Ihejirika sponsoring boko haram? An inquiry (2)

As I stated in my previous piece, Boko Haram, just like every other Islamic terrorist group in the world, is primarily religious. Their main targets are simply non-Muslims (mainly Christians) as well as Western Democracy and education, but Muslims who oppose what they are doing are equally in trouble. I justified this position in my previous piece by briefly quoting from the Quran verses that are very clear on this point. For instance (Sura 9 verse 123): “O you who believe! Fight those of disbelievers who are close to you, and let them find hardness in you; and know that Allah is with those who are Al-Muttaqun (the pious).”

Again: “Slay the idolaters wherever you find them. Arrest them, besiege them, and lie in ambush everywhere for them.” (Sura 9:5).

It is interesting that Boko Haram commanders, that is, Abubakah Shekau’s boys, did not mention any of these facts to Dr. Davis as the main reasons why they are fighting. In fact, when I first heard of Dr. Davis’ allegations I thought it was a mere joke, and not until I read the interviews myself. After reading the interviews, my immediate conclusion was that either the man in question, Dr. Davis, was drunk when he said all these wonderful things, or perhaps he has a mental problem, and in that case I quickly suggested that he should be taken to a psychiatric hospital with immediate effect.  Hence, the initial title I gave to this piece was “Boko Haram Sponsors: Australian Stephen Davis Should Be Taken To A Psychiatric Hospital For a Serious Examination!” I later changed that title only because I reasoned the editor might not accept it.

To say that Ihejirika is sponsoring Boko Haram is indeed a real mad man’s talk which flies in the face of Nigeria’s history and Ihejirika’s personal cosmology. As one writer, Ocherome Nnanna puts it, “Ihejirika is an Igbo man and a Christian. As such, he is an enemy of everything that Boko Haram stands for. If there is anyone who will like to finish Boko Haram today, it is someone in the cosmological mold of General Ihejirika. Just think of it: what will motivate an Ihejirika to empower Islamist Boko Haram with Nigeria’s military equipment under his care? Would he like to live under an Islamised Nigeria? Would he like to be forcibly converted to Islam? Certainly not.”

Ihejirika comes from a part of Nigeria that is proud of their Christian/African background, and that appreciates strangers and also know how to live in peace with people of other faiths like the Muslims, so long as they remain law abiding and peace-loving. Ocherome also stated rightly that “One of the factors that sustained the Biafran war for 30 months was the Igbos’ fear of being Islamised by the federal forces mistakenly thought to be a jihad being prosecuted by Hausa/Muslims.”

“Rather than helping the Islamists gain ground”, writes Ocherome, “the impression we were given before Davis’ toxic allegation, was that Ihejirika actually decimated the ranks of Boko Haram and drove them to the fringes of Lake Chad and Sambisa Forest, where, due to difficult terrain, it requires modern military equipment to flush them out. Not long ago, the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) actually accused Ihejirika of committing “war crimes” by permitting extra-judicial killing of captured Boko Haram fighters. They threatened to take him to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

“It is obvious that the hitches in deploying troops to fight Boko Haram arose from internal sabotage in the army, perpetrated by northern Muslim elements that have sympathy for their “brother Muslims” in Boko Haram. It was through these people that Boko Haram gained inside information about troop deployments and easy access to our military armouries. This is also responsible for the frequent mutinies and protests in the army. It created a climate of difficulties for military campaigns to be carried out.

“Boko Haram and its supporters and sympathisers among the politicians and those with easy access to the social media, added to their foreign paid agents such as Dr. Stephen Davis, are exploiting every opportunity to create confusion and diversions to give room for Boko Haram to expand. Unfortunately, we have a President who is unwilling to crack down on enemies of the nation, perhaps because of the mistaken belief that it will injure his 2015 re-election bid.”

Dr. Davis reiterated that his allegations were informed by discussions he had with several Boko Haram field commanders over a long period of time, and that’s all! According to him, this is the only evidence he has! Now everyone in this country who has been following the trend of events is certain that among all Nigerian soldiers that ever fought Boko Haram, Ihejirika is simply their number one enemy. And why? Because, just as Ocherome remarks above, he was the most brave and the most brutal who really meant business in dealing with the terrorists. In fact, this was the main reason why northern Muslims pressurized Jonathan to remove him—despite the lies we were told.

It is not illogical, therefore, to say that either Davis does not really know what he is talking about or he is merely trying to please his northern Muslim friends or northern Muslims collaborated with Davis to tarnish the image of their number one enemy, Ihejirika. But northerners really have to be careful. The Igbos have had enough of their atrocities and keeping quiet does not mean they are stupid. The Igbos of today, in fact, are no longer the Igbos of yesterday in terms of willingness to fight another war for the cause of the Igbo nation. As I write, the innocent bloods of their sons and daughters shed by Muslim infidels are still crying for justice. As Ralph Uwazuruike once put it, “when we start, they will run!”

The earlier they let Ihejirika alone, the better.

Jonathan Ekene Ifeanyi