Political parties in Nigeria have been asked to put political interests aside and mobilise their members through a general awareness campaign on the need to support the military in the fight against insurgents in the north east.
The call by a lawyer, Mr Emeka Onohwakpor, is coming, as the insurgents have heightened attack in recent weeks killing over 50 people in different attacks.
He said: “Political parties should drop their differences and see this as an assault that is eroding Nigeria’s sovereignty”.
In latest attacks, the insurgents were said to have come in Hilux vehicles and the lawyer called on the security agency responsible for vehicle registration to provide the needed information about the vehicles.
“They should trace the origin of the Hilux vehicles that these insurgents are using. They should trace the source of the money used in purchasing these vehicles. These insurgents eat somewhere, they dress somewhere and we need to find where they are.
“Political parties’ leaders should mobilise their members, advising them to report suspicious movements to the security agencies,” he stressed.
Reviewing Border Treaties
The Nigerian President had held a discussion with neighbouring countries leaders on the possibilities of reviewing treaties that hinder security forces from pursing insurgents into their countries.
Mr Onohwakpor expressed optimism that the treaty would be reviewed without much trouble because other countries were concerned about the situation.
“They would definitely cooperate with Nigeria and see how they can help. We are also in a position to exert a lot of influent on those countries.
“What happens is that it is not only our security officers that will go in there. It is usually a cooperation between security officers from both countries.
“You must exert the kind of power you have, in this situation,” he stated.
He pointed out that people living in the border area should know the insurgents.
“They have been living together. They know themselves in terms of language they know the little, little differences between them. It is important for those on the ground to join the fight actively against these insurgents.
“It is the Local Government chairman that knows his people. But if we are waiting for those in Abuja to come and know this people, they cannot easily know them.
Our Fight
He explained that the governors of the north east states could adopt the strategy the eastern governors applied in tackling kidnapping, by enacting a law that would allow the demolition of any building identified as a hideout for kidnappers.
“The governors in the north should do same and see these attacks as a national fight and not their fight. That is a situation that is not good. They should see this as their own fight and that the Federal Government is even assisting them.
“The Boko Haram is preaching something that goes against our constitution. If they are challenging the president to turn the country into an Islamic state, that means they are going against the constitution, challenging the entire country that voted the president in.
“They have also asked the president not to run in 2015, arrogating to themselves the power of the people to vote,” he said.
While the military is considering the use of drones in identifying the hideouts of the insurgents, the lawyer warned that “when drones are deployed and a sovereign country is mistakenly attacked, it will attract reprisal”.
He reiterated that there is lack of political will by the arms of government to tackle the situation.
“What we are suffering now is the lack of commitment from every arm of government towards fighting this. We must deploy the type of security we need on the ground. I don’t know if drones are needed.
“Drones are used for aerial fights to identify areas that would be attacked.
“All that is needed is to exploit the support of Cameroon, urging them to assist us in locating where the terrorists that crossed into Cameroon go to,” the lawyer insisted.
He pointed out that the comment of the Borno State governor, Kashim Shettima, that the military was not well equipped and not as motivated as the Boko Haram sect, was not a good one.
“We must stop condemning the military because it demoralises them.
“Where somebody as high as a governor starts saying that a group of insurgents are better equipped than the military, it is demoralising.
Using Surveillance
In December 19, 2011, the Nigerian government launched a satellite, NigComSat-1R, into orbit, described as a critical ICT backbone infrastructure that will provide solution to the country’s telecommunications, broadcast, aviation, maritime, defence and security needs.
Some Nigerians have stressed that this was the time to use it to provide necessary information and images that would enable the military take informed decisions in the fight against the insurgents.
Dr Doyin Okupe, a spokesman for the Nigerian President, said that the satellite had help in foiling some of the planned attacks of the Boko Haram, but stressed that improvement and more surveillance tools were needed.
Mr Onohwakpor, however, stressed the need for the government to be sure the equipment they were acquiring was necessary and would provide the needed value.
He also pointed out that the US had indicated interest in assisting Nigeria in the war on terror, urging the government to take advantage of the promise and seek for logistics and communication equipment that could assist the military in ending the insurgency.
