By Michael Egbejumi-David<\/p>\n
As Boko Haram sadly pervades our lives, all manners of views and theories abound.\u00a0 And that is how it should be.\u00a0 We have to allow for all shades of opinion as we try to make sense of the calamity that has been forced upon our country.\u00a0 But I think that in all of this, the goals of the terrorists must not escape our minds.\u00a0 One of the chief objectives of terrorist organisations is to spread panic and disharmony amongst people.\u00a0 It is left for the rest of us to remain alert and to be so astute that we do not play into the hands of the terror traders.
\nOne of the theories I find difficult to understand is the idea that the federal government is actually orchestrating all the mayhem in parts of the country; that the government is killing its citizens, slaughtering villagers and children in large numbers for some incoherent political gains.\u00a0 As hard as I have looked at this school of thought, I just don\u2019t see its merit.\u00a0 It seems illogical, garbed in too much sentimentalism, and the reward to the federal government is all in the negatives.\u00a0 It is not like this is an illegal military dictatorship that is going after dissenting political voices or individuals.\u00a0 This is mass killing of completely innocent people.\u00a0 Although, the government has got to stop obsessing about re-election and enemies at the gate so some people don\u2019t keep questioning its motives \u2013 real or imagined.
\nHowever, there is no doubt in my mind now that there is sabotage and skulduggery from within the ranks of the security forces.\u00a0 There has to be; otherwise, I don\u2019t see how Boko Haram could remain so successful for so long.\u00a0 They always seem to be at least two steps ahead of the government and always seem to find their way past curfewed and locked-down areas leisurely \u2013 driving in long convoys, singing off key and probably smoking Cuban cigars.
\nAnother thing I am struggling with as regards the ongoing insurgency crisis is the prominence being given to video releases by the military wing leader of Boko Haram, Shekau, or whatever his name is.\u00a0 I am not sure what benefits accrue to the general public from regular broadcast of these videos. Yes, those videos are important to the security forces and I\u2019m sure that they are doing the needful by them.\u00a0 However, I don\u2019t see any benefit of showing us, the general public, the odious, hallucinatory face of this criminal.\u00a0 Apart from his mug spoiling my dinner, I don\u2019t think any other purpose is served at all.
\nWhat regular showing of those videos does is garner for the perverts cheap publicity and I think that should be denied them.\u00a0 As it is with the fat boy in North Korea, that publicity and \u2018notice me\u2019 is their life blood and I think that should be cut off.\u00a0 Do that and hopefully this urchin will slink back into the dross from where he emerged.\u00a0 By the way, how are these videos hosted?\u00a0 Which domain holds them online?\u00a0 Someone is obviously editing these nauseating messages.\u00a0 So much for hatred of Western education and technology, eh?
\nOf course the Security agencies should have complete access to the videos and other forms of messages from the terrorists.\u00a0 I think the security agencies should then liaise with the public at large or with particular persons (i.e., the parents of the missing school girls) only as relevant.\u00a0 The media could work in close collaboration with the security forces in this regard.\u00a0 I know there might be the temptation to argue that such videos being made public perhaps serves the purpose of getting messages across.\u00a0 But we know that there are other more \u2018insider\u2019 channels of getting such messages to government as has been done several times in the past.
\nFurthermore, in some quarters \u2013 especially within the military \u2013 it is believed that the original Shekau has been killed, dispatched to a celibate Hades a long while ago.\u00a0 It could be possible therefore that we are now looking at a Shekau, mark 2.\u00a0 The original Shekau is thought to be older and more genteel than his present day drugged-out, inarticulate reincarnation.
\nReally, I\u2019d rather not see any more Boko Haram video and publicity stunts.\u00a0 One of their more recent ones talked about swapping a number of kidnapped girls for captured Boko killers.\u00a0 That just ruined my dinner even more.\u00a0 It was all I could do to stop myself from hauling my small stout at the television screen.\u00a0 But I didn\u2019t; the price of Guinness has gone up.
\nImagine that: Boko Haram wants to swap innocent, non-combatant school girls for their brethrens in various lock-downs nationwide.\u00a0 My instinct of course is that the government shouldn\u2019t even give this any serious consideration.\u00a0 I mean, it will just open the floodgates to all manners of perversion and unimaginable levels of criminality in the country, wouldn\u2019t it?\u00a0 But\u2026would this remain my position if I were a parent of one of the abducted girls?<\/p>\n
demdem@hotmail.co.uk
\nTwitter: demdemdem1<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Michael Egbejumi-David As Boko Haram sadly pervades our lives, all manners of views and theories abound.\u00a0 And that is how it should be.\u00a0 We have to allow for all…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26756,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-opinions"],"yoast_head":"\n