Nigeria, Boko Haram and Human Rights Law: Have Nigerians the Right to Live?

One is unable to understand what Nigeria and Nigerians are going through at this time in our lives.  In May 2014 it was kind of a national debate as to whether Nigeria should dialogue and negotiate with Boko Hama.  There were those who wanted government to dialogue and negotiate with the criminal gang. There were many who opposed government negotiating with the faceless terrorists.  This author, in a title: “No Negotiation with Hardened Criminals,” published on May 12 2014, aligned with those Nigerian patriots who opposed surrendering Nigerian sovereignty to Boko Haram and Nigeria’s other enemies.  Before going any further, I need to ask: Have Nigerians not the rights to live under the International Human Rights Law (IHRL), like others on this Earth?  Understandably, this was a law meant to ensure that everyone was treated fairly without any prejudice.  Are Nigerians who are dying en-masse and untimely from the bombs of Boko Haram given fair treatment, and are the horrifying deaths of innocent citizens of Nigeria justified and fair?

However, due to all pressure, Nigeria went along to request for external assistance to overcome Boko Haram. First on the list of the external assistantship, was the United States.  The relationship between Nigeria and the US was supposed to be in good standing, but the US refused to assist Nigeria charging that Nigeria’s Armed forces had committed human rights violations in its dealing with insurgency and criminals. It was very surprising to some of us to learn of such a flimsy excuse at such a time of dire need.  Innocent Nigerians are dying in high number.  We know that the US does not play with terrorists and does not negotiate with them, and believe strongly in the peace and security of its people and that of the world at large.  It appears Nigeria was not part of that world.   Boko Haram continued to kill Nigerians en-masse almost on a daily basis. The criminal gang entered into secondary schools for boys and slaughtered 29 students by their throats.  They went into another secondary school for girls at Chibok in the night and abducted over 300 girls, raped and sold some of the girls into slavery, according to the gang’s leadership.  Nigeria cried out again for external assistance.  At this time the US, Britain, Canada, France and Israel rushed to Nigeria. One is sure that the whole world must have thought that the 200 or 300 girls would be found and released immediately with the help of these European and American Powers.  This author felt differently at the time and up to this moment because there were some inconsistencies that support this author’s objection.

It was wrong for Nigeria to not look within itself and use everything it has to liquidate an internal insurgency as an African Power.  Asking foreign powers to come to its domain to assist it to fight an insurgency was self defeating and an invitation for self invasion.  Since the foreign Powers went into Nigeria it appears nothing has changed.  There was a fake  purported cease-fire announced by Nigeria. A day after the reported truce Boko Haram carried out bombing in many part of the Northern states and seized towns and local government areas some of the Northern States.  On November 12, 2014 at 3 PM NPR/BBC World News announced that a Teacher Training College in Katangora has been bombed by Boko Haram and there were many bodies on the ground according the BBC report.  Two days earlier there was another school bombed in Yobe, 48 students were reported killed; a First Bank was bombed in the afternoon when workers were still at work and many were killed and ingured. 

In between these wanton killings of innocent Nigerians by criminals who have no regard for innocent lives, the so called international human rights campaigners are blaming Nigeria of committing human rights violations because it was reported that 8 Boko Haram detainees were found dead.  What is this human rights violation in the face of a gang of hoodlum that have no regards for the lives of other law abiding citizens?  Do the school children, boys and girls whose lives are being destroyed have no right/rights to live? What of the Nigerian citizens whose homes and property are being destroyed: have they no rights to own and live their lives?  Are we saying that the dead have no rights; human rights law does not protect them from untimely and horrifying deaths?  What is the meaning of this human rights law that precludes the safeguarding of the lives of those who are not guilty of death?  Do we grant rights to those criminals terrorists who have no regards to the rights of others whom they are killing every day in Nigeria? What philosophy, International law or convention supports the criminal and unjustifiable destruction of human lives at will?  The charge of human rights violation against Nigeria appears prejudicial.  Is this a prelude to the prediction that Nigeria will disintegrate by the year 2015? 

A few years ago, it was reported that America predicted that Nigeria will break apart in 2015.  A short time after, the American Ambassador in Nigeria was seen on Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) monitored in Atlanta, Georgia refuting the allegation. Whether it was true or not we have no idea, but for the Ambassador to deny the allegation could be an indication there was substance in the rumor because there is no smoke without fire.  There has been the rumor that the CIA was behind Boko Haram’s operation in Nigeria and that it was one of the reasons the US refused the request to buy some of the lethal weapons that Nigeria need to wipe out Boko Haram.  Also according to Niaraland.com, concerndcitizen submitted a report on May 15, 2014 which states that “Boko Haram Is a CIA Covert Operation.” It further states that “We have already been regaled with reports provided by the Wikileaks which identified the US embassy   in Nigeria as a forward operating base for wide and far reaching acts of subversion against Nigeria which include but not limited to eavesdropping on Nigerian government communication, financial espionage on leading Nigerians, support  and funding of subversive groups and insurgents, sponsoring of divisive propaganda among the disparate groups of Nigeria and the use of visa blackmail to induce and coerce high ranking Nigerians into acting in favor of US interests.  Beyond what we know from the Wikileaks report, what  many Nigerians do not know is that US embassy’s subversive activities in Nigeria fits into the long term US government’s well camouflaged policy of containment against Nigeria the ultimate goal of which is to eliminate Nigeria as a potential strategic rival to the US in the African continent.” (See http://www.nairaland.com/1202481/wikileaks-boko-haram-cia-co). Are the events in Nigeria really far from what is stated in this reported plan?

Based on this background, whether there is truth to it or not, the reality on the ground in Nigeria as we sit expressing our thoughts in these lines, Nigeria should see it as  a paramount duty to ignore those protocols and deal directly with the situation on the ground if Nigeria must remain a sovereign state.  The territorial integrity of Nigeria is being compromised by a few gang of terrorists and their foreign backers, Nigerians, and the lives of the leaders of tomorrow, school children, boys and girls, that are being wasted; Nigeria cannot afford to listen to those whose interests are opposed to Nigeria’s progress and existence.  Human rights law is for the just and for those who live within the law of their land; Boko Haram has no rights to terminate or determine who is to live or not. That is not in a democracy anywhere in the world, and the situation on the ground in Nigeria should not happen in a country like Nigeria with its envied population of 170 millions. Nigerians and Nigeria have everything, Spiritual and otherwise from within Nigeria to destroy Boko Haram and their backers unless they just chose to embarrass themselves before the world.  If native Nigerian hunters can recapture the ground taken over by Boko Haram, what stops the Nigerian Armed Forces to not eliminate all traces of insurgents from the Nigerian territory?  Is it not embarrassing to hear or learn that 30,000 Nigerian soldiers ran for their lives on the approach of Boko Haram insurgents?  I have on many occasions advocated in some of my writings the use of traditional knowledge against Boko Haram and their backers. 

The foreign fake religions on our land are tampering with the minds and emotion of our people, young and old, men and women, thereby dealing a deadly blow to the country in which the people have not yet stopped to rethink.  This must have been one of the major reasons The Right Hon. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, of blessed memory published an article on May 15 1936 that was titled “Has the African a God?” The writing was by one Mr. I. T. A. Wallace-Johnson who was the leader of the West African Men’s Legion, Accra, Gold Coast, and now Ghana.  The end of the article reads, “I know when I have money, food and raiment I am in heaven: and when I am stranded I am in hell. I support no white missionary and I listen to none of their religious doctrines.  Let the African seek his god and worship him in sincerity and truth and leave the European’s god alone and all will be well with him.”  I think this is truth that Nigerian Church and Mosque goers need to know and believe in.  Although we have no White missionaries today, but we have their converts who are now the cultural imperialists in our midst doing exactly, if not more devastating than what the White missionaries did to the minds and psyche of our people.  This could not be far from the reasons why native hunters can kill and drive away Boko Haram while trained Nigerian soldiers run away from the same gang or sect.

During the Nigerian Civil War, I remember that the US mega phone in Africa, the Voice of America, (VOA) reported many times of the wonder that was happening on the war front.  What was it? One Colonel Eze was reported as catching flying live bullets coming from the Nigerian soldiers and giving them to his troops to fire back at the Nigerian soldiers. I believe, the BBC reported the feat also. I was an avid listener of the VOA for news and commentaries as a member of its Listeners’ Club in Lagos and being a current affair enthusiast.   It was also of public knowledge that General Aguiyi Ironsi was an untouchable until his popular walking stick with a crocodile stature carved on it was taken away from him before the mutineers could harm him.   “Anini the Law” in Benin was a bone in the throat of the Police who could not get at him. Anini was an armed robber who raided banks in broad day light and gave out his loot to the people on the street.  He was finally caught and sentenced to death by firing squared, but on the day of his execution, the gunners hardly got the job done; it took petrol, acid and fire to burn him alive.  Bullets alone were not enough.  These are verifiable stories to illustrate the need to take a serious look at Nigeria’s traditional knowledge of nature still possessed by the natives with a view to learn to use the knowledge for the good of the country and its people, Nigerians.  As a sovereign state Nigeria needs to do what it has to do to get rid of Boko Haram and hold your ground.  The state of Israel is doing what it has to do to safeguard the safety of its people.  The Israelis care less about what the world at large is saying; survival of self as a state or nation is law onto itself, and is more than listening to adversaries who are, in the guise of human rights preservation are, working to dismember Nigeria.

I wish all the political parties in Nigeria would come together to save Nigeria rather than point accusing fingers at each other.  Nigeria is the target; irrespective of which political party is in power; those who see Nigeria as a threat and an obstructionist to their plans in Africa will always be at war with whoever is in power in the country.  They are envious and unhappy about Nigeria’s potential to greatness in the world.  Think about it.  The integrity of the Nigerian territory was always the envy of European Imperialists.  It is in the political history of Nigeria that the British were at war with itself wanting the North to get out of Nigeria to join with Sudan.  It took the political wisdom of the Great “Zik of Africa” to get the North to remain in Nigeria. The British have been very jealous of the size of this African Power, Nigeria.  This was the reason The Right Hon. Nnamdi Azikiwe did not become the first executive prime minister of Nigeria.  Zik deliberately passed the opportunity over to Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto, but the Great Sardauna sent Alhaji Tafawa Balewa, his then personal assistant to take the position and this was how he became the first interim Prime Minister of Nigeria in 1947, and subsequently the First Executive Prime Minister of Nigeria upon independence.  This was how Zik over powered the British that stopped them from striking the envious size and the population of Nigeria.  The job of preserving the territorial integrity of Nigeria is one that all the political parties in Nigeria need to team up together to preserve.  Nigerians drive or chase away the hawk before you query your hens and chicks: why did you go outside?  A word is enough for the wise. Let us preserve Nigeria, its honour and dignity.  Get rid of Boko Haram and their backers.