By Danlami Nmodu
National Secretary of Congress for Progreesive Change ,CPC ,Engr Buba Galadima has said that more Muslims have fallen victim of the Boko Haram insurgency in the North than Christians ,contrary to the widely held impression. Engr Galadima made this assertion in a paper he presented for the eminent and expert group meeting at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, NIPSS,Kuru Jos in August this year.
Galadima said, “In Borno and Yobe states, about 1.5million people are already displaced as a result of the increasing spate of violence.Tens of thousands have been killed, while a further tens of thousands are said to be missing with no trace whatsoever.All of these victims are aged between 12 and 35.”
He added,”Besides,out of every 100 killed ,99 are innocents who knew nothing at all about the fighting .And also, of every 100 who died in the mayhem 99 are moslems.This puts a lie to the fact that Christians are the direct target of the insurgents. The recent attacks on the Shehu of Borno and the Emir of Fika are testimonies to this fact”.
Taking a look at the sources of arms in the region ,the CPC national secretary said ” there are tones of arms in so many hands in the North East Region of Nigeria as a result of existing flashpoints of violence that feed the arms trade .This region has trade links with countries such as Niger,Chad, Cameroon, Mali, Somali, Sudan,South Sudan,Libya,Algeria and Uganda.”
He added that ”the tribal and communal clashes by the Tuaregs in Niger and Mali ,the low-intensity violence still going on in Libya following the overthrow of Muammar Gadaffi, the continued skirmishes between the two Sudans, the seemingly endless war unleashed on Uganda by the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda and the bloody activities of Al-Sabab in Somalia have ensured that the North East Region would always get supply of arms as they wish. So long as it continues to have commercial links with these countries, the region would constantly be flooded with arms”
Galadima who listed immediate, short term, medium term and long term solutions to the Boko Haram insurgency however cautioned that generally “there are other sources of insurgency which if not quickly addressed and sorted out could be another source of future trouble for the country. These among others are:injustice in all its ramifications; corruption, failure of institutions to live up to their constitutional, legal and regulatory responsibilities e.g judiciary, INEC, Security agencies etc; lack of access to economic and employment opportunities ;collapse of traditional, religious and family values; lack of transparency and fairness in our electoral process; lack of accountability on the part of our rulers and joint accounts between states and local governments.
Other sources of future insurgency he listed include:”the existence of immunity clause in the 1999 constitution that promotes abuse of office by beneficiaries; the unnecessary overexposure of the military in internal conflict resolution and other mundane issue like elections ; settler/indigene phobia; intermittent conflicts between herdsmen and farmers; unresolved tribal ,ethnic and communal conflicts ; reckless display of wealth and power ;uneven development in the country and state police???”
