Its been over 48 hours since after the Movement For The Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) issued out an official statement proposing to resume hostilities in a manner which will be targeted at mosques and Islamic clerics in a bid to avenge the evil(s) or the wanton killing of Christians in the North by the Boko Haram insurgents in an operation which it tagged Operation Barbarossa which according to its spokesman Gbomo Jomo, would commence six weeks from the day of the issue of the statement or the 31st of May to be precise.
For the purpose of this piece, I have reproduced the body of the statement issued by its spokesman and it reads, “on behalf of the hapless Christian population in Nigeria, the Movement for The Emancipation of Niger Delta will from Friday May 31st 2013 embark on a crusade to save Christianity in Nigeria from annihilation. The bombing of Mosques, Hajj Camps, Islamic institutions, large congregations in Islamic events and assassination of clerics that propagate doctrines of hate will form the core mission of this crusade code named Operation Barbarossa”.
No matter how I have tried to have an ardent understanding of the content and context of this statement, It has only succeeded in birthing the question that forms the crux of this piece- For Whom does MEND intend to wage this War?
No religion preaches violence and Christianity as far as I know abhors the killing of one’s neighbor in all ramifications thus one begins to wonder on whose errand does MEND intend to go? If Nigeria has remained one ever since the birth of the insurgency in different parts of the country, many credence ought to go to the patience already exercised by the Christian population in all parts of the country that has become hosts to the nefarious activities of the Islamic militants and so we all want to continue in that light.
Terrorism is gradually becoming paraphernalia of state if not adequately checked and if that must be, it should be the duties of the government and not those of social interest groups scattered all through the length and breadth of Nigeria. I must also state here that the core aim of the fundamentalists is not the annihilation of any religion at least many have argued that political gains and not just religious ends have been the fuel burning the crusade of the Boko Haramians. Many Christians have died and who knows many may still die but as at the last estimate, adherents of the Islamic Faith have fallen more to the barrel of the unknown gunman. At any length, it will be disastrous and misleading to conclude that Boko Haram is out to extinct Christianity in Nigeria neither will it be deductive to also conclude that they are out to annihilate Islam but it is always safer to say that it is a war against the people of Nigeria irrespective of religious or ethnic inclinations so MEND should have a rethink.
Many Islamic clerics have been killed, rural heads, prominent religious figures of the Islamic faith and on the other side of the coin, a good number of pastors, reverends and parishioners have also died in almost like manner and this is the more reason why the International Community have tagged the Boko Haram war as a Hydra-headed snake in Greek methodology and unfortunately enough, we have no Hercules in among us to deal the blow that will count.
MEND should not add fuel to an already smoldering coal. If it must engage in an operation, it should dissociate its chief goal from a fight targeted to return evil for evil for Christians. Peaceful loving Nigerians of the Christian faith scattered all through the length and breadth of the flat lands of Northern Nigeria should not be made victim(s) of what they know little or almost nothing about. If there is one thing Nigeria do not need now at this critical stage of her march towards development, it is civil unrest laced in a religious fiber. Blaise Pascal once said, “Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction”. We must not become such men in Blaise Pascal’s thought. Not this time. In fact never shall we.
This should serve a plea to MEND to have a re-think of its proposed agenda scheduled to commit weeks away. If it won’t, it should at least dissociate the attacks from the salvage of Christians as it hasn’t the unanimous nod of the entire Christian population neither has the Christian Association of Nigeria in anyway endorsed the proposed bid so the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta must use its tongue to count its teeth lest it finds itself losing four running after eight.
If MEND finds its palms itching to effect a positive change, it should lay more emphasis in its emancipation struggle by serving as a watch dog on the Niger Delta Development Commission which is solely established to effect development in the coastal lands of the hinterland and not intending to take up a battle it knows little or nothing as to its technicalities. Nigerian military is doing all it can to bring the militancy to a standstill and the presidency is left in a dilemma as to whether Amnesty could be used to purchase a lasting peace. MEND should therefore not bungle the whole thing up.
The JTF’s media coordinator Lt. Col. Onyema Nwachukwu may have come to debunk the claims made by the militants as is the Nigerian tradition by referring to them as “impostors and a bundle of never do wells” who are hiding under MEND to perpetrate criminal activities in the region but I hardly want to agree with him as there is hardly a smoke without fire. It should not end at debunking what it referred to as ‘rumors’, they should do more proactively in making sure the proposed operation by MEND whether a truth or a fallacy is not in any way being put into execution as I am afraid that may be the beginning of the end of our romance with ‘Unity in Diversity’.
In conclusion, MEND should not make innocent Christians scape goats by engaging in an operation of such manner. If possible, it should retrieve its statement and participate actively in the Amnesty Campaign if that will bring the peace we all long for. Nigerians have been through a lot and should not be allowed to suffer more. God bless Nigeria.
The writer is a Law student and tweets @yung_silky
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