Lessons from Kabul By Martins Onyeike

Lately, the local and international media has been awash with the frightening developments in Afghanistan. Albeit, those abreast with the sequence of events in the South Asian country can only see the takeover of power by the Taliban as an inevitability, rather than a surprise. This is what happens in an atmosphere where any form of terrorism is allowed to fester and thrive.

Over the years, what started as drizzles of insurgency slowly transmogrified into a sweeping flood that has inescapably eroded all tenets of democracy in that war-torn nation. Those who take the luxury that comes with even the most authoritarian form of civil governance have been rudely awakened to the dangers inherent in a non-secular military rulership.

Shocking images of Afghan citizens trampling on each other to catch a flight that will take them “anywhere” tells the whole story. This desperate attempt to escape the ominous disaster could have been avoided if a fraction of such efforts had been put into fighting against the emerging threat at its infant and adolescent stages. Overtly or covertly, the monster was allowed by blossom.

While it is no longer news that President Ashraf Ghani has conveniently taken to his heels in pursuit of safety, the moral of the story is that it is the common man that bears the weighty brunt of whatever goes wrong in any nation. In juxtapose with what pervades in Nigeria today, an unjaundiced view transparently reveals a siamese identity.

At some point during the war, the government of Afghanistan got armtwisted into granting some sort of blanket amnesty to thousands of convicted and already incarcerated Taliban members. This was done in exchange with a phantom agreement of ceasefire which turned out a ruse. Any semblance with what is happening in Nigeria today? Your guess is as good as mine.

Already armed with a cache of sundry weapons, to further fortify terrorists with a bargaining power represents a grave precedence that will only bring regrets and consequently whet their appetite for more blood. History has proven that time and time again. No two ways about it, the only good terrorist is a dead or imprisoned one.

The politicking employed in the fight against insurgency and terrorism in our beloved nation has to stop immediately. Considering the humongous financial and manpower resources that have been expended on this war so far, no stone should be left unturned in the quest to put an end to this debacle once and for all.

In salute to the exploits and heroics of our troops who have fought gallantly over the last decade, it will amount to sabotage of their efforts if the same people that declared war against our collective sovereignty keep getting the “go and sin no more” treatment. Think of the thousands of personnel who have paid the supreme price. Nothing can be more demoralizing.

For taking up arms against the state and sending thousands of innocent Nigerians to their tombs; the rubicon has definitely been crossed. When I look at those white flags, I see a hidden hue of haemoglobin. Nobody should fall into that booby trap anymore.

martinsemenogu03@gmail.com