President Goodluck Jonathan was sworn in as the Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on May 29, this year. By now, one expects that he should have settled down to the serious business of governance. But, rather, the man is still grappling with only just one problem- the challenges of security. Especially that arising from the Boko Haram crisis.

Though the Boko Haram attacks had been on, even before the run-up to the last general elections, it intensified after, becoming more incessant and deadlier than ever. To many, this did not come as a surprise, only the magnitude. They interpret the new twist as the actualisation of the threat of some politicians who contested against Jonathan. They had threatened that they would make the country ungovernable should he stand for and win the election. One of them had specifically instructed his followers to lynch anybody who might stand in the way of his own success. The main grouse against the President was that he refused to respect the Peoples Democratic Party’s zoning arrangement. So, the perpetrators of the current insecurity in the land had long ago planned and arranged how to thoroughly harass President Jonathan and scare him off his pants, if he eventually mounted the saddle.

Though we have a myriad of other security challenges like armed robbery, mugging, cultism, kidnapping and political assassination, the Boko Haram wahala stands out because of the seeming facelessness of the perpetrators and the mystery surrounding their real agenda. “I doubt if we understand what Boko Haram is all about,” says the former governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa.

The Chairman of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties, CNPP, opined in the Guardian newspaper of Thursday, July 7, 2011 that Nigerians should first be convinced about the identity of those called Boko Haram. While many believe that it is a religious sect which frowns against Western education since Boko Haram translates to mean, “Western Education is a sin”, Musa interjects that it is not. Rather, he asserts that: “It is a reaction to a negative state of the nation. We are not talking about Western education. Western education is just education… and even Moslems recognise it”.

According to him, Moslems are not opposed to Western education or any form of education. “What they are opposed to is exploitative Western civilization and culture,” he added. Whatever Boko Haram may be, one fact sticks out: There are basically two distinct groups involved: Those who naively hold the belief that they are engaged in a jihad (holy war) and those exploiting the ignorance of the supposed jihadists. The latter is highly suspected to be largely made up of self-centred politicians who lost out in the last general elections. To resolve the Boko Haram brouhaha, many concerned citizens have volunteered divergent opinions.

Some are urging the Federal Government to adopt the amnesty option by inviting those who feel aggrieved to the roundtable, with the ultimate aim of pacifying such individuals. But others disagree and asked the government to pick up the stick and whip sense into the heads of the perpetrators instead. In a burst of anger, the former Director General of the Centre for Democratic Studies, Professor Omo Omoruyi had said: “Let there be a referendum and give them their own country”. But Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State prefers “a careful diagnosis” and warns about the “consequences of wrong conclusions”(Tell magazine, July 2011).

Many are of the opinion that the issue of Boko Haram could be tackled if government shows willingness and honesty. But this depends on varieties of steps: The Federal Government must first establish contact with the Boko Haram people in order to open up dialogue with them, especially the innocent ones being used by the mischievous politicians. There is need to locate their actual grievances in order to know what the group actually want. And as Governor Fashola advises: “If it is something that can be accommodated, then there is no reason for violence”. This is to win back their confidence and reintegrate them into the mainstream of the society. They should be made to realise that they will be better off on the side of the government than aligning themselves with disgruntled politicians who are only out to use them. As the cliché goes: “To jaw-jaw is better than to war-war”, any day. Meanwhile, individuals who are hiding under Boko Haram to foment trouble should be fished out and ruthlessly dealt with.

There is so much suffering in the land, the unemployment situation is alarming. Government should, therefore, make efforts to create jobs for the many unemployed youths roaming all about. If the quality of life amongst the masses is improved, it will be difficult for anybody to set them against the government.

Skill acquisition and training centres should be established for the youths in order to take them away from the streets, thereby making them useful to themselves and the society. More schools should also be built in order to reduce the level of illiteracy and ignorance. Borno and Bauchi states are hotbeds of Boko Haram largely because many of the youths are not in school. Hence, they are easily available for recruitment by evil politicians. For instance, the Nigeria’s Education Data Survey (2006-2010) conducted by the Federal Ministry of Education in conjunction with the National Population Commission revealed that states in the North West and the North East geo-political zones have the lowest literacy rate in Nigeria. The report stated that non-attendance is highest among states in these two zones-”72 percent of children between 6-16 years never attended schools in Borno State!” Also, Yobe State has 58 percent and Bauchi State 58 percent illiteracy.

According to the recommendation of the World Education Forum held in Dakar in 2000: “We must expand and improve comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children … ensuring access to complete, free and compulsory primary education of good quality”.

Mr godwin igharo is a staff of the Federal Ministry of Information and Communications.