By Ochereome Nnanna
A VIOLENT storm appears to be brewing. We seem perched on a déjà vu: with 1966/1967 about to be re-enacted (somewhat). If the dark prognosis comes to pass, it will not be because northerners are killing southerners in the north as in 1966/67.

This time, it is a group of madmen and agents of terror masquerading as Moslems waging an orgy of violence and murder which is increasingly targeting Christians and southerners in the North.

This time, it is not because of an “Igbo coup” that eliminated the cream of northern leaders but because (as some see it) northern leaders lost a struggle for power with President Goodluck Jonathan from the Eastern Minorities.

A dead Boko Haram earlier killed by the late President Umaru Yar’ Adua suddenly resurrects and as if by magic the north once again turns into a huge abattoir, with the security forces and non-Muslims (especially Igbos) as prime targets, as Muslims as collateral victims.

In 1966/67, the federal military government led by General JTU Aguiyi-Ironsi (and later on, Lt Col Yakubu Gowon) seemed helpless to stop waves upon waves of pogroms against Easterners in the North.

But this time, it is a president from the former Eastern Region grappling with the insurgency with extreme difficulty due, in the main, to the doubtful loyalty and commitment of some elements in the National Assembly, the Executive, Judiciary and security agencies of the federal government in efforts to nail Boko Haram terrorism.

Some say politicians are trying to get through the back door what they failed to achieve through the democratic processes. In those days when the Army was at their back and call, they would simply instigate a coup. But since President Olusegun Obasanjo did a comprehensive corrective surgery on the Army, thus rendering it almost “coup proof” in the sectional sense of the word, Boko Haram, some say, has been found to be very useful in the agenda of “making governance impossible” for Jonathan, or bringing about violent change since the peaceful change they desired in 2010/2011 was not possible.

The déjà vu here is that, just like 1966/67, the system has not been able to instil in Nigerians the confidence that they are safe from the enemy. If anything, the enemy is getting cockier in the face of the increasingly beggarly posture being struck by our leaders, especially President Goodluck Jonathan. His offer of “dialogue” with the Al Qaeda-funded and trained terrorist organisation was derided with a call by the so-called leader of Boko Haram, “Imam” Abubakar Shekau, for GEJ to convert to Islam!

Well, there’s dialogue for you! Boko Haram has said its minimal condition is to turn everyone in the north into Muslims and establish their own form of Islam that forbids Western education. Those who have been calling for dialogue can now begin negotiating!

Meanwhile, Boko Haram has served another grim notice: they would soon start bombing schools and kidnapping top government officials.

Consequent upon all these, an unprecedented meeting of Igbo leaders took place over the past weekend in Enugu. It was actually a series of meetings. For the first time ever, the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) co-convened one of these meetings, which were attended by a surprisingly high calibre of Igbo political leaders, some of them only recently known to be core Establishmentarians.

The main meeting had the who-is-who among the Igbo – from governors to serving ministers, to federal and state legislators, retired military and police officers, the political figures and the clergy. That was the second leg of the gathering dark clouds. The last time such a comprehensive meeting of Igbo leadership took place in the same Enugu was during May 1967 just before the declaration of Biafra. The only difference was that during the meeting, leaders from the Eastern Minorities also attended and gave its resolutions their blessings just before Gowon wooed them to his side with state creation.

Opinions are divided among the Igbo people as to what southerners in the north (especially Igbos) must do in response to the Boko Haram campaign of killings. One side is of the view that Igbos must leave the north (even if temporarily, until the Boko Haram militia have been exterminated). The others are of the view that they should stay put, send their wives and children home and “defend” themselves!

The idea of southerners leaving the north and northerners in the south going back north is easier said than done. This is especially so for those who know of no other lifestyle than the ones they now live in their present places of abode.

A northerner who forcefully leaves the south where he and his family have lived profitably and comfortably for decades will become a refugee when he returns to the North. The same applies for southerners relocating to the south (and more so for the latter because they are usually economically more upscale than the former.

This we will discuss in greater detail in future). Even if the country breaks and Boko Haram achieves their Islamic Republic, there will always be northerners in the south and southerners in the north, even as “aliens”. Besides, any sudden mass movement of civilians to and from the north will only trigger off a quick end to Nigeria because once the civilians start the exodus the military and police will immediately follow suit. And, as history has shown, there will be killings en route.

The second issue of asking civilians to “defend” themselves is another unviable suggestion. How do you defend yourself against a faceless enemy? How do you guard yourself against cowards who sneak in bombs under the cover of darkness and detonate them from safe distances? How, pray, do you defend yourself from suicide bombers?

There is no alternative to a combined effort against Boko Haram by all well-meaning Nigerians. Those who secretly assume that Boko Haram’s agenda will bring them some gain are living in a fool’s paradise. Nigeria will not be Islamised. GEJ will not convert to Islam. Boko Haram can kill, maim and destroy, but its days are numbered.