‘Yan tauri and the fight against terror

Also published in Daily Trust

Though many countries struggle with Boko Haram-like terrorism, the recent exploits by some gallant vigilantes of local hunters and ‘yan tauri against Boko Haram terrorists underscore the peculiarity of the situation in Nigeria and also highlight the urgent need to explore effective local strategies to combat Boko Haram insurgency.

Similarly, the growing public support for the idea of involving ‘yan tauri and local hunters in the ongoing fight against Boko Haram reflects Nigerians’ disappointment and lack of confidence in the ability of the Nigerian Army to tackle the insurgents.

After all, Governor Bala James Ngilari of Adamawa state has announced his government’s plan to recruit at least10, 000 local hunters and other volunteers as vigilantes to help recapture the towns captured by Boko Haram in the state. Moreover, the highly revered Emir of Kano, Mohammad Sunusi II has also advised people not rely on the military anymore, and to, instead, protect themselves against the terror attacks of Boko Haram terrorists.

To be fair however, being one of the leading institutions of the decaying, if not already decayed, Nigerian state, the Nigerian military’s persistent decline is largely due to the sheer corruption pervading the institution where massive amounts of money meant for the welfare of the armed forces and the procurement of weapons and other military equipment and hardware are simply plundered, which results in a gradual deterioration of the combat readiness of the country’s armed forces and indeed explains their embarrassing failure to tackle a ragtag gang of mere young and primitive, though recklessly audacious, terrorists.

In any case, it is imperative to exercise extreme caution in involving ‘yan tauri and local hunters in the fight against the increasingly lethal Boko Haram terrorists, as there should also be strict guidelines and regulations to regulate individual and communal self-defence strategies against the terrorists, so as to avoid, unknowingly, creating yet another bloody dimension to the lingering crisis.

Obviously under this fragile security situation and in the absence of strict regulatory measures, many violent gangs would easily take advantage of the chaos likely to result from the rush to form vigilantes against Boko Haram, in order to commit crimes against individuals and communities. In other words, a chaotic formation of vigilantes and proliferation of arms among people would further undermine the already delicate security situation across the region and the whole country.

After all, just as some mischievous vested interests have capitalized on Boko Haram crisis to execute their self-centred agendas in disguise, the same vested interests and indeed many more would exploit the situation to perpetuate their evil plots. Likewise, the recurrent communal clashes in the region may further escalate while many other areas suffering from recurring ethno-religious violence may descend into further chaos.

Besides, the highly organized armed bandits who raid communities and nomadic settlements to kill the people and herd hundreds of their livestock would simply find this situation even more conducive to carry out their criminal activities with impunity. Also, any unregulated permission for individuals to keep and bear arms ostensibly for the purpose of self-defence against Boko Haram would also give many criminals the pretext they need to illegally bear arms to harass individuals.

To avoid these situations, towns, villages and communities that are particularly vulnerable to Boko Haram raids should organize themselves and form community patrol vigilantes among the heroic and law-abiding members of their communities. This should however be under strict communal supervision.

In any case however, it should be noted that, vigilantism as a strategy to counter Boko Haram is not a sustainable solution and should not be considered so, either. This is notwithstanding the efficacy or otherwise of the vigilantes’ purported bulletproof amulets and hostile fire-neutralizing charms, which are in reality too unreliable to be relied upon in confrontation with the heavily-armed and increasingly sophisticated Boko Haram terrorists.

Interestingly enough, the general belief that the ‘yan tauri and the other vigilantes who recently recaptured some towns from Boko Haram insurgents were able to do so due to the sheer efficacy of their charms, which was said to have neutralized all the guns used by Boko Haram fighters during the encounters, was simply superstitious, to say the least. After all, if it had been that easy, I am sure the insurgency would have been crushed long ago.

The reality is that, even if the vigilantes were not supported by the military during the encounters, the most reasonable conclusion is that, they were able to defeat the terrorists on those encounters due to the sheer bravery the displayed, which was inspired by the motivation they probably got in the process of forming and organizing them. Whatever was the case however, they must have used conventional weapons and employed conventional combat tactics in the process.

By the way, despite the persistent inadequacy of sophisticated weaponry supplies suffered by the Nigerian soldiers on the war fronts and the sometimes exaggerated Boko Haram weapons superiority, it is actually the lack of adequate motivation and inspiration on the part of Nigerian soldiers that affects their morale and combat readiness, which inevitably impacts on their performance on the fronts and indeed causes their recurrent and embarrassing defeats at the hands of Boko Haram terrorists.

Though I can understand the amount of frustration and desperation behind the growing popularity of the idea of resorting to ‘yan tauri in the fight against Boko Haram, pressure should be sustained on the federal government to live up to its responsibility of protecting the lives and properties of Nigerians and indeed ending the Boko Haram crisis. After all, the forthcoming elections provide a timely opportunity to vote out the government altogether.