NO other issue is as topical in the country today as the Boko Haram. Not even the screening of the ministerial nominees in the National Assembly has enjoyed such attention.

The organisation is out to perpetrate mayhem to get unmerited attention. They are putting to task the security apparatus in such a way as to render it inconsequential and possibly become a lame duck. They feel that is the only way to campaign against knowledge. So notorious have they become that even toddlers know that they stand for evil.

Boko in Hausa language means book and Haram abomination. Simply, this translates to, book is abomination. What a paradox! Book – the source of knowledge – an abomination? The group certainly constitutes a threat to national security. However, threat may be acceptable to some elements in the society when they have a distinct cause, articulated by a few intellectual members of that group, to the satisfaction of the aggrieved. And when such a cause gets prominence, the group starts to enjoy sympathy from external bodies. Such groups abound all over the world. Locally, we have the Niger Delta militant groups who had been in the struggle for compensation for the degradation of their environment occasioned by the exploration of crude oil from that region – a case of a just cause that got leaders from within and outside of the region expressing their views in many ways, including the use of force.

The irony in the Boko Haram credo that book is abomination is that man has consistently searched for knowledge via it for the betterment of humanity. And who says the inglorious sect is averse to knowledge? Its spokesman knows quite well the efficacy of propaganda which the group deploys to communicate for effect.

Boko Haram uses facilities which are all products of knowledge delivered through books to deceive their gullible converts. They use modern technologies in their operations as well, as seen in the spate of bombings in the North and the Police Headquarters; they even know where to procure their instrument of destruction making use of the net and contacts by means of electronic communication.

Indeed, the government needs to enlighten the gullible adherents on the deceit of the Boko Haram high command. After all, we can guess that they have some educated converts as exposed by one Zaid, their supposed spokesman, that the Police Headquarters bomber was a businessman who even knew the importance of a Will and prepared one before embarking on the alleged suicide journey.

They know quite well the efficacy of making the epitome of state security their targets. By so doing, they expose the weakness of our security apparatus and hence, inability to secure the people.  They even claim to have better intelligence than the Police. Where are all these strategies coming from if not from  diligent and painstaking plans of the leaders who had been in contact with both Arabic and Western education from the reading of books. They started in 2002, harassing and maiming the police.

The Boko Haram onslaught creates a state of insecurity and dissuades prospective foreign visitors and investors from the country. It cripples social life, indeed everything. It is therefore an understatement to say that the activities of Boko Haram sect are a threat to national security. The President acknowledged as much when he said nobody is free from attack by the Boko Haram.

Tension was recently reported to be brewing in Bauchi over the rumour of Boko Haram fresh attack. The interesting part of the report was the reaction of the residents. It was reported that as a result of the news, the men in the area formed themselves into groups patrolling at night in order not to be taken unawares.

This action of the people, which is simply community vigilance, reminds me of the issue of the national question. The whole idea of policing is to watch over a particular space and the citizens are better positioned to do that.. They know the people, their homes, the fathers, the mothers, when they were born and all that. They share the same cultural aspirations and are all aware of their peculiar security challenges. No one member of the community would be afraid to report any suspicious movement or crime perpetrated by strangers or residents.

In this arrangement, one could find groups who have the tendency or who had been noted for criminal acts. The apathy by residents to report  suspected criminals for fear of reprisals can only reduce when the people are also involved in the policing of their community and not leave the issue of security in the hands of security agencies who, in the present situation, appear ill-equipped to secure us. Each distinct group of people requires different policing requirements based on the disparity in culture, terrain, climate, values and sensibilities..

The other day, I went to my home town in Ekiti . I got to town well after midnight as a result of a fault in my car. As I arrived, I heard whistles from all directions. I was forced to stop for identification. Some  men approached me as I put on my inner light. I recognised majority of them and they let me go.

The point here is the community police often referred to as vigilantes could be very effective in keeping watch over their communities and all security-conscious groups could exploit such advantage.  This will complement the efforts of the security agencies to tackle the current challenge, especially the Boko Haram problem.

Mr. FOLUSO AJIBULU, a commentator on national issues, wrote from Lagos.