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| Jonathan, Obasanjo |
If Babakura Fugu, a brother-in-law of Yusuf Mohammed, the slain Boko Haram leader, had had a premonition that his meeting with former President Olusegun Obasanjo would bring death to his door, he probably would have spurned the peace parley. Unfortunately for him, he was not clairvoyant and he has paid dearly for this.
Many had argued that the visit had the backing of the Federal Government in view of President Goodluck Jonathan’s desperation to stop the spate of bomb explosions being carried out by the radical Islamic sect.
Fugu was said to have been with family members when he received a telephone call. He went outside apparently to meet the person that called him, only to be shot to death, according to the Commissioner of Police, Borno State Command, Simeon Midenba.
There is confusion about who is responsible for Fugu’s murder. Initially, there were reports that he was killed by a member of the sect.
“We have commenced investigation but from the manner the act was carried out, Fugu may have been killed by a person familiar to him, probably a member of the sect,” Medinba said.
But the group on Sunday denied killing him.
The late Fugu last Friday told journalists that the family had in its discussion with Obasanjo given three conditions for peace to reign in the land, claiming that the family obtained the approval of the top echelon of the sect before meeting with the former president. The deceased had listed the three conditions namely the rebuilding of their demolished building during the 2009 crisis, the payment of compensation to the family as ordered by the court over the extra-judicial killing of their father, and the directive that the security agencies should desist from further harassment of the sect members.
Fugu, less than 24 hours before he was gunned down, explained that Obsanjo assured them of government’s sincerity in addressing the grievances of the family and sect. “Firstly, we discussed the issue of our houses which were demolished; then the court which ruled that we be paid damages. And we also told him that security agencies must desist from any moves to harass us by even government officials.
“Based on this agreement, Obasanjo told us that he would personally take the matter to President Goodluck Jonathan. All of us were in the meeting, including those of Muhammed Yusuf with our sister and mother of Fuji Foi who harped on the fact that his children should be mobilised to access education and better welfare.
“There will be peace if the agreement is reached. The Boko Haram members are demanding adequate compensation for those killed by security agencies and the same thing with us whose loved ones were also killed. We have faith in Obasanjo’s coming without any doubt.”
Sadly, not every sect member was on the same page with Fugu as those opposed to the truce moved against him hours later. The warm reception accorded Obasanjo by the Fugu family obviously did not go down well with the more radical members of the sect who seemed bent on an endless war with the FG. A splinter group claimed responsibility for the killing in a text message sent to journalists in Maiduguri shortly after the incident. A report said the group further threatened to kill those who granted audience to Obasanjo during his visit to Maiduguri, claiming that it was not interested in any dialogue with the FG.
A British Broadcasting Corporation radio report quoted the sect as claiming responsibility for Fugu’s murder. However, another group within the sect was said to have denied complicity in the incident, an indication of the growing schism in the movement. A top member of the splinter group, Abu kaka, reportedly denied having a hand in Fugu’s murder.
The former president had during the interaction with the Fugu family members, said his visit was a personal initiative. A civil rights activist and Coordinator, Civil Rights Congress, Alhaji Shehu Sani, stated that he facilitated Obasanjo’s visit to Mohammed Yusuf’s family. At the meeting were representatives of a former commissioner in Borno State, the late Alhaji Fuji Foi, and that of Baba Fugu Mohammed, in-law of Boko Haram’s leader, who were brutally killed by security agents.
Speaking in an interview on the BBC, Hausa Service in Abuja, Sani said he arranged the visit to engender dialogue and understanding between the government and families of the sect members who were extra- judicially killed by security forces.
Explaining the rational for choosing Obasanjo to lead the truce talks, Sani said, “I reached to the families and leadership of Boko Haram and they agreed with the idea, and I chose Obasanjo because he is closer to the government. If the Boko Haram leadership did not agree, the meeting would not have been held.
“Obasanjo asked security operatives to excuse him and they were worried over his safety, but the former president assured them that nothing would happen to him. He asked them questions and they talked and I was there.”
As to be expected, the peace talks had generated strong reactions and criticisms. A group, the Youth Association of Nigeria had applauded the visit, describing it as an opportunity to end the bomb attacks by the group. AYAN president, Mallam Usman Ibrahim, said the peace overture by the former president was not only timely but one that could signal an end to the lingering security situation in Nigeria.
According to him, Obasanjo had taken a bold step towards erasing the widely held perception of being anti-North especially during his tenure, adding that the group expected him to do more by ensuring Nigeria’s unity in diversity. He said the move deserved the support of not only the government but all well- meaning Nigerians just as he called on the government to heed the advice of the United Nations on limiting the use of force in tackling the group.
The National Publicity Secretary of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Alhaji Lai Muhammed, also lauded Obasanjo’s intervention in seeking a lasting solution to the Jos crisis as well as the Boko Haram issue, pointing out that any intervention from any quarters that could bring about genuine peace in the country should be welcomed.
A former commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav, also described the move as a step in the right direction as it was evident that the government of the day lacked clues on how to solve the debacle it has found itself in.
In his reaction, a former Deputy Governor of Abia State, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, stated that the Senate would welcome any effort by any individual or group that could bring about peace and solve the current spate of violence in the country.
“Though the visit was in his personal capacity, it is nevertheless a very positive development and the Senate will be all for any effort that will bring genuine peace and stop the orgy of bombings and violence,” he said.
Fugu’s death has however changed the equation, meaning that the use of force may not be ruled out at the end of the day. For a ranking member of the sect to have been gunned down in cold blood means that the carrot and stick approach may not work. It now behoves on the intelligence community to go the extra mile and unravel the riddle that makes up the sect.
The Conference of Nigerian Political Parties which condemned the killing called on the government to set up a Public Inquiry to unravel Fugu’s murder. It based its demands on the denial by a splinter group in the sect that it was not privy to the killing.
“Chief Obasanjo and Senator Ali Sherrif under whose eight year regime as president and governor, the Frankenstein called Boko Haram mutated as patriots may furnish the panel with necessary evidence to stop the Boko Haram insurgency,” a statement by CNPP publicity secretary, Osita Okechukwu, said. With the latest development, it is clear there would not be a quick fix to the Boko Haram menace; a decisive action against the growing insurgency may however save the country greater pains in the future.
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