That there is a vacuum in Nigeria’s leadership
is not in dispute; however the recent
declaration by the president of Chad, Idriss
Deby compounds Nigeria’s delicate situation
and threatens the nation’s sovereign integrity.
As reported by the AFP in an article of
January 17, 2015, captioned “Thousands see
off Chadian troops to fight Boko Haram,”
Idriss Deby the authoritarian leader of Chad,
Nigeria’s north eastern neighbor, said “in a
speech read by the speaker of parliament that
the new deployment (of Chadian troops to
Cameroon) aimed to recapture Baga.”
Cameroon had requested for and welcomed
the deployment that saw 400 Chadian military
vehicles arrive in Cameroon. [AFP]
However Nigeria was not invited to the table.
Nigeria’s military leadership as quoted by the
AFP are “lukewarm.” The word is defined by
Google dictionary thus: “(of a person, attitude,
or action) unenthusiastic.”
Nigeria’s military spokesperson, GEN
Olukolade said as quoted by the AFP: “All
support for our operations will be welcome,
but it must conform with our own ongoing
operations.”
Inasmuch as Baga at the border with Chad
and another 14 to 20 local governments in
Nigeria by all means needs various degrees of
military liberation from Boko Haram’s control,
a Chadian intervention without approval by
the African union or explicit approval by
Nigeria’s government, even though lacking
and inebriated infringes on the laws of
national sovereignty; and prompts further
suspicion of the intentions of Nigeria’s
neighbors who have reportedly been
permissive and in some cases frankly
supportive of Boko Haram [See CNN].
The Chadian government and the government
of Niger pulled out their troops from the
multi-national force stationed at Nigeria’s
northeastern border late last year leading up
to and enabling the Boko Haram massacre
that resulted in 2500 to 3000 dead.
The
stationing of troops by Nigeria, Cameroon,
Chad and Niger by November 1 of 2014 was
agreed upon by the four nations at the Paris
summit in May of last year.
Acknowledging a vacancy of leadership in
Abuja, Nigeria’s capital of government; the
new do-it-our-way, without Nigeria’s or any
other openly known regional or global union’s
explicit authorization challenges years-long
developed modalities of territorial
interrelation.
Boko Haram terrorists are known to organize,
train and source weapons from Chad, Niger
and Cameroon. Nigeria has over the past years
demanded these nations seal their borders
and disallow terrorist’s assemblies on their
soil. The McCain approach of total disregard to
“some guy called Goodluck Jonathan,”
disregards Nigerians as a whole and
compounds an already highly suspicious
situation and pits Nigerians to choose
between Boko Haram (mostly) foreign
terrorists’ invasion and foreign leaderships’
invasion.
Nigerians in the affected territories swear that
Chad president, Idriss Deby is a sponsor and
financier of Boko Haram. A majority of Boko
Haram insurgents are Chadians
[SaharaReporters, Jan 14, 2015]. There is
undeniably a serious problem here.
In the
course of Nigeria’s French neighbors
partnering and protecting their interests, this
cannot be done with permission of terror to
Nigeria and at any risk to Nigeria’s territorial
integrity. [See: “Serious Allegations of
Cameroon, Chad Arming Boko Haram Is Act of
Terror And War;” ENDS.ng Oct 14, 2014]
In October last year, Nigeria’s president and
the president of Chad jointly declared a very
suspicious cessation of fire against Boko
Haram [Which ENDS promptly rejected on
behalf of Nigerians]. This leadership ‘blunder’
which world unions and lead groups were
slow to recognize led to the strengthening of
Boko Haram and the deaths of thousands
more innocent Nigerians and Cameroonians.
The world cannot continue to sit and watch
these deadly conspiracies and administrative
‘errors.’
John Dramani Mahama, of Ghana, head of the
regional Economic Community of West African
States, ECOWAS on Friday called for an
African action against the Boko Haram
regional threat. Absent a change of Nigeria’s
incapacitated government, this is the right
action, long overdue.
On behalf of the people of Nigeria, we
demand Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon sit down
and negotiate the full modalities of any
incursion by Chad and/or Cameroonian forces
into Nigeria’s territory, and that the urgent
agreements reached as sanctioned exigently
by the African union.
By Dr. Peregrino Brimah
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