By A. Mohammed Bashir Shuwa
Borno state has been engulfed in violent crisis since the emergence of democratic governance in 1999. The introduction of use of thugs by politicians who employed violent means to intimidate their opponents was the beginning of the current crisis of insecurity that is facing the state. I can vividly recall some incidents, one of such was recorded at the Maiduguri International Airport when thugs stormed and broke the sliding doors of the waiting lounge of VIP wing of the airport. Despite the presence of policemen attached to the then governor elect the late Alhaji Mala Kachallah; no arrest was made to serve as deterrent to future trouble makers because the thugs and the police were all on the pay roll of a politician who claims to be a financier of their political party.
That the police compromised and allowed this top notch politician to unleash terror on his opponents has never been in doubt since he was always escorted by lorry loads of mobile policemen popularly referred to as ‘kill and go’ and his house near Giwa Barracks is fortified by battalions of armed mobile policemen even when he was just a mere candidate for senatorial seat. Apart from the police, this politician was known for mobilising able bodied jobless citizens, ex-convicts and notorious gangsters by settling their parents with huge sums of money and engaging them as his personal protection force. These groups of thugs are called ‘Ecomog’ and they kill, maim and destroy lives and properties of their benefactor’s opponents at will.
At the onset of this crisis a lot of effort has been deployed to stem it. The late royal father of Borno Shehu Mustapha Umar Elkanemi of blessed memory made some entreaties to make peace and avoid conflict. One such moment was during the visit of APP presidential candidate Chief Olu Falae on his campaign tour to the state, a visibly disturbed shehu summoned the governor elect and the senatorial candidate into his chamber where he attempted to reconcile the two over the violent fracas at the airport.
The late governor Mala Kachallah was able to face the challenges of leadership by ensuring that he has made the state a peaceful state devoid of rancour and intimidation. However his opponents capitalised on his desire to play politics by the rules and belief in non violent stance and explored and exploited this as a weakness and used it against him. The rest now is history.
However history will prove him right for he always believes that the basis of any good society is good order and even though disagreements are natural, there is no point in raising voices talk less of raising fists! Referred to as Captain of Peace by his admirers, late governor Kachallah invested heavily in maintaining crisis and avoiding conflict which paid off with the attendant peaceful co-existence of the citizens of the state throughout his tenure. In fact his resolve to carry along opposition politicians in his administration was among the reason why he was bitterly opposed to by some elements of his party members.
The disaffected party members fell into the trap of the present governor who cashed in on the use of money to buy their support. People lined up the streets to collect money spread out from the moving vehicle of Senator Ali Sherriff who was aspiring to be governor in 2003 and that was popularly referred to as ‘yirne’ ( Kanuri word for ‘throw out’). The public were influenced through ‘yirne’, while others took turn to visit his home to get their share of the largesse.
From then onward Borno state was thrown into political turmoil. People who dwell in poverty were grappling to find some unsettling questions they were unable to answer since ‘yirne’ does not cushion the effect of poverty in the state but was a lure to get votes. Crime and unwanted destructions of lives has taken roots under the leadership of Ali Modu Sherriff in Borno state. His government thrived on bloody rituals to sustain his hold on power and whenever he sensed that he cannot achieve his desire by buying the support of the people, he resorts to the use of force to intimidate and force the people into submission.
The elites of Borno state must employ an active commitment to fight against the oppressive government of Ali Sherriff and free the people from the shackles of his repressive regime. They must come out from their cocoons and make their voice loud and clear in condemning the use of force and subjugation of our citizens by those who ‘we the people’ chose to protect us but instead they used their position to annihilate us! We must remember that the price for liberty is perpetual vigilance, though it’s someone’s rights that has been violated today but remember that if everyone folds his arms and keep silent, it may be your rights that would be violated next.
The time to make a change has come and 2011 elections provide us with the opportunity to restore peace and good governance in Borno state. We must be wary of those who device ‘yirne’ tactics to capture our votes which would always make us to regret later. It was suggested that ‘yirne’ politicians thrive on bloody rituals and let us do away with ritualists and bring in pragmatic, purposeful and idealistic politicians that would safeguard our lives and not help destroy our lives!
A. Mohammed Bashir Shuwa wrote in from Leeds, UK
Subscribe to this comment's feed
