Why Boko Haram persists, by Danmusa, ex-Deputy Senate President
As long as there is injustice and a good number of Nigerians living
in poverty, Boko Haram and other terror groups would continue to thrive,
says former Deputy Senate President Abubakar Mamman Danmusa.
The Second Republic Deputy Senate President, who spoke exclusively to
Daily Sun in Katsina, warned that the nation would rather slide towards
anarchy than peace, given the level of unbridled corruption and
impunity of the perpetrators. He asked: “Who will be surprised there is
Boko Haram?”
The septuagenarian from Danmusa, Katsina State, advised that the
Jonathan administration should be very tough on the stealing of public
funds “that created a fertile ground for anarchy.”
He queried: “Is this the type of society you can have peace? No! You
can only have peace if there is justice, but in Nigeria, there is no
justice. So, we cannot have peace. Let 100 former heads of state meet
and see.
“Unless treasury looters are arrested, tried, convicted and public
money recovered from them and visionary leadership with commitment to
the welfare of the people takes over, there is no way you can have
peace.”
Danmusa, who is former Speaker of the old Kaduna State House of
Assembly, advised the Federal Government to wake up to its
responsibility. According to him, “unless we are ready to do justice and
seriously too, we will be consumed by this fire.”
Speaking on the pattern of suicide bombers in the North, he warned
that Nigeria could be tottering on the brink of anarchy because of
Al-Qaeda Maghreb and the situations in Libya, Mali and Niger.
His words: “I have seen in one of the write-ups in a national daily
that many young people from Burkina Faso, from Ivory Coast and from
other West African countries, are going to these Mali Islamists and
joining their army for Jihad. Now, this is a serious threat which Niger
Republic cannot contain and which certainly Nigeria will be the target.
“If you see all these things, really we are in trouble. So, the only
thing we can do to get out of this mess is really to be just, to have
responsible leadership and to use the resources for the wellbeing of the
people and not to accumulate it.
“For me, I may be wrong, if we are to really have a breakthrough, I
think death sentence must be introduced for these looters; anybody who
loots should be executed and the money recovered. Don’t mind the outcry
from the Western media that would say we are not following due process.
We have abnormal problem, therefore, we have to use tough measures to
treat it. We have no other way. Nobody is safe.”
Asked if he subscribes to Federal Government having dialogue with
Boko Haram, the veteran lawyer retorted: “If America can dialogue with
Taliban, if Umaru Musa Yar’Adua can dialogue with Niger Delta militants,
why not?”
He also blamed President Goodluck Jonathan for eliciting impeachment
threat from the National Assembly, wondering why Jonathan could not
approach the lawmakers before the threat was issued to explain why he
couldn’t execute the budget estimates he had signed into law.
Danmusa said: “Nobody is above the law; I think really, the way some
Nigerians are working with impunity in the running of government is just
too much. So, what is the big deal if the National Assembly says if
Jonathan does not implement the budget, they will impeach him; it’s no
big deal.
“It had happened to Obasanjo; prominent leaders have to intervene
before they could stop the lawmakers. So, what is special about it?
There is nothing special,” said the former Speaker of the defunct Kaduna
State House of Assembly that impeached Governor Balarabe Musa.
Apparently exasperated, the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC)
stalwart asked: “Why not dialogue with the National Assembly to see your
reason so that there would be an amendment? The Late Umaru Musa
Yar’Adua did the same thing; he dialogued with the National Assembly on
the amendments they made and new amendments were made, so, why not
Jonathan?
The fiery politician however expects a happy ending: “I have high
hope that once we get our acts together; if we have responsible
leadership, Nigeria will be a wonderful country. We have very, very
intelligent, motivated people who are ready to move this country to
greater heights. Go to America, go to Britain; anywhere, you will see
Nigerians excelling but when you come here, all our institutions have
collapsed. So, some thing must happen.”
