With the glitz and fanfare usually associated with a carnival or pageantry, the terrorism-riddled and traumatized town of Bama, Borno state, last week, played host to an ignoble event that shook the Nigerian media space to its very foundation. The majestic poses and catwalk showcased at the charade only reminds one of models strutting their stuffs on the runway.
The only difference being that the models in this scenario were not clad in sultry lingeries or exquisite outfits that appraise the architectural splendour of the human anatomy. Despicably, the military authorities through its spokesperson confirmed that the razzmatazz was about surrendered and repentant terrorists of the Boko Haram and ISWAP stock. Over a hundred commanders, alongside their lieutenants and family members were on parade.
An official statement in furtherance of that position reads in part: “Following the recent escalation of offensive operations, coupled with non-kinetic efforts by troops of Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK) which yielded massive surrendering of Boko Haram and Islamic State of West Africa Province terrorists in the North East, the chief bomb expert of the terrorists group known as Musa Adamu, a.k.a Mala Musa Abuja and his second in command, Usman Adamu, a.k.a Abu Darda, along with their families and followers have also finally surrendered to troops of Operation Hadin Kai in Bama Local Government Area of Borno State”.
While revelling in the lights, camera, action spotlight induced by our abysmal mediocrity, the “surrendered” terrorists grinned from ear to ear; much to the chagrin of thousands of widowed women, orphaned children, families who have lost loved ones and breadwinners. Not forgetting those whose homes got razed, sources of livelihoods truncated and the numerous forced into exile.
Ignoring whatever statistics the ministry of housing reels out on its achievements within the span of this administration, available facts reveal that millions of Nigerians have been rendered homeless and are now taking refuge at makeshift Internally Displaced Persons camps littered all over the North. The habiting conditions at these camps can only be suited for animals. Going further to imagine the perpetrators of such evil walking free can induce a complex trauma. Not even a cosmetic slap on the wrist. Nauseating!!
This unholy exoneration of daredevil terrorists from the heinous crimes they committed against humanity amounts to not just a desecration of the memories of those who paid the ultimate price; it is also akin to holding a musical concert on the majorly unmarked graves of their victims.
The half-hearted pleas for forgiveness inscripted on the placards they put on display pales in volume to the resonating wailings for justice that pervades the entire nation.
The rationale behind this controversial gesture remains clandestine, as the same olive branch is yet to be extended to perceived state enemies of Southern extraction. How the government even intends to rehabilitate and reintegrate the “born again” terrorists into the same societies they brought to ruins infringes on logic.
Where else in the world do you have members of two of the world’s most deadly terror groups openly having photo-ops with government and military officials? What yardstick is used to decipher a terrorist who has turned a new leaf and deserving of pardon? Indeed, clannishness has taken precedence over morality and legality.
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