Terrorism: Welcoming International Partnership

Students of Federal Government Girls College (Fggc), Abaji, during the solidarity visit of the Executive Director, Un Women, Ms Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka to the school over the abducted Chibok School Girls in Abuja, yesterday. Photo: NAN

The international community, led by
the United States, United Kingdom
and France recently offered to help Nigeria rescue 274 teenage girls abducted by Boko Haram insurgents from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok in Borno State on April 14, 2014.
This followed the social media campaign – BringBackOurGirls – that went viral, and triggered global outrage and condemnation of the abduction of the teenage girls by the insurgents and the apparent difficulty of handling the problem by the Nigerian government.
The Federal Government’s acceptance of the offer has led to the massive mobilisation of international support for the nation’s fight against the hydra-headed monster of the Boko Haram insurgency, which had threatened the stability and peace of communities and states in the North-East of Nigeria.
This international partnership has tended to raise the hope that the rampaging insurgents may be tamed sooner than expected. It has also brought to focus the elimination of politics in the response to the insurgency. This puts to an end inciting comments about genocide.
We join all well-meaning people of the world to welcome the strategic co-operation and support of the US, UK, France, Israel, Canada, and China that have indicated readiness to join the search and rescue of the Chibok girls. We expect that more will join at least to honour Nigeria that had sacrificed so much for others.
The Tide is truly gratified that the coalition has already mobilised anti-terrorism experts, hostage advisers, surveillance and intelligence gathering equipment, including aircrafts, drones, satellites, and other equipment to prosecute the insurgency.
We are glad that Nigeria’s neighbours both in the West and Central Africa joined the international action against Boko Haram at the May 16, 2014 Summit in Paris on Boko Haram to sign up for the global challenge. This position was reached without difficulty because the fact that Boko Haram would spread their operations to other African countires was clearly understood.
Without a doubt, this fresh impetus will bring the activities of Boko Haram to a quick end in Nigeria and the continent as a whole. It should also improve on the capabilities of the military in the region to ensure that terrorism does not rise a second time.
Even as the Federal Government has opened the way for foreign participation in this campaign, we expect that Nigerians in general, and particularly the military and security personnel would give the most-needed cooperation and support to the foreign forces to bring this ugly empasse to a quick end.
Clearly, the involvement of the world powers in this challenge presents an opportunity for capacity building that our security forces must not fail to take advantage of. Perharps, it would also reveal the need for Nigeria to acquire some of the critical equipment, strategies and technologies needed for anti-terror fight.
In times like this, when Nigeria is facing a war situation, it will be wise for all well-meaning Nigerians to rally round the Federal Governments in spite of political, ethnic and religious leanings. This is when all hands must be on deck to protect the soul of Nigeria.
What is needed is the unfettered patriotic zeal and commitment, united front and the resilience of the Nigerian people, that will be needed to free the Chibok girls. Even as we join millions of people across the world to call for the return of the Chibok girls, effort must be made to identify the cause of this madness so as to nip-in-the-bud any future threat.