BY AKIN OJO

WHAT has Western education got to do with killing policemen on the beat or bombing churches and pepper soup joints? They are not true Muslims.

Hiding behind the facade of religion to perpetrate dastard acts of killing and maiming innocent people is not Islamic. The Holy Quran abhors such atrocities. According to Surat Al Maidah 5, Ayat 32, to kill a man unjustly is like killing humanity while to save a soul is like saving humanity. Christians, Mulims, followers of other faiths and atheists number among the victims of Boko Haram’s atrocities. Their terrorist acts run counter to their Muslim faith. Boko Haram’s terror is not Halal but Haram, hence its followers cannot be holy warriors. Islam is a religion of peace.

One cannot help the feeling that there is an underlying political agenda to their terror campaign. It would appear these violent terror campaigns by a loony sect which operates on a lunatic fringe are part of  an orchestrated attempt to destabilise the present government as promised by some desperate Northern politicians.

Typical of most terror groups, Boko Haram thrives on threats and assault on the public psyche (terror) so as to inspire dread and to paralyse the will to resist their objectives. Recently, a leader of the Boko Haram sect, Abu Zaidi accused Governor Isa Yuguda (Bauchi State) and two former governors, Senator Danjuma Goje (Gombe State) and Ali Modu Sherriff (Borno State) of being unfair to the sect.

He demanded an unreserved apology from all three. They were also accused of colluding with the Federal Government in the plan to eliminate them. Hence, Zaidi issued a “fatwa” on them until they come out publicly and apologise to the terror group. Additionally, the three politicians must distance themselves from “this illegal democracy and give unalloyed support towards entrenching Sharia system”.
The threat against the three notable politicians from the North-East on its own is criminal. If a serving governor is not safe and subject to the fear of an outlawed group, who else is safe? Also implicit in these threats is treason against the Federal Republic of Nigeria government. The three spineless politicians have duly complied post-haste as if to confirm that the fear of Boko Haram is the beginning of all wisdom!

Governor Yuguda should have distanced himself from this “illegal democracy” by abdicating his position as Governor to demonstrate full compliance with the terrorists’ order. Perhaps, the next thing Boko Haram should ask for is an apology from President Jonathan for putting the JTF on the streets of Maiduguri and its environs with specific demand that he surrender our sovereignty to these monsters of terror. Thereinafter, they can rename Nigeria as the Islamic Republic of Yusuffiyya! Cowardice is not a mark of leadership.

What manner of leaders do we have in Nigeria? While police men are being killed and members of the public are being slaughtered almost on a daily basis by a group whose savagery is a blot on all true Muslims and civilised people, politicians from Borno State are rooting for a negotiated settlement rather than a decisive military option that will permanently deter the terrorists and their sponsors.

While hundreds have been killed, many more are on a life-sentence living with disabilities these myopic and selfish politicians are pressing for the withdrawal of JTF, a stabilising force and are demanding for Amnesty to the terrorists as a reward for their cruelty! Quite unreal, the time to take a decisive stand against terror is now. Each time we succumb to terrorists threat terrorism wins and each time terrorism wins it will make additional demand on us. The government must be alive to its responsibilities. Dr. Jonathan’s response will to a large extent define his presidency.

The President must assuage the fears of every decent Nigerian who view Boko Haram’s atrocities with sheer terror. An indolent leadership who in the face of rebellion grovels to terror is a feckless leadership.

Experiences of the former Yugoslavia, Bosnia and Afghanistan should serve us in good stead.
Much as it is true that security is our collective responsibilities, it is imperative that the security services step up intelligence gathering through surveillance. Members of the public for their part must be willing to assist the police with useful information to aid their efforts to curb this menace. Those culpable, regardless of how highly or lowly placed, must be made to account for their misdeeds.

There must be no sacred cows and there should be no resort to extra-judicial killings either in the form of pre-emptive strikes or in response to terror attacks. Summary execution of arrested sect members is just as barbaric as the despicable acts of terror being prosecuted by the terrorists. Religion is no alibi for terrorism and politics is no excuse for murder.

Mr. Ojo, a  journalist, wrote from London.