A non-governmental osganization, Advocacy for Advancement of Peace and Harmony in Africa, has cautioned the Federal Government and the military not to relent in the fight against terrorism in the country, saying that the recent fall of the Sambisa Forest stronghold of the Boko Haram insurgents should not be misconstrued as total victory over the deadly sect.
ADAPHAI stated that President Muhammadu Buhari’s description of the feat recorded by the military as “victory over the Boko Haram Islamist insurgents” should not be mistaken as total victory, as the deadly sect was only dislodged and not routed.
ADAPHAI, therefore, expressed concern over the development, saying that there was need for Nigerians to be more vigilant and careful now than ever as “the fall of Sambisa Forest might turn out to be the rise of terrorists’ incursion.”
Speaking with The Point in Osogbo, Osun State, on the fall of the Sambisa Forest, ADAPHAI Executive Director, Mr. Olaniyi Ajibola, maintained that taking over a location, which had been the headquarters of the Book Haram sect, did not specifically amount to bringing terrorism to an end in the country.
He described the feat as a “means to an end” and not an end itself, saying, “With the feat, it is not yet uhuru.” He argued that the capture of Camp Zero, which had been the convergence point for the Boko Haram terrorists in the past years, had done nothing more than dislodging and dispersing the terrorists from their “safe haven.”
Ajibola stressed that such a development was not a realistic incapacitation of the insurgents. “Terrorism is an ideological struggle that is rooted in the minds of the proponents. The defeat of that mindset goes beyond change of base or location, but a conscious deradicalisation and demilitarisation efforts,” he said.
The peace advocate explained that the “Conviction for Action,” which revolved around the ideologies instilled in the insurgents and propelled them into action had not been tackled.
He also said that the Nigerian Army had yet to say anything about the cache of arms at the disposal of the terrorists, adding that the capture of an empty camp was not enough to say that a huge success had been recorded against terrorism.
Ajibola said, “There was need for Nigerians to be more vigilant and more careful now than ever before, because the fall of Sambisa Forest might turn out to be the rise of terrorists’ incursion into many of Nigerian communities, if government fails to act fast and mobilise all security agencies for swift and robust internal security and surveillance.
“Terrorism is an asymmetrical war. It is not a front-line or conventional warfare with calculated moves and predicted steps. It is, indeed, ideologically-driven and an action of conviction.
So, a change in location of convergence might not significantly deter terrorists from carrying out their deeds.
“Against this backdrop, I am not convinced to the extent of joining the bandwagon of those celebrating the fall of Camp Zero, the Boko Haram convergence arena and safe haven, simply because the dislodgement might turn out to be a serious threat to internal security in Nigeria, as a result of desperate infiltration of many Nigerian communities by fleeing insurgents.”
“Of course, the foiled suicide bombing attacks at the Maiduguri cow market and the arrest of a Boko Haram commander in Lagos after the fall of Sambisa Forest are pointers to the fact that it is not yet hurray,” he said.
