By Prof. Idris Bugage
Allow me to voice my support for the progressive move of the Yobe East Senator, Ibrahim Gaidam, who is currently sponsoring the Bill on the establishment of a Federal Agency for ‘repentant’ Boko Haram members’ re-education, rehabilitation and reintegration.
Throughout history, ideologies are never defeated with guns alone. Only superior ideas can defeat other ideas and this Bill will provide a framework for this to work.
‘Jama’at Da’awah wal Jihad’, otherwise known as Boko Haram (BH), started as a religious grass-root group with Salafi roots and later became affiliated to the global Al’Qaeedah Movement. Al’Qaeedah itself was created by the late Osama bin Ladan, at the end of the liberation of Afghanistan from Soviet occupation in the late 1980s with active support of the US government agencies (CIA in particular).
Al’Qaedah had branches and affiliates across the world bearing different names such as Al’Shabab in Somalia, AQIM in North-West Africa (the Maghreb), Ansarul-Sunnah in Syria, Jama’at Daawah wal Jihad in Nigeria, etc. Later, some members of the Al’Qaedah Movement under the leadership of late Abubakar Al’Bagdadi declared the ‘Islamic State’ (IS) and the more militant elements of the Al’Qaedah joined him, with Abubakar Shekau leading its West Africa Province (ISWAP).
Dreadfully in Syria we have seen Islamic State fighters fiercely engaging their former Al’Qaedah comrades of the Ansarul-Sunnah. This tells us the contradictions that exist among these militant groups.
To deny Boko Haram its Islamic roots is one of the foremost failures of policy makers and analysts in addressing the challenge. Yes, the way they killed thousands of innocent lives (and are still killing) cannot be justified from the Qur’an by the overwhelming majority of Muslims.
However, we must realize and try to understand the BH mind sets as a way forward. Shekau’s first Friday Prayer Summon in Goza after its capture around 2014 uploaded to YouTube was full of quotations from the Glorious Qur’an. He was not quoting the Bible or other Holy Books. BH should therefore be recognized as an Islamic Sect that does not belong to the mainstream.
Sectarianism across all religions has been a phenomenon that is causing social tensions and intolerance. We must find a way to address this across all faiths through both intra and extra dialogues.
Boko Haram started almost 20 years ago and their first encounter was in Kanamma, Yobe State in 2002, though at that time called by the media as “Young Talibans”. Ruthless force was used to quell the group then, with the massacre of many of its followers, including women and children, in Lantewa Forests of Tarmuwa Local Government of Yobe State.
In subsequent years, BH reappeared in Maiduguri, Borno State with the same message of rebellion against ‘Taghoot’ which the Nigerian state, its constitution and institutions are classified into. At the same time, and ironically, the BH leaders were in some sort of alliance with the state Government under Senator Ali Modu Sheriff (popularly known as SAS), even engaging them with the appointment of Commissioner for Religious Affairs, Buji Foi, from the BH ranks into the Borno State Cabinet.
Along the way, something went wrong and it was alleged that Governor Sheriff ordered the well-publicized extra-judicial killings of their leaders, especially Muhammad Yusuf, Commissioner Buji Foi and the Father-in-Law to Mohammed Yusuf, in November 2009. This was a grave mistake by both the President Yar’Adua administration and the Borno State Government.
This extra-judicial killings was what brought out the extreme militancy in them and with the training they received in Northern Mali by ‘Al-Qaedah in the Magreb’ (AQIM) they unleashed so much terror across the country and taking over most Local Governments of Borno State by 2015 before the elections.
In spite of the reversal of that BH occupation and their confinement to Sambisa, there seems to be another resurgence in 2019-20 with daring attacks across Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states in recent months in guerrilla warfare fashion and unlike before, without permanently holding territory.
The proposal to establish a Federal Agency for the re-education, rehabilitation and reintegration of repentant BH members is therefore a move in the right direction.
BH is an ideological movement and it justifies itself using some non-mainstream Salafi interpretations.
The long term solution is therefore in finding counter arguments to bring out and reinforce the correct teachings of the Holy Prophet (SAW). Let’s not forget about the ‘Khawarij’ sect, in the very early years of the first Hijrah Century, who assassinated the Amirul Muminin, Sayyidina Uthman (R.A.) and had wanted to take over the Government just because they differed with him in some interpretations or actions/inactions.
Ideologically, the BH Sect has a lot in common with the ‘Khawarij’. Again over nine hundred years ago, towards the close of the 11th Century (A.D.), the Muslim world also faced another ruthless ideological onslaught from the teachings of Greek Philosophers, which were eventually defeated as a result of the writings, teachings and superior arguments of great scholars of the time such as Abu Hamid Muhammad Al-Ghazali.
No one could be a better sponsor of the proposed bill than Senator Gaidam, being a former Executive Governor of Yobe State for 10 years (2009-19), under whose stewardship the entire BH saga escalated before its earlier ‘technical defeat’ in 2015 by President Buhari and now its re-assertion in 2019-2020.
Similar experience with Muhammadu Marwa’s Maitatsine uprising in 1980 in Kano and its resurgence throughout the 1980’s in Gombe and Jimeta-Yola (led by Musa Makanike) in different years and yet a later one in Bulunkutu (Maiduguri, Borno State).
And who could confidently deny link between the Maitasine ideology and that of BH? Both had the trademark of preaching against ‘Boko’ and declared non-members of their sects infidels.
Unless we provide another route to end this bloody insurgency, the end may never be in sight sooner. As observed by Sen Gaidam, “there is the need for a more strategic and comprehensive approach to entice those members of the group who, after realizing the futility of the course they are pursuing, have eventually decided to voluntarily lay down their arms and chose the path of peace. Hence, the need for the establishment of the National Agency for the Rehabilitation, de-radicalization and reintegration of repentant insurgents…”.
In fact other leaders in the North East, such as the current action Governor of Borno State, Prof Babagana Zulum, have voiced similar positions of engagement as a complimentary mechanism.
The de-radicalization programme of the Office of the National Security Advisor (ONSA) which is presently ad-hoc and carried out by the Military and other casual staff, can now be done professionally, sustainably and shall be more result oriented.
Finally, it is hoped that the new agency will receive Presidential assent with necessary financial support to carry out this important rehabilitation programme and bring an end to this vicious cycle of violence which does no good to anyone but only drives further the poverty of the North and our underdevelopment.
The agency should additionally be allowed to receive local and foreign grants, Zakat and other donations where Federal Budgets are inadequate.
Prof Bugaje is Rector of Kaduna Polytechnic, Kaduna