EDITORIAL: Buhari's inept leadership and the escalation of the insurgency in Nigeria
The offspring of two recent successful and highly publicized terrorist operations, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) looks poised for its greatest prize yet: its pretentious declaration of kidnapping the Nigerian president. In March this year, a detachment of the group, operating mainly around the forests between Kaduna and Niger State, deployed to blow up a Kaduna-Abuja train, killing dozens of people and kidnapping around 62 people, including they have so far extracted an average of around N100 million from each of the 35 victims released so far. As exasperated terrorist negotiators would later say, the ruthless killers have no reason to publicly communicate their motives because "the president and your leaders know our demands."
After some false motions in government circles, the abducted train passengers were left to fend for themselves, rushing through tortuous paths to pay their ransoms, while Abuja's elected officials exchanged rebukes but did not offered no responsibility. Then in July, another ISWAP detachment, with possible operational support from Ansaru, a splinter faction of Boko Haram and affiliated with Al-Qaeda, operating mainly in Kaduna and Kogi states, struck at the heart of the Nigerian capital, Abuja. Storming the medium-security Kuje prison in the capital, terrorists killed at least one security staff member and freed 879 detainees (including 64 Boko Haram members and other criminals), during a operation that would have lasted more than three hours.
Medium Security Prison, Kuje
The Kuje attack drew curious reactions from Nigerians.Traditionally, whenever the world around President Buhari seemed to shake and give in, he had replied with his well-known milquetoast attitude, suggesting that all was well; Hakuna matata, as they say in Swahili. Strangely, however, in this rare case, in perfect rhyme with the novelist Ayn Rand, who warned that “You can ignore reality, but you can't ignore the consequences of ignoring reality,” a woke President Buhari was at the site of the vicious assault, inspecting the damage, asking thoughtful questions and promising consequences.
Far from over, soon after the Kuje operations, the now metastasized terrorist footprints in the northern half of the country ventured further. In quick succession, they engaged an "advanced security team" from President Bu...
The offspring of two recent successful and highly publicized terrorist operations, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) looks poised for its greatest prize yet: its pretentious declaration of kidnapping the Nigerian president. In March this year, a detachment of the group, operating mainly around the forests between Kaduna and Niger State, deployed to blow up a Kaduna-Abuja train, killing dozens of people and kidnapping around 62 people, including they have so far extracted an average of around N100 million from each of the 35 victims released so far. As exasperated terrorist negotiators would later say, the ruthless killers have no reason to publicly communicate their motives because "the president and your leaders know our demands."
After some false motions in government circles, the abducted train passengers were left to fend for themselves, rushing through tortuous paths to pay their ransoms, while Abuja's elected officials exchanged rebukes but did not offered no responsibility. Then in July, another ISWAP detachment, with possible operational support from Ansaru, a splinter faction of Boko Haram and affiliated with Al-Qaeda, operating mainly in Kaduna and Kogi states, struck at the heart of the Nigerian capital, Abuja. Storming the medium-security Kuje prison in the capital, terrorists killed at least one security staff member and freed 879 detainees (including 64 Boko Haram members and other criminals), during a operation that would have lasted more than three hours.
Medium Security Prison, Kuje
The Kuje attack drew curious reactions from Nigerians.Traditionally, whenever the world around President Buhari seemed to shake and give in, he had replied with his well-known milquetoast attitude, suggesting that all was well; Hakuna matata, as they say in Swahili. Strangely, however, in this rare case, in perfect rhyme with the novelist Ayn Rand, who warned that “You can ignore reality, but you can't ignore the consequences of ignoring reality,” a woke President Buhari was at the site of the vicious assault, inspecting the damage, asking thoughtful questions and promising consequences.
Far from over, soon after the Kuje operations, the now metastasized terrorist footprints in the northern half of the country ventured further. In quick succession, they engaged an "advanced security team" from President Bu...
What's Your Reaction?
