By Ibrahim Usman Musa
The Boko Haram insurgency began in 2009, when the jihadist group Boko Haram started an armed rebellion against the government of Nigeria. The conflict takes place within the context of long-standing issues of religious violence between Nigeria’s Muslim and Christian communities, and the insurgents’ ultimate aim is to establish an Islamic state in the region.
Boko Haram’s initial uprising failed, and its leader Mohammed Yusuf was killed by the Nigerian security forces. The movement consequently fractured into autonomous groups and started an insurgency, though rebel commander Abubakar Shekau managed to achieve a kind of primacy among the insurgents.
Though challenged by internal rivals, such as Abu Usmatul al-Ansari’s Salafist conservative faction and the Ansaru faction, Shekau became the insurgency’s de facto leader and mostly kept the different Boko Haram factions from fighting each other, instead focusing on overthrowing the Nigerian government. Supported by other jihadist organizations including al-Qaeda and al-Shabaab, Shekau’s tactics were marked by extreme brutality and explicit targeting of civilians.
Federal government has several times promised to end the insecurity in the country but the situation become worrisome, and the insurgency lead to the killings of many innocent people who lost their life’s as a result of the insurgency.
In recent times, the group has waged a more devastating attacks on different communities in the North East. For instance, about 43 farmers were reportedly slaughtered on saturday 28 November 2020 by suspected Boko Haram insurgents in Zabarmari Village of Borno State.
Governor Babagana Umara Zulum led Zabarmari kinsmen and other residents, for the funeral of the 43 farmers on Sunday morning, 29 November 2020. The governor during a visit to the family of the slain farmers, described the incident as tragic, while calling on federal government to employ more youths in the security system.
Similarly in the north east region, the insecurity has led to the abduction of more than 200 student of Chibok girls secondary school as well as Dapchi in which up to now, some of them are yet to be released.
Governors in the region have called for the total overhaul of the security architecture of the region, the Borno state Governor Professor Babagana Umara Zulum in different occasion called for the total overhaul of the security.
Zulum also called for the recruitment of Boys in the region in different security outfit for them to over come all the challenges of insecurity affecting the region. After some of this plea, president Muhammadu Buhari has appointed new service chiefs which according to him the issue of insecurity will become a history in Nigeria..
In that direction, there is a need for working in collaboration between the people of the community, traditional institution to security agents with a view to curtail the issue of insecurity in Northern part of Nigeria.
Also federal government should try as much as it can to provide all the equipment needed by the security agents as well as recruiting more boys in the security system which will help alot to overcome all forms of insecurity affecting the region.
Written by Ibrahim Usman Musa of Mass Communication, Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic Bauchi.
