THE outgoing year witnessed adeluge of terrorist activity, essentially by members of the dreaded, outlawed but deadly Boko Haram. Indeed, the continuity and resilience of the group, in the face of a seemingly weak Federal Government, meant that Boko Haram soon became synonymous with security threat, and that a discussion of security threats in the country in 2011 was invariably about Boko Haram.Sadly, questions of unemployment, a larger evil perceived to be the most potent threat to the nation's corporate existence and the challenge of the century by members of the political elite, including President Goodluck Jonathan, the Ondo State governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, among others, were relegated, if at all they were mentioned, to the backwaters of national discourse. While this may, at least in part, have informed the recent declaration by the president that the nation might witness an Arab-type uprising if conscious efforts were not made by the political leadership to address the unemployment question, 2011 remained essentially a year of Boko Haram headache for all, except the members of the group.While various well coordinated bomb attacks were carried out by members of the sect in the year, most of which are itemised below, three separate attacks, namely the Nigeria Police Headquarters bombing on June 16, the United Nations House bombing on August 26, both in Abuja, and the Christmas day bombings in Madalla, Niger State and Jos, Plateau State ( a spot where terrorist and Fulani-Berom land hostility which often takes on religious colourations) have been most monumental in terms of the threat they posed to the country's cohesiveness, development and image in the international community.To the extent that efforts by the Federal Government to arrest the Boko Haram insurgency have proved ineffective, to that extent is the government adjudged by many critical Nigerians as a dismal failure, and this is a real cause for concern given the unparalled support the Jonathan candidature enjoyed from Nigerians ahead of the April presidential election. However, observers say that the nature of the Federal Government's response to Boko Haram cannot be determined strictly by political discourse, as terrorism might involve behind-the scenes operations which might not be available to the general public for security reasons.Various bomb attacks by Boko HaramBoko Haram killings began in the country on January 28, when members of the sect, riding on motorbikes, shot and killed Modu Fannami Gubio, the All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP) gubernatorial candidate for the April general election in Borno State, together with Mustapha Sheriff, a younger brother of the then state governor, Modu Ali Sheriff; two security details attached to Gubio, two onlookers, and a teenager. It was, indeed, a double tragedy for the then Borno governor as Gubio Friday shot dead with five others in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital. Mr. Gubio, a former finance Commissioner in the state, was also a cousin to the incumbent governor,Gubio and Sheriff were shot just as they alighted from the vehicle that conveyed them to the residence of his (Gubio's ) father at the Lawan Burkar junction in Maiduguri.The Suleja office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Niger State was also bombed, on April 8, leaving 16 people, mainly members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), dead, while on the following day, the Maiduguri International Hotel was attacked by the sect.Still , on November 4, Boko Haram members bombed government buildings and shot sporadically in Damaturu, Yobe State, killing more than 100 people. In addition, at the Borno State capital, Maiduguri, bombs and a suicide attack in Maiduguri left about four persons dead. Still, between Decembr 22 and 24, Damaturu was the scene of battle between Boko Haram members and a combined team of police and army men, with casualties put at 61 persons. However, three of the bombing incidents proved most critical to the nation's concern.The Police Headquarters bombingNationally, the bombing of the Louis Edet Building in Abuja, headquarters of the Nigeria police, was perhaps the most disastrous attack by the sect in the annals of the country. A suicide bomber had accompanied the entourage of the police Inspector General, Hafiz Ringim, into the premises of the force headquarters and detonated the bomb implanted in his car, leaving the usual trail of dead and wounded persons, with property destroyed. The event was a big shock to most Nigerians who realised, for the first time, that the police could not even be relied on to protect themselves, let alone the hapless public.Speaking on the incident, the president declared that it was an attack on the country. Describing terrorist attacks as a global phenomenon, President Jonathan said "all over the world, nobody is free...This terrorist act should not be viewed as an attack on the police, but on the entire nation. Everybody is a target when it comes to terrorist attacks."'It is not just the IGP that was a target.Everybody is a target of terrorist attacks. I don't want to make reference to what happened in the United States that they were to crash a plane into the White House. So, terrorists will aim at the top. If they can bomb the president, they will do it.'UN House bombingOn August 26, a Boko Haram member detonated a car loaded with explosives at the United Nations headquarters in Abuja. Twenty-four casualties, comprising Nigerian and foreign staff of the UN, were recorded, with about 116 persons sustaining various degrees of injury. While conducting an on-the-spot assessment of the building, the president said the bombing of the UN House was 'a most despicable assault on the United Nations' objectives of global peace and security, and the sanctity of human life to which Nigeria wholly subscribes.'Further, in a statement signed by presidential spokesman, Reuben Abati,the president sent his condolences to the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon and all those who lost their loved ones in the blast.The statement said: 'President Jonathan reaffirms the Federal Government's total commitment to vigorously combat the incursion of all forms of terrorism into Nigeria, and wishes to reassure all Nigerians and the international community that his Administration will spare no effort to bring the perpetrators to justice.''Christmas Day bombingA Catholic church in Madalla, Niger State, was attacked with bombs, with 35 persons confirmed dead and 52 persons wounded. In Yobe, a Boko Haram bomber detonated a car full of explosives outside the state office of the SSS, with three persons confirmed dead. A police officer was also killed in Jos after a failed bombing at a church in Jos.On the Christmas day attacks, the president said: 'These acts of violence against innocent citizens are an unwarranted affront on our collective safety and freedom.Nigerians must stand as one to condemn them.'Overview of the security situation ahead 2012With the call by the Trade Union Congress (TUC) that the security chiefs be sacked by the president, the security situation remains tense as the country moves into 2012. Whatever security strategies have been/are being evolved to tame the Boko Haram menace, strong evidence suggests that they are not working. Already, statements by the Christian Association of Nigerian, the Arewa Consultative Forum; head of the Muslim Ummah in the country, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa'ad Abubakar, among many other key stakeholders, suggest that the nation is currently sitting on a time bomb.The statement by the National Security Adviser, General Anrew Azazi, to the effect that Christians in the country should not retaliate the Xmas Day bombings, clearly indicate that the Federal Government understands the religious crisis that the sect, acting in concert with powerful Nigerians from the northern part of the country, is trying to precipitate, but there does not appear to be a commensurate resolve/political action designed to avert a recurrence of the incident, which is inevitable going by the pattern in recent times, and the seeming non-proactiveness of the government. Indeed, the Wednesday bombing of a mosque in Sapele, Delta State, is a pointer to sadder days ahead.Again, many Nigerians think the judiciary has not helped matters, granting bail to terror suspects and allowing them more room to wreak havoc on the nation, but in the absence of legislation to address the peculiar nature of Boko Haram, insurgency in the country, the stage appears set for continued mass murder of innocent Nigerians and the gradual eclipse of whatever gains the Jonathan presidency has recorded in the country since May 29.
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