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War is the greatest plague that can affect
humanity; it destroys religion; it destroys
states; it destroys families. Any scourge is
preferable to it . – Martin Luther
Boko Haram’s perceived ideology operates on
the boundaries of a particular religion,
Islam. Muslims, including myself, have
denounced this ideology countless times. It
goes against the ethics of Islam and,
ultimately, against humanity. I intend to
establish an alternative front to this deadly
war, though not totally different from
existing views.
Situation reports trickle in itemizing
casualties suffered by the gallant Nigerian
troops and by the insurgents’ camp. Any man’s
death diminishes me, because I am a part
of mankind. These innumerable painful
exits disable me from finding out whom the
bell tolls for. It tolls for thee, humanity.
War should belong to the tragic past, in
history. It has no place on humanity’s agenda
for the future, and this present generation
should not be witnessing it. Boko Haram
members and sponsors would certainly
disagree with the last assertion, and that is
the major reason why we need to flush them
down before they do.
I don’t have a qualification in defence
studies. But I’m certain that the art of war is
simple enough. Find out where your enemy is.
Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as
hard and as often as you can and keep moving
on. That’s all.
The war against Boko Haram presents a
scenario in which the survival of our race
ultimately depends upon the extinction of
the insurgents alongside their ideologies. It
seems there will never be peace until these
bastards start fearing our military.
I do not know whether the generals will frighten
the enemy , said my nephew, but I know they
frighten me whenever I think of them . My
nephew is naïve and five. He still dreams of
becoming a general. He believes that generals
are great men. At least, the president is one.
The truth remains that the president will
always be great, regardless of being a general
or not. His disaffection for corruption has
afforded him that.
That’s the solution. Making absolutely sure
that the junior officers do not, under any
circumstances, perceive their senior officers
as corrupt. Perception, in this regard, is
enough to dampen a man’s spirit. It negates
the idea that all is well. But I’m sure our
generals are not aware about that. They failed
to learn that the first rule of war remains
this: never send in a hungry man. Very simple.
If they did learn this, they would have
understood that a famished man thinks less of
the outside world and more of his inner space
irrespective of sworn oaths.
Stemming corruption was the easy way out.
But no. They chose another path. No food, no
weapons, dishing out strategies via press
releases, and a whole lot of orders. Even
Hannibal Barca would have been unable to
lead such an army to victory.
This course, War on Boko Haram-101, centres
on the apparent resilience of the insolent
extremists, the high-handedness of our
generals, and an attempt to re-educate our
supposed war leaders that stealing is
definitely corruption. No two ways about it.
Apologies to the past lecturer who felt and
tried to prove otherwise. Before I forget, our
generals should be made to lead at war fronts
and not offices anymore with the same status
quo: empty bellies. Let’s see if they will
survive the first wave.
Of course, being a dummy is not the whole
problem. The ones who end up working with
dummies would only find themselves doing
all the job. Mr President, please, take heed.
Mr Oluwafemi is a former president of students’
union, University of Ilorin, Kwara state.
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