by Salihu Tanko Yakasai

All in all, our primary concern is the safety of our people. When we criticize GEJ it is not because we hate him, it is simply because we want him to be better.

On the 14th of May, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan declared a State of Emergency in 3 North-Eastern states plagued by terrorists activities being carried out by Boko Haram. The states are Borno, Yobe and Adamawa.

I was one of those that was very much against these declaration by Mr President, because of some few points. The first being the fact that the JTF has a terrible record when it comes to the issue of human rights abuses not only in these states, but in the remaining states that they are present like Kano and the rest. They have not shown discipline and military ethics in conducting their affairs as the sole agents of securing our lives and properties. I was afraid of the additional hardship a SoE will inflict on the masses given the JTF’s history, on top the one they are already suffering from, by Boko Haram.

Another fear I entertained was that, the terrorists might transfer their terror, like they always do, to other states far away from those states under SoE. This is a pattern that I noticed with Boko Haram, whenever attention is focused on a particular state, they then transfer their terror to another state. Thank God this did not happen. I also was worried about the way and manner Mr President declared the SoE, as the troops were already deployed 3 days to the day he declared it, without waiting for the stipulated approval from the National Assembly, among other things.

Haven’t said all that, the die was cast, the SoE was declared, and its now over a month in effect. So far, the situation on ground is proving to be yielding positive results. Reports coming out of the states indicate that for the first time in a very long time, especially in Maiduguri and Yobe, they are enjoying relative peace and some sort of normalcy has returned to these states. For us in Kano, we haven’t heard a single incidence since the SoE was declared, no police officer was killed, nor any sort of attack by Boko Haram. The situation is the same for the entire north, which was almost at a breaking point due to the incessant attacks that has crippled economic activities in the region.

Another very interesting dimension which the SoE has given birth to is that, for the first time the people of Maiduguri have started exposing the members of Boko Haram, and youths are being bold enough to confront the attackers. Just couple of weeks back, a father turned in his Boko Haram son, and couple of days back, traders caught six Boko Haram members in a market with weapons, to mention few. This is something that they have not been able to do in the past, because they are being hunted and killed by BH, and the JTF too hasn’t been welcoming to protect informants who risk their lives when exposing these terrorists. Citizenship participation is paramount in ending these insurgents activities in our country, as well as intelligence gathering. It is indeed a guerrilla warfare that requires special and unique approach that the JTF and citizens should employ in order to be successful. Though BH have declared war on the youths of Maiduguri over this, and have even killed some already within the past couple of weeks, but I doubt if this will deter these youths, because I can sense their determination to bring an end to the way and manner BH has held their communities hostages.

All in all, our primary concern is the safety of our people. When we criticize GEJ it is not because we hate him, it is simply because we want him to be better. And when he does something worth applauding, we should be able to commend him for that so he can improve. Though there are a lot of unanswered questions, like the inability of the press to independently verify JTF’s claims, the inclusion of Adamawa in the SoE which was clearly a “missed-call” by GEJ as well as other issues that need clarification. So far, it has proven that the SoE has been a good decision and we must do everything in our power to support it, for the continued stability of our peaceful coexistence. It is now left for Mr President to declare SoE in communal clashes, bandits that are terrorizing communities in Zamfara axis, oil bunkering that is on the verge of collapsing our economy, kidnapping and political thuggery and may more of the ills bedeviling our nation.

————————

Tanko Yakasai is a proud husband and father of two. He is a broadcaster with Freedom Radio, Kano. Yakasai believes in the unity and development of Nigeria, which paved his way into community activities through NGOs in transforming our society for the better. He is a registered member of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.