; one has to educate the populace the other has got to do with redressing history, and correcting the failures of the past.

We thought we had an amalgamation in 1914 between the northern and southern protectorate (what we really had was the merger of lands and not of values).

We are unified by land and not of values, the aims and objective of every region in Nigeria are different. The Ibo’s man value is as much distinctive from the Hausa as the Urhobo is to the Yoruba.

Nigeria is not driven by any kind of values system, hence the conflicts of the standards in the nation. Our institutions did not teach us how to coexist with the values of other regions.

What we need is a core value system that harmonizes other set values, like understanding why the Hausa/Fulani should have Sharia as the law to govern them in their geopolitical zone, why the Ibo’s through Massop are agitating to secede from the Federal Republic etc.

We need to intently look into what had originally given birth to all communal, tribal and religious crises to see the root cause, then only can it be addressed, for example:

• The British government knew what could pose a problem to their governing the north, hence they introduced the indirect rule system, even when the sharia law was put on hold, the people in the north were give a form of respite.

• The President Shehu, Musa Yaraduwa and the good President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan came up the Amnesty programme, though had not solved the problem totally but has given considerable number of the Niger Delta people some respite.

We must remember the voices of our fathers:-

“Since the Amalgamation of Southern and Northern provinces
in 1914, Nigeria has existed only on paper ….it is still far from
being united. Nigerian unity is only a British intention for the
country”.

Alhaji Tafawa Balewa, first prime Minister of Nigeria on the floor
of the Fed House of Reps quoted in Hansard, Lagos. March 20-April 2, 1947.

Similarly, during the Legislative Council debates of March 4th, 1948, Alhaji Abubarkar Tafawa Balewa, then a leading voice in the Northern Peoples Congress, observed that:

“Since 1914, the British Government has been trying to make Nigeria
into one country, but the Nigerian people themselves are historically
different in their backgrounds, in their religious beliefs and customs,
and do not show themselves any sign of willingness to unite….

Nigerian unity is only a British intention for the country. Many
Nigerians deceive themselves by thinking that Nigeria is one….
This is wrong. I am sorry to say that this presence unity is artificial
and it ends outside this Chamber. The southern tribes who are
now pouring into the North in ever increasing numbers, are more
or less domiciled here, do not mix with the Northern people…
and we in the North look upon them as invaders. (Coleman, 1974)”.

Hon. Justice (Dr) Akintola Aguda in a keynote Address delivered during the Third Obafemi Awolowo Foundation Dialogue, 1995

“If we are honest with ourselves the inevitable conclusion
is that whatever efforts we might have both made before and
after 1914 have yielded but very little results in any attempt
to create a Nigerian nations and tribes that occupy the
geographical land area called “Nigeria”.


a. The National Assembly has to look into the possible relationships amongst tribal groups since history and proffer a better relationship system.
b. The ministry of Education has to introduce a course into the school curriculum to integrate students into both cultural as well as values of each ethnic and religious groups.
c. Create forum to establish government wiliness to assist the polity to adhere to their religious values.
d. Government should encourage States to recognize those groups of settlers and allowing them keeps their heritage in their locality.
e. Government should study the form in which commerce is striving and factor in better incentives to create expansions for their small businesses.
f. Government should introduce, support and encourage the youths into their God given natural resources amongst others, to explore and establish.
g. Government should create settlements for them in every of their chosen districts.
h. In our attempt to find a lasting peaceful solution, we should help preserve our cultural heritage by obliging to assist and encourage these religious groups in upholding and preservings their morals values amongst their faithful.

In the end, Boko Haram cannot yet be tagged a terrorist group; it is comprised of aggrieved persons who have radicalized their grievances into what can be described as terror acts. And since their plight is not addressed, they can continue aiming at a much broader venture.

In all this, we must not be oblivious of the fact that certain opportunist (the real terrorist) had taken advantage of the vulnerability of this defined populace as a reservoir to hand pick and trained militia to carry out their sadistic, selfish and dangerous enterprise against government multifarious agencies.

The best approach to curbing these elements is by what I termed “breaking the bow so the arrow can’t shoot!” that is by addressing and solving the needs of the aggrieved sects these opportunist will be denuded and disestablished. We can come up with the hypothesis for this.

Terrorism can be defined as ‘the calculated use of violence (or the threat of violence) against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through intimidation or coercion or instilling fear’.

There are two popular topics that are always present when discussing terrorism

1. A sense of perceived injustice
2. The belief that violence will effectively address it

What conditions create a favorable climate for terrorism?

a. Where there is struggle to protect Religious, Traditional, Cultural and Moral values
b. Where there is perceived threat to Heritage
c. When society have to fight against government policies.
d. When the society have to fight against social and political injustice.

Every individual have the tendency and capability to become a terrorist if their values are been threatened.

What can make a Nigerian Terrorist?

1. If Fulani’s cattle’s are denied passage in the country.
2. If the Ibo's Onisha market is turned into something, other than a market, e.g, golf centre, park etc by government.
3. If the Hausa/Fulani's are denied their religious principles.
4. If the Yoruba’s are denied their traditional festival.
5. If the Ijaws are denied rights to their oil.
6. If the Edo's are denied their traditional ruler

The issue of Boko Haram is more social than economic problem that has long been clamouring for redress to our representatives (National Assembly) under our democratic dispensation to address discreetly.

Nigerians are a loving and hard working people that have set values in unity, faith, peace and progress. Let us not (as our fore father said forget our differences but rather let us understand our differences) by understanding our differences, we can build unity in our country.”

Then we can build a greater Nigeria, let’s keep the flag flying!

Siokor’s Diary