TRUE
BORDERS
I was once invited to
travel to an undisclosed desert location in the Republic of Niger to meet with
Colonel Muammar Gaddafi; this invitation came approximately two years before
the fall of his regime in Libya and his death at the hands of his captors. The
invitation had been extended to me by indigenous entities interested in development
in northern Nigeria; it was my understanding that they had previously met with
Colonel Gaddafi in Niger soliciting his support and thought that he would fund
a food security venture which I had proposed.
I informed them that I
did not have a visa to cross into Niger; their response is exactly what I
expected, if I were in their company then no visa was needed to cross into any
country bordering Nigeria. Having
operated for some time in northern Nigeria I knew this to be true; indigenes
whether they be in the north, central belt or southern Nigeria respect tribal
territory, their true borders, far more so than the fractured sovereign borders
which currently define African countries.
The current borders are a lasting legacy of Africa’s colonial past; borders
which were conjured in the ‘Scramble for Africa’ created primarily to serve the
interest of western masters, borders deliberately designed to create a
political Frankenstein to control native populations.
The Frankenstein
monster has awakened; having evolved from the creature we are familiar with
into a somewhat sophisticated and stealth terrorist adept at hiding in the shadows,
secretly planning its strikes, while silently stalking its next victims.
Frankenstein is now known as Boko Haram. The monster has broken through the
restrains of its colonial borders and is now drawing strength, support and
sustenance from its true border regions, its territorial tribal borders which
reach deep into Chad, Niger, Cameroon and beyond.
The monster is asking
the question; “why did you create me”, why was I melded into several foreign
parts to form the Nigerian experiment. This is the same question the Niger
Delta MEND monster posed before it ravenous appetite was sated with palliatives
from the Nigerian government.
Boko Harum has answered
the questioned that the Nigerian experiment was created to serve western
Christen interest which, they believe, is harum to Islamic interest. Thus it is
seeking to return to its pre-colonial and/or tribal territorial borders, its
true borders. Boko Harum is by no means alone in expressing a longing to free
itself from its colonial amalgamated borders; in addition to MEND one only
needs to refer to the not so distance history of the Biafran War.
Colonel Gaddafi being
very familiar with the seething unrest boiling within many African nations due
to these imposed colonial borders was only too willing to nurture the growth of
this monster; seeding it with an abundance of arms and cash. His sojourns into the Sahara were rewarded by
untold numbers of recruits joining his ranks to fight and die for his regime.
His struggle against western interest to overthrow his regime became their
struggle, their struggle to establish independent nations free of colonial
borders became his struggle.
His support for their
struggle has survived his demise; growing exponentially since his death.
The Tuaregs and other
Islamist have joined to establish an independent nation in northern Mali;
rebels in northern Niger are strengthening. Chad and Cameroonian insurgents are
rapidly expanding the composition of Boko Haram; his funding allowing for
training of new recruits in Somalia, Yemen and other countries.
I recall when the first
suicide bomber struck the headquarters of the Nigerian Police Force. No one
would or could believe that a Nigerian of any ethnicity would become a suicide
bomber; this kind of thing just didn’t happen in Nigeria. The Nigerian media
initially reported that the driver of the vehicle had planned to park the
vehicle in the police compound for detonation at a later time. It was seemingly
unfathomable to believe that suicide bombers had arrived in Nigeria.
It is highly instructive
to note that the epidemic of suicide bombings arrived in Nigeria soon after
Colonel Gaddafi’s conclave in the Sahel.
What is commonly
referred to in security parlance as “porous
sovereign borders” are in reality the true pre-colonial borders, the true borders,
that have been traversed by indigenous tribes for commerce, hunting, weddings,
and other social and business gathers long before the advent of the imposed
colonial borders of Africa.
When these true borders
are viewed within the context of the current unrest plaguing Nigeria and
neighboring countries they provide insight into possible insurgent strong
holds, as well as provide a potential predictive model to arrest future
attacks. But more importantly they
provide an acceptable road map to peace for all stakeholders.
Colonel Gaddafi tapped
into a gusher of resentment driven by indigenous disenfranchisement due to the
imposed colonial borders which historically have served only western
interest.
These colonial borders
are the true incubators and cause of the corruption which has been so
thoroughly vetted and reported in the global media. There has been ongoing raging silent tribal
warfare, which has fostered copious amounts of corruption, within Nigeria since
its founding as a republic. This tribal
warfare is executed annually by tribes plotting to control plum positions in
lucrative federal ministries; then protecting senior positions in those
ministries for their kind and follow tribesmen. This form of tribal nepotism is the crucible from which springs the most damaging and destructive forms corruptions
to rend the Nigerian fabric.
If the two major
militant factions are singing the same song from the same hymnal isn’t it time
the world listen? All they are saying is that the current system is not
working, has never worked, and never will work to serve the interest of those trapped
within its borders.
One wonders whose interest is being served by
this current border configuration; who is the beneficiary of a system so
fractured that a nation has to develop a Federal Character Board to ethnically
balance its sports teams, military and government institutions?
Let me be absolutely
clear, I am not advocating for the break-up of Nigeria; but for the
restructuring and alignment of systems and procedures to meet the needs of all
its citizens.
What are the
consequences if these systems are not overhauled to the benefit of all
Nigerians?
A review of past
militant organizations funded by Colonial Gaddafi may offer some insight. The
history of Gaddafi backed militants’ reveals that bombs have been a staple in
their arsenal to attack institutions. This fact combined with true tribal borders
telegraphs the route and nature of future attacks on Nigerian personal and
institutions.
In the absence of a
negotiated peace deal with Boko Haram the nation should gird itself for more
sustained targeted bombing of its federal institutions and commercial centers, assassinations of top state and federal
leaders as well as politicians. Based on a review of past bombings by Gaddafi
back rebels the militants will use massive bombs and increasingly more
sophisticated and powerful ordinance in future attacks to destabilize the
country.
As hard targets become
more protected, bombing of soft targets, usually urban locations where large
crowds of civilians congregate become the default. The recent targeting of the
Crystal Lounge, a very popular night club in Abuja, should be viewed as a
seminal event in the targeting of soft urban locations.
