Youthful Against Boko Haram: A Witness’ Account By Mr.Dogara James

I am in this piece interested in giving narratives premised on a personal review of roles played by some Nigerian youths against terror over the past 11 months, beginning from January, 2013 to November, 2013. Earlier this year, I was attracted and excited by the exploit of a large number of youth in Bauchi state who collectively stood against four armed men in the early hours of 27th March, 2013.
The gunmen men, on the said date, laid siege on Jahun community, for over an hour, before being chased by community members. One of them was left behind as the armed men fled the scene for their lives. The remaining gun man dressed in white northern traditional tunic was later spotted surprisingly holding an A.K 47 riffle. He was confidently pacing around like a rabbit hunter who suddenly found himself in a bush full of antelopes at Railway community of Bauchi metropolis. Following the discovery, he was chased by angry youths to Zango community and finally Federal Low-Cost Housing Estate. He turned occasionally aiming and shooting rounds of bullets at the increasing advancing crowd of youth following him. The unarmed youths in response would hide behind buildings and street corners, dodging bullets, just like it is done in movies, four (4) people among the crowd sustained injuries from his shots, including a young man who bravely engaged in a wrestle with the gunman. He was shot in his left leg. The gun man finally got tired, running out of breath and ammunition, he took refuge in a school and was unfortunately shot dead during an exchange of fire with security officers of the Joint Task Force who later came to rescue the situation.
Sometimes I keep asking how we got to this stage where armed individuals make intrusion into our communities killing people with knives, guns and increasingly with bombs, out of dislike for their religious belief, political factions, tribe, tradition and so on. When did we become the7th most terrorised and unsafe nation in the world according to 2012 report of GTI (Global Terrorism Index), when in 2011, we were ranked 12^th and five years ago ranked 30^th by the same GTI. And it seems like the trend of events in the nation is getting uglier with, the burning of about 2,275 houses as recorded by Human Rights Watch report of a military raid carried out in Baga fishing community of Borno state on April 9th 2013. The actual and total death casualties are yet to be ascertained.
Following the capture and killing of Muhammed Yusuf, alongside over 300 other members of Boko Haram in 2009 by the Nigerian police operatives, the sect grew to become one of the most deadly militant and oppressive religious sect in northern Nigeria. Boko Haram is a Hausa language phrase, loosely translated in English as “Western Education is forbidden” or in Arabic language as, “Jam??at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-da?wa wal-Jih?d”. It has over the past four years successful recorded attacks in over 14 northern Nigerian states with Borno state as the most devastated given its location as the group’s headquarters.
Anyone who doubts if average Nigerians still have kind feelings towards one another only needs to experience the camaraderie when there is a fire outbreak or accident in any neighbourhood. Even if it is captured on video, picture, or the story recounted, what comes out obvious is that Nigerians consider lives first before any other thing. Thus, whenever there is a fire incidence in a market or it engulfs a building, you will find people assisting others out of the building or harm way, before safe guarding properties while others scramble for their phones to call fire service operators to rescue the situation. In communities where people live closely together over a long period of time, during fire outbreak, you will find unemployed town criers shouting “fire” in Hausa, Igbo or Yoruba language, calling for help while the scream is followed by an uncoordinated neighbours rush out of their houses with buckets or basin full of water to assist in quenching the fire with disregard for the victims’ beliefs or status. Sometimes passerby or strangers are not left out of this kind tradition.
Youth are dominantly seen on the scene with the males standing on walls receiving water from females which they in turn splash at the raging fire to contain it in anticipation of fire service operatives coming with tanks of water, usually until the place is burnt down or in some instances the fire service never arrives. There are reported cases of kind hearted neighbours and individuals sustaining injuries and sometimes even loosing their lives assisting against fire outrage. It should also be noted that other people seize the chaotic situation to steal victim’s recovered properties or break into other neighbour’s houses to loot items. Now these are the few instances and individuals (like Boko Haram) who create bad impression on the majority of good Nigerians.
Sheik Gunmi, a renowned Nigerian Islamic scholar concluded that, “Boko Haram is diabolic and must be flushed out’’ in a recent sermon. Edmund Burke once advice that “all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing”. At this juncture, it’s appropriate to call on the most vibrant and active sector of the society (the youth) to not only stand but to see that evil (Boko Haram) is flushed out of Nigeria before more lives and property are destroyed and a country lost.
Youth should view and understand that Boko Haram is a raging fire that needs their collective tactic to quench it. That kind of collective activism against terror experienced in Bauchi should be replicated or practiced in other communities in northern Nigeria and other parts of the country, with the assistance of social media platforms to unite and share progressive information. One interesting incidence during the 2012 subsidy removal protest in Kano was that, Christian youth were seen holding hands, forming a human shield around  fellow Muslim comrades during prayers from start to finish; likewise the Muslims in turn visited churches on Sundays to protect their fellow Christian comrades. It was a beautiful gesture to behold. These amazing feeling of brotherhood and community policing should be rekindled.
With the declaration of state of emergency in three states of Yobe, Borno and Adamawa by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan in May 2013, there has been shutting down of telecommunication service with unconfirmed reports of human right abuses from both the errant militant sect and the Nigerian Army.
Some of the inspiring news coming out of these states is an increased community policing by residence. My sister schooling in University of Maiduguri who recently came back to Bauchi on a holiday, said she could not believe that community dwellers and youth could join hands together in identifying and exposing negative incidences and harmful people to security operatives just like she saw in Borno state.
Even though we have a long way to go, these highlighted stories of youth actions against terror should end up stimulating confidence in us that peace and harmony is possible in northern Nigeria. We should look forward to more patriotic actions and its spread to other parts of the country, until Nigeria becomes a more stable and developed nation. And that is the Nigeria of our dreams.
[This piece was written by Mr. Dogara James]