By Nnamdi Okose
\nThere are two theories making the round these days. Both of them have been
\nunsubstantiated but in these days of bombings, pillage and kidnapping of
\nyoung women for forced marriage; the gift of rumour is akin to that of
\nmilitary intelligence. There is a truism in the saying that there is truth
\nin every rumour.
\nBoth theories revolve around the complicities of our President in the
\nactivities of Boko Haram. The first theory purports that the President,
\nwith a hoard of his PDP brethren have been supplying arms, money and now
\nwomen to Boko Haram. The President knows all their intimate hideouts. He
\nis in constant touch with the feisty Boko Haram leader and even calls to
\ncongratulate him each time the rebels score another devastating blow.
\nThe second theory, linked to the first has its epistemological origins
\nfrom the qualities of good leadership. This theory avows that there are
\ntwo cardinal qualities of a good leader. First he must have an ability to
\nfrown. How can one be president when he cannot frown? When he seems to be
\nsmiling, when he is actually trying to look hideous? The ability to look
\nhideously gruesome as a survival technique is as old as the universe,
\nemployed by animals to scare off predators. Surely a well-practiced
\npresidential frown should be a prerequisite for a good leader. This theory
\nis also linked to an ability to know that the dance steps of the crotch
\npulling Michael Jackson are not presidential. It is certainly unpardonable
\nfor a seating president to step to any rhythm while the country is
\nburning. And a Michael Jackson routine at that! There are more
\npresidential dance steps, which can be danced in times of sorrow, but a
\nlist of these dances will come later.
\nThese are crimes against Nigerians, which the President must answer for
\nimmediately after his tenure. It is common knowledge that the fire raging
\nin Nigeria was ignited by the re-election ambition of the President. Well
\nmeaning Nigerians have reminded him of his promise to serve for only one
\nterm but he has reneged on this promise. The inferno threatening to
\nswallow this country could have been averted, if he had refused to seek
\nre-election. For harboring ambitions of further presidential grandeur, the
\nPresident has become responsible for the deaths of many. The carnage will
\nend if his ambitions end. For this, he must answer to the people.
\nIt has been agreed that the weapon strength of the Boko Haram insurgents
\nhighly surpass that of the Nigerian military. This is obviously an
\neducated conclusion after a careful weapons analysis from both sides. That
\nnotwithstanding, we must blame some body for this failure to upgrade the
\nnation\u2019s weaponry. Who better to blame than the country\u2019s military quarter
\nmaster, the president. It is his duty to keep stock of military equipment
\nand ensure that they are upgraded in time. It is also his duty to evacuate
\nmilitary equipment when the military are retreating from their barracks.
\nIt is not enough for the President to be seen in military fatigues every
\nnow and then. He must live up to the great title of Commander \u2013in Chief of
\nthe armed forces. How can one become the Commander-in-Chief of any
\nmilitary without actual combat experience? What better time to gain
\nexperience in the art of shooting and ducking than now? But the President
\nhas failed to lead the assault into the Sambisa forest. He has failed to
\nbecome like the Rambo we had earlier envisaged, two guns in each hand, a
\nserrated knife sticking from his belt, ammunition belt slunk across his
\nshoulders and need I reiterate \u2013 no bullet proof vest.
\nThe President must recover the kidnapped Chibok girls himself.\u00a0 A senator,
\nI hear, has proffered information about their whereabouts scattered in the
\nislands off the coast of Chad Republic and Cameroon. This task is not one
\nfor our military who must be saved for UN Peace Missions ahead. The
\npresident is rather better trained in amphibious warfare. He ought to raid
\nCameroon and Chad. He must sneak up on these islands and face the
\ninsurgents himself. He cannot confess fears about his personal safety \u2013
\nthis is un presidential. Being President is like being the protagonist in
\nan action movie. Actor no dey die.
\nBeing Boko Haram does not only entail the carrying of arms, the attacking
\nof un armed villagers, kidnapping women or torching people with bombs.
\nBeing Boko Haram can also be a state of the mind. Though we cannot prove
\nthat the President himself is a Boko Haram member, we must blame him for
\nthe countless times we have been pathetic to their cause. These people
\nwere our neigbours, our village champions, our urchins; we saw them kill
\nforeigners among us and we did nothing. We kept a strict code of silence
\nwhen they burnt churches with innocent people trapped inside. It was not
\nour duty to speak against them; it was the duty of our President. He must
\ncome down himself to our homesteads and sit in front of our houses chewing
\nearly morning stick. He must accost these strangers who have tortured our
\nexistence sternly, \u201cWhy have you come here to plan evil?\u201d
\nSo being Boko Haram entails a level of complicitness of the mind. The
\nPresident has been complicit. It is his fault alone. We are all innocent
\nin the matter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Nnamdi Okose There are two theories making the round these days. Both of them have been unsubstantiated but in these days of bombings, pillage and kidnapping of young women…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26170,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-opinions"],"yoast_head":"\n