LIVING UNDER THE SPECTRE OF BOKO HARAM – A MAIDUGURI RESIDENT TELLS US HOW IT IS

                              

It’s  not really easy for a Maiduguri resident to fully discuss the Boko Haram crisis in a single article. But I’ll try to discuss the most recent incidents based on my own experience as a resident. Since the expulsion of Boko Haram from Maiduguri through communal efforts spearheaded by the youth, Boko Haram have moved their terror campaigns to some villages in the state.

They’ve been taking down village after village and have even moved into larger towns like Damboa and Gwoza. It looks like our military have not been equipped enough and there’s some internal sabotage going on. I think this has been helping the terrorists. It would be quite unfair to blame the soldiers at the frontline when they retreat or something, because they’re simply acting on orders from their superiors. Sometimes, when they stop defending certain places, it’s usually because they’re left without backup or reinforcement. This is what happened to the soldiers who escaped to Cameroun recently. The soldiers actually fought gallantly but were left on their own without reinforcement until they ran out of ammunition and had to retreat. Attack on Bama The recent victories Boko Haram gained, especially at Gwoza, seems to have given them a certain boost in confidence, with their leader Abubakar Shekau declaring a caliphate in Gwoza. But I want you to know that people in Maiduguri doubt the existence of Shekau. They believe the character is being played by someone in order to give the group a face. This is because nobody has so far claimed to have seen Shekau in person since the JTF announced that they have killed him. That boost in confidence may have been what prompted Boko Haram to attack Bama town on September 1. But it wasn’t business as usual this time. The terrorists probably expected our troops to flee and allow them take the town easily just like things went in other towns, but the troops in Bama and the youth vigilantes put up a fierce resistance. There was initially some confusion when jets bombed the barracks, killing many soldiers and vigilantes. And as the fighting was going on, people were asked to evacuate the town, supposedly to allow for aerial bombardment by the Nigerian Airforce. That evacuation is what caused the large influx of Bama residents into Maiduguri, which caused some panic and fuelled reports that Boko Haram had taken Bama. But the fact is that *Boko Haram* suffered a massive defeat at the end of the battle and had to fall back. I’ve been seeing some news stories saying that Boko Haram is in control of Bama. This is totally false. In fact, the government has arranged for the Bama people to return home. Spreading fear and misinformation For us staying in Maiduguri, we’ve been both surprised and angered by the Boko Haram victory reports in the media as well as similar statements from a Borno senator, Ahmed Zanna. These stories surprise us because the senator and the journalists saying these things are obviously not even in Borno. The youth vigilantes have held a press conference where they dismissed those false reports and even gave details of the number of Boko Haram fighters killed, captured and injured during the battle in Bama. Yet the reports persist. Anger in town Contrary to reports that people in Maiduguri are living in fear of imminent attack by Boko Haram, the dominant feeling here is that of anger — anger towards Boko Haram for their atrocities and towards the military high command for not adequately equipping our troops. We are also angry about the defensive tactics of the military. We think, instead of waiting to be attacked and then defending, why don’t our soldiers take the war to the terrorists and take them out? To demonstrate their anger, more than 12,000 vigilantes, retired soldiers and hunters gathered at the Ramat Square in Maiduguri last Thursday. From there, they marched to the Shehu’s palace. Their message was simple: Allow us take the war to Boko Haram wherever they are and resist any attack on Maidguri. Current situation The current situation in Maiduguri is that people are going on with life normally but are always on alert, ready to pounce on any Boko Haram member that may make the mistake of coming into town. All neighbourhoods are being guarded by vigilantes, especially during curfew hours. With the mood right now, the greatest mistake Boko Haram can make is try to invade Maiduguri. I think if they do that, it will lead to their final annihilation no matter what weapons they carry. The few residents that are afraid have already left town. Right now, every resident in Maiduguri, irrespective of age and gender, is a potential combatant. The greatest weapon in the hands of terrorists is the fear they create. But for Boko Haram, the truth is that fear has long died in Maiduguri.   Abubakar Gambo is a graduate of Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the University of Maiduguri. He is a software developer and co- founder of Cerebro Information Systems, based in Maiduguri, Borno State.