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My heart goes out to Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State. He is not the man he used to be. Shettima is a broken shell of a Governor. One wonders how he sleeps. Under his leadership, the state has witnessed unprecedented terror. Innocent women and children are being brutally and viciously murdered on a daily basis. In fact, the state can be described as hell on earth.
To oversee such a State must be a crushing experience for Shettima. Even if one puts on all his courage, energy and grit, he will still be in pains over the state of affairs in Borno. This proud land of the Kanuris has been raped and desecrated. What a tragedy to befall the Kanuris of the old Kanem Bornu Empire. This Empire that peaked under the reign of Mai Idris Aluma was a pride of the black race. Aluma, the son of a Kanuri father and a Bulala mother, is remembered for his piety, organizational skills and military reforms. He fought and thoroughly humiliated the Hausa to the west, the Tuareg and Toubou to the north and the Bulala to the east. He was eulogized for his victories in 330 wars and more than 1,000 battles.
His active participation in diplomacy enhanced relations with Tripoli, Egypt and the Ottoman Empire. The great Ottoman Empire once send a 200 ambassadorial party across the desert to Aluma’s court at Ngazargamu. His achievement in trade and commerce was unprecedented. According to a historical source, Aluma cleared roads, designed better boats for Lake Chad, introduced standard units of measure for grain and moved farmers into land. He improved the safety and ease of travel across the empire with the goal of making it so safe that “a lone woman clad in gold might walk with none to fear but Godâ€
What an irony! This land with a great history is not even safe for demons let alone human beings. Most people do not know that at the height of the Kanem Bornu Empire, it extended westward into the land of the Hausa. When the Fulani warriors were busy conquering the length and breadth of Northern Nigeria, the land of the Kanuris put up the greatest resistance that thwarted the holy war championed by Usman DAN Fodio. Even the collapse of Ngazargamu did not dampen the spirit of the Kanuris. Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanemi, who checked the Fulani advance, built another capital at Kukawa in 1814. The Kanem Bornu Empire is one of the longest dynasties in regional history.
It is mind boggling to think of what has happened to this people in recent years. Borno is now making history for the wrong reasons. The mass kidnapping of the Chibok schoolgirls is an international issue that has tarnished the image of the country. The question is what really went wrong with the state that Boko Haram became a rave of the moment? Book Haram is, perhaps, the most monstrous organization in the world today. Even the Lord’s Resistance Army (L.R.A) in Uganda is child’s play compared to Boko Haram. It could be recalled that L.RA, an extremist Christian group, used to abduct thousands of girls and force them to become sex slaves.
And nobody really knows when all this madness will end. Oh! The pain of Shettima continues. There is no day his heart will not skip a bit for a people he loves so much. This handsome and dynamic man deserves our prayers not condemnation. It grieves my heart when people insult and abuse him over what is happening in the North East. Some people even insinuate that he has a hand over the kidnapping of the Chibok girls. That is the height of callousness and insensitivity.
According to Shettima, the death of any Borno son or daughter diminishes him. “I am usually thrown into emotional torture any time a life is lost in Borno especially by man-made brutality because, as your governor, I am under obligation, constitutional and moral, to ensure your safety. I consider myself a father to all orphans, a brother and friend to every one of you, a son to every parent and a member of every family in Borno State regardless of religion, tribe and geo-political affiliation. I share in your moments of despair more than you can ever imagine because, regardless of the intrinsic worth of any programme and project put in place by any government, however laudable, a citizen has to be alive or safe to enjoy the benefits of such programme or project. Therefore, the most important role of any responsible government is the security of lives and property.â€
My prayer for Shettima is that God will make the enemies of his people vanish like wild flowers. The people of Borno will succeed, not by military might, or by strength, but by the spirit of the Lord. Mr. Governor, God will make obstacles as great as mountains disappear before you. He has seen the pains of your people and his eyes are ten thousand times brighter than the sun. But always remember to wear faith and love as a breastplate.
By
Ikechukwu Orji
Orji is a Media Consultant and Journalist
08023624097
ikechukwuorji@yahoo.com