From Boston to Baga

Also published in Daily Trust

The widely reported applause received by the United States security agents for conducting a successful manhunt that led to the death of one of the suspects in Boston marathon bombing in a shootout with the police and capturing the other stirred the issue of comparison between the approach of Nigeria’s Joint Task Force (JTF) and that of the US security agents in similar circumstances. Predictably, many people mocked the JTF and criticized it especially in the aftermath of the massacre of hundreds of civilians in Baga town over the last weekend.

As I have always maintained, Boko Haram crisis has exposed the ridiculous incompetence of Nigeria’s intelligence service, which has obviously failed to grow equal to the modern security challenges, the tackling of which inevitably requires efficient intelligence gathering systems and dynamic combat tactics, which Nigeria’s intelligence service obviously lacks as clearly reflected by the lack of focus, confusion and recklessness that characterize the operations of the JTF.

Admittedly, comparing Nigeria’s security service to that of many functional countries including the most developed e.g. the United State, in handling security challenges, which many Nigerians including the educated elite are fond of doing, is apparently inspired by emotion instead of logic. This is among other things due to the enormous disparity in experience, competence, resources and other competitive advantages enjoyed by such countries as opposed to Nigeria.  This however does not in any way discount let alone justifies Nigeria’s woeful performance in handling the country’s persistent security challenges especially considering the country’s resources and potential.

  

Therefore, I wasn’t that naïve to expect the JTF in Baga to match the level of tactical professionalism demonstrated by the US security agents in Boston operation, even though both operations were supposedly aimed at tracking down terror suspects. Yet, I believe no logic no matter how illogical can justify the magnitude of destruction unleashed by the JTF in Baga under the pretext of searching for terror suspects.

Though in Boston, the US security operatives had conducted door-to-door searches to search for the suspect, restricted movement and indeed besieged Watertown (a town where the suspect was suspected to be hiding) while the manhunt lasted, the operation was smoothly conducted with hardly any case of abuse against the residents, who afterwards turned out in large numbers to cheer the security operatives for apprehending the suspect.

Whereas going by the number of innocent souls mercilessly murdered by the JTF in Baga town and the enormousness of devastation systematically unleashed all over the town, it was quite obvious that the operatives were in reality on a  mission to annihilate the residents though under the pretext of manhunt.

Equally depressing also, with the entrenched culture of impunity in the land, Baga massacre and the outcry it has generated will gradually but definitely die down, and may even be overshadowed by perhaps a more devastating incident elsewhere. And the perpetrators, as in the similar atrocities previously committed, will definitely go away with it while the understandably enraged survivors and the relatives of the victims are left to rot away in frustration and depression.

  

By the way, it is this kind of brazen culture of impunity that actually motivates many people to harbour the idea of avenging the murder or victimization of their relatives and loved ones hence are easily recruited by the insurgents to join the insurgency. After all, what else do you expect from a victimized and oppressed youngster who sees no bright future whatsoever and indeed beholds how those who subjected him to his misery not only move around freely but are literally accorded recognition according to the extent of their respective responsibilities for his plight?

Anyway, the Boston and Baga incidents have also highlighted the huge disparity in crisis management at the political leadership level between Nigeria and the United States. And notwithstanding the US precedence hence its superior competence compared to Nigeria in this regard, the performance of Nigerian leadership is quite below what is expected from a country with its status and resources anyway.

In any case, while the Americans and indeed the whole world were constantly updated on the happenings in Boston by various US officials including the Governor of Massachusetts where Boston falls, and indeed President Obama himself, the massacre in Baga went largely unnoticed.

Government was apparently unaware of what was going on over the last weekend in Baga, otherwise it would have taken measures to prevent, suppress or at least manipulate the subsequent chilling reports on the massacre that shocked the world. Therefore, when news about the incident began to circulate, hundreds of people had already been killed; thousands others had been forced out of the town and thousands of houses had been razed down.

Nevertheless, in addition to being largely inconsistent and self-contradictory, official responses at various levels of government were generally frustrating also. They ranged from denying the undeniable to futile attempts to effectively justify the JTF’s atrocities under some flimsy excuses.

Anyway, as the US security operation in Boston obviously reassured Americans and boosted their confidence in the state and indeed reignited their sense of patriotism, the massacre perpetrated by the JTF in Baga town did exactly the opposite, just as the previous incidents had done and indeed as the other looming atrocities will always do. Unfortunately, Nigerian rulers don’t seem to realize the fact that with every round of atrocities committed by the JTF and other security agents, more insurgents are automatically produced, who are determined to vent their anger at the state and whatever it stands for.