By Eric Elezuo
Almost five months since the yet to be explained killing of Brigadier General Musa Uba, another high ranking military officer, another Brigadier General, has been unlived. He was Brigadier General Oseni Omo Braimah, Commander of 29 Task Force Brigade Operation Hadin Kai, Maiduguri Borno State.
The sadness that followed the brutal killing of the Brigade Commander, can almost be touched, dear Nigerians, with special call out to the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, and his counterpart, the Chief of Defense Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede. These men, have at separate fora concassed for the kid gloves handling of terrorism activities, and terrorists.
Ribadu, it was, that asked that terrorists be rehabilitated as they are ‘our brothers. Oluyede echoed the stand, saying the terrorists are equated to the biblical prodigal son, and therefore should be received with open hands. This he said to justify his latest ‘Operation Safe Corridor’, designed to welcome ‘repentant’ terrorists and bandits, and have them reintegrated into the society.
It is still these same ‘brothers’, and ‘prodigal sons’ that overran a military base in Benisheikh, reportedly killing 18 soldiers including the Brigadier General. According to the Army, however, the number of deaths was overhyped, claiming that only two officers and two other soldiers were killed in the battle, where again, according to them, the military had the upper hand, and successfully repelled the assailants while maintaining their positions.
Much as the military agreed that they lost four soldiers, they have failed to produce casualties, or even speak about the number of casualties on the side of the terrorists, in the same battle they claimed they had the upper hand. It’s still hard to believe that the prodigal sons and brothers snuffed the life of a general, and according to reports, he was caught like a sitting duck.
The prodigal sons with the attendant ‘brothers’ did not stop there; they proceeded to kill a Forest Guard Commander and five others in Kwara, just as they mercilessly hacked to death eight members of the same family in Bokkos, Plateau State. The list is endless. This is the annoying story of prodigal sons and brothers. Thanks to the NSA and the CDS.
Someone once said that that the only mercy a terrorist or bandit deserve is the mercy of God. And it is the duties of the authority to send them to God for such mercy. Why is the authority refusing to perform their own duties? Why play the part of God?
Why do we keep handling merciless killers with kid gloves, and turn around to call them sons and brothers. While they, in turn, are only looking for opportunity to strike again.
These people have gone from being brothers to becoming animals; very dangerous and ugly beasts that have lost the capacity to show mercy, and so should not be shown any mercy when caught.
Dear NSA and CDS, you must understand that these people have been extremely radicalised, and can no longer fit into the society of sane beings, and therefore, should be put away permanently. We can’t continue to operate a safe corridor, which thrive at experimenting with the lives of innocent Nigerians. No bandit or terrorist is worth rehabilitating, talk less of being integrated into the military or society. Whoever does that is complicit, and should be treated as an enemy of the Nigerian state.
The NSA and the CDS should begin now to revisit everyone they have ever pardoned or reintegrated into the society for they are part of our problem. They are culpable.
General Uba died saraa, as we say in our local parlance. We should not let Braimah die saraa too. We must not allow this irresponsibility happen again. I’m not borrowing any words from the president because all his words appear empty, while Nigerians continue die in droves, even when the country is not really at war.
Time to jettison this brother, cousin, prodigal son rubbish, and deal decisively with terrorists and bandits.
