How To End Boko Haram, By Al-Mustapha

Former Chief Security Officer to the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, yesterday proffered solutions on how to end the almost intractable insurgency in the northern part of the country.

Al-Mustapha, who is the President and Chief Executive Officer of a non governmental organisation, Al-Mustapha Peace, Unity and Development Initiative (APUDI), gave the counter-insurgency idea while addressing newsmen at a pre-conference on “Community Conflict and Youth Militancy in Northern Nigeria: Challenge of a Democratic Practice,” in Abuja, said insurgency required an unconventional approach.

“Conventional approach to a conventional mode of fighting in any country is exactly what is required of
the military and other agencies,” he said.

Al-Mustapha, however, said: “But where you have insurgency and such vices classified as or leading to low intensity conflict in any country as we have in the North-east, the obvious thing to do is to maximise information and secrecy.”

The former CSO charged media organisations to work with security agencies in maximizing all classified information that would be supportive to counter-insurgency.

He said peace and security are what no agency, whether private or public, should be seen to compromise in whichever way.

Al-Mustapha lamented that out of ignorance and greed, the private and public sectors had over the years promoted the causes of insurgency.

He noted that where a country found itself in Nigeria’s situation, damage control measures were of the essence, rather than apportioning blames.

The APUDI boss disclosed the prevailing conflict situation in the country necessitated his NGO’s programmes of visiting troubled areas to mediate and restore peace in such places.

Speaking earlier, APUDI Director of Training and Reorientation, Prof. Danladi Atu, revealed that the
forthcoming conference would address the problems of managing the aftermath crisis of demobilising the “Civilian JTK” in the North-east, as well as the issue of post-insurgency trauma of victims of the insurgency through the APUDI Safe House programme that would be established in the crisis-torn areas.

He said the target audience would be elder statesmen across the North, community and youth leaders, Christian and Muslim clerics, party chieftains, women and council of traditional rulers.

Atu further disclosed that the aim of the conference was to develop synergy with other peace development agencies within and outside the country.

He said President Goodluck Jonathan is expected to declare the conference open, while the Minister of Education, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, would unveil the manual for the programme.

Source:
BluePrint Newspaper