Photograph — ibtimes.com

When the Nigerian Military and the Nigerian government were in their 7th heaven of celebration after they prematurely announced the defeat of Boko Haram, some of us who weren’t clouded by myopic judgment knew that though you can kill a person, you cannot kill an idea. The twin bomb blast today in the University of Maiduguri, where 9 died and 24 got injured is an example of this statement aforementioned.

A female student, whose father was lucky to have stepped out of the mosque when the bomb went off, said: “But many of his colleagues like Professor Mani and other senior staffers have either been killed or badly injured. When we tried going to scene of the blast, everywhere was covered with shredded human flesh and blood. Most the bodies are being taken to the Teaching hospital while others were rushed to.”

We are not certain who the bombers were, although it was alleged that the bombing was carried out by child bombers, however true or untrue this allegation is, this doesn’t take us away from the narrative that extremism cannot be stopped but it can only be contained. This is because, just like wildfire, extremism, which whispers to the vulnerable mind, spreads too. The victims of extremism are 7-year-old boys or girls, or teenagers who have been brainwashed to believe that there is a greater good that comes out from strapping bombs to their bodies and killing dozens of people. With the younger generation of suicide bombers, whose minds are simply a blank slate, waiting to be shaped by an ideology, being brainwashed is a walk in the park – a chalk or a marker to write on this blank slate will do the trick.

Although the Nigerian Army has decided that they have beaten Boko Haram, the bigger picture is this, they haven’t, they have merely displaced them and their foot soldiers. This is because a syndicate or a terrorist group’s aim is to gather more followers. this isn’t merely by kidnapping young boys or girls, they also evangelize through bombings and the sad reality of their cockroach-natured leader, Shekau, whom the army has claimed to kill multiple times.

Even for the blind man, the motive of Boko Haram is clear, this is the use of child bombers. And how has the Nigerian army curtailed this? Well, by allowing the flesh of innocent Nigerians to be splattered on the premises of a school. What the Nigerian army need to get right is this, Boko Haram has stopped being more than just individuals, it is already an organization of potent ideology. They have managed to keep their ideas alive by recruiting more members than we can actually imagine, and it will be best if we stop underestimating them and start to think out of going to Sambisa forest, and carrying guns to actually beating them on intelligence, and on-field. This will help us to stop some, and all terrorist attacks.

In the light of this attack, President Buhari released a statement condemning the act, but when will he condemn the failing tactics of the military and implore them to use another? It is not rocket science that in a ground zero location, schools, market places, worship centers are the most volatile, now, how did more than one suicide bomber get into this school? It is simple. There was a loophole and this loophole is the absence of adequate security and adequate intelligence.

The statement read, “The President reassures communities in Borno and others in the northeastern part of the country that his administration will continue to ensure that terrorism never triumphs over peace-loving Nigerians. He reaffirms the need for Nigerians to remain more vigilant even as the security agencies continue to use all means at their disposal to combat the remnants of insurgents and their sponsors. President Buhari wishes those injured in the attack a speedy and full recovery and comfort for families of the dead.”

There are no remnants, even the president has got this wrong. There is an obvious and active force of Boko Haram in the North, the earlier we know this, the better.

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