By Dele Agekameh

The declaration of a state of emergency by the President in the three states of Yobe, Borno and Adamawa is a welcome development. Although, in actual fact, it is overdue, but it is never too late.  Considering the number of people who have died in the hands of the Boko Haram insurgents, nothing is too much to bring peace to these affected states, and for that matter, the whole country.

Many Nigerians have spoken across ethnic, tribal and political divides in support of the move, but there have been some dissenting voices here and there too. But if you weigh the advantages and disadvantages of this declaration, you will discover that if the intention of the President is to bring peace to the troubled states, there is peace in sight. We must be cautious though, that this peace may not come sooner because of the enormity of the  destruction that has been wreaked on the affected states and, by implication, on the whole of the northern region .

The insurgents seem to have dug in everywhere now: 1) because they know the terrain; 2) because some of the indigenes appear not to be cooperative with security agents and the Federal Government. And, again, I sincerely believe that some of the politicians in these affected states are, rightly or wrongly, benefitting from the crisis. So, in essence, even though President Goodluck Jonathan will not personally go and direct the military operations, indigenes and all the stakeholders should cooperate by volunteering information to the security agents as well as ostracizing the bad elements in their midst.

For the military, as the President rightly directed in his short broadcast, they must adhere strictly to the rules of engagement. But then, you cannot rule out some few excesses which are the consequences of war. The military should avoid the type of hullabaloo that attended the Baga attacks which have continued to generate controversy worldwide.

The international community should also understand the peculiarity of the Nigerian environment and those factors that have encouraged this wholesale act of brigandage all over the place. What I expect now is that tested, capable and neutral commanders should be appointed to take care of the operations in the different states or sectors while a synergy should be created for them to work hand-in hand.

Mind you, with my experience as media adviser to Gen.Adetunji Olurin during the emergency period in Ekiti State between 2006 and 2007, you could see that even though the political apparatus was wiped away, whether legally or illegally now is another matter entirely, the politicians were still engaged in clandestine moves, intrigues and blackmail to rubbish the efforts of the government to restore peace. But thank God, by the time Olurin was departing, substantial peace had been restored in the state and that became the foundation for the prevailing peace in Ekiti today.

In the case of Yobe, Adamawa and Borno, the scenario is a bit different. This is because this insurgency has many dimensions to it – political, religious, greed and selfishness. Whatever the case is, it has been allowed to fester for quite a long time and so, the whole place is in a mess. What is therefore required is like the saying that “a serious problem requires a drastic solution.” The politicians will have to decide whether they still want a state they could call their own. But, definitely, Nigerians want a country – a united, peaceful and prosperous country – they can always be proud of.

For the religious bigots, there is nowhere in the Holy Quran or Holy Bible where it is stated that people must kill in order to make heaven, as the insurgents who have been  brainwashed by their leaders are wont people to believe. In any case, what will drive a 20-year old boy to go and blow himself up with the utopian promise that, by doing so, he would make heaven? It is baseless, senseless, if not outright madness. That is first degree hypnotism.

For the military as well, they must conduct their operations with the normal peace-keeping guidelines. This is short of saying that they should conduct their operations with human face; the objective is to preserve the unity, peace and sanctity of this country, and not engage in any form of ethnic cleansing.

Again, let us bear it in mind, some of the gullible people who are being led by the nose by the Boko Haram insurgents were made to believe they could provide a better alternative to the government that seems to have ‘neglected’ them. That is why they easily get converts for their satanic doctrines, who believe that they, Boko Haram, can make a difference.

So, simultaneously, as the military operations are going on, military engineers, educationists and others should be deployed side by side to rebuild such infrastructure as schools, hospitals, worship places and others that may have been destroyed during the period of madness. By doing this and others, which corporate organizations  refer to as corporate social responsibility and I think there is a military operational terminology for this; the confidence of the people will be rebuilt, both in the military as a protective force and in government as a caring partner.

In areas where social amenities are grossly inadequate, such as, hospitals, potable water and others, efforts should be made to put them in place as quickly as possible to ameliorate and rekindle the confidence of the people that we all belong to one united, progressive country. This war is not a war to be won on the battle-field alone, we must also make concerted efforts to win the hearts and minds of the populace.

* Agekameh is National Media Director of the National Think Tank.