Nigeria Army deserves praise on Boko Haram —Oba Makama

You successfully hosted the 27th Owu National Congress. What was responsible for the feat?

There is no need to flog the dead horse again. We give glory to God for the outcome of the convention. Where is support, there is nothing one cannot achieve. I received support of members of the union and achieved the result.

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What did the presence of the former President Olusegun Obasanjo mean to the outcome of the convention?

We should better don’t go back to that too. Chief Obasanjo has on many occasions proved that he is a leadership template for those who desire to become leaders. He came behind the schedule and apologized and participated actively. Other prominent personalities of Owu extraction also witnessed it, and I appreciate all of them.

What is your take on certain campaign against Nigerian Military’s counter-insurgency?

Since 2009, Northeast Nigeria has been the scene of an armed conflict between an insurgent movement Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awatiwal- Jihad, popularly known as Boko Haram and the Nigerian Military with serious purported violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law from both sides. Boko Haram has killed thousands of civilians, abducted thousands of women, girls and boys; many of whom have been forcibly recruited as child soldiers or subjected to forced marriages and sexual slavery. On the other hand,  International Media and Civil Societies had purported, and continue to  allege the Nigerian Military of committing extra-judicial killings, mass  arbitrary arrests detentions, torture and other ill-treatment against the  Boko Haram terrorists. The questions arising from these claims and counter-claims are whose abuse? Whose blame? And whose pain?

To your understanding, what is Human Rights talked about?

Human rights are mostly traced to the stoics. As the founder of the stoic school of thought, Zeno propounded the theory of Natural Law, under which human beings were supposed to have natural rights. Like the Stoics, the ancient Greek city states also provide a glimpse of  human rights in the form of Isogoria, (meaning freedom of speech), and  Isonomia (with the meaning: equality before the law) coupled with  Isotamia (which basically refers to equal respect for all). Therefore, the concept of just and unjust had always existed throughout the civilizations and formed the very essence of what IS to be regarded human right in today’s world. It should be noted, however, that the concern with human rights in the world today stems from the perception widely shared with Rouseau that, “man, though born free,’ is everywhere in chains”. With globalization, increasing awareness, coupled with the preoccupation on how best to safeguard them from rampant violations, have made the term ‘human rights’ a song sung by almost everybody. Yet the contradiction, hypocrisy, inconsistency, confusion, misinterpretation, absurdity, and plain stupidity that pervade notions of human rights are not only disturbingly worrisome but also telling. For instance, while the western  industrial world tend to define it in terms of political and civil liberties (especially the domestication of liberal democratic ideals),’ third world  nations seem to focus on the basic needs of food and shelter as a prerequisite for human dignity and, eventually, civil rights.

What is extra-Judicial killing?

This is a concept naturally associated to the illegal killing of an individual or group of individuals without adequate recourse to the provision of the law. I t is a phenomenon that undermines the very essence of fundamental human right of every living being. Mostly, extra-judicial killing is not only associated with a convicted offender, an innocent suspect can end being a victim. It could be perpetrated by the state or its machinery against the people, and vice versa. In, military operations, it could also be. perpetrated by the military against the insurgents or enemies of the state or saboteurs or an innocent civilian. It is however difficult in most military operations like counter-insurgency to determine when the killing of an insurgent or a terrorist becomes an extra-judicial killing on the battlefield. Again, can we then be fair to label the killing’ of a terrorist who again attempted to kill or wreak havoc in custody by military personnel on the ground of self-defense? This and many more questions, cases and peculiarities are some of the reasons why the concept of extra-judicial killing is a complex and’ highly contested phenomenon.

Can you expatiate on what you call the international community and the politics of double-standards?

The politics of continuous shifting of the goal post as to what actually constitutes human rights abuse or extra-judicial killing by the internationally community, most especially the Western world poses a. severe danger to the national imageries as well as the developing world’s capacity to root out and contain acts capable of undermining their sovereign existence. The continued bashing and labeling of the Nigerian government and Military as condolers of human rights abuses continues to make mockery of our intelligence as a nation. Placing the responsibility to determine what is and what is not human right abuses in the hands of a few states had sold out the collective conscience of the international community. I am only attempting to bring to bear the consequences of this action, considering the psychological effects of continued labeling of the Nigerian.

What do you mean by psychological effect?

Military as human rights violators will only provide more momentum and inspiration to the Boko Haram insurgents while dampening the morale of our committed soldiers. Thus, only one ‘entity is billed to emerge the Victor, viz, the Boko Haram if this campaign continues unabated, and consequently result into the defeat of not only the Nigerian military but the entire Nigerian state, its people, and even the international community given the spill-over effect of terrorism. I am of the view that the real abused in the on-going counter-insurgency are the Nigerian military personnel, the people and the government. This is arising from the fact that most times, the labeling of the Government as being inefficient, the military as being violators, are usually biased and turned out to nothing but half-truths. How do we reconcile the recent Saudi’s attacks in Yemen without any form of protest or labeling from the West against such acts? In fact, through Intifada, Israel has dramatically increased the use of extra-judicial executions in its struggle against the Palestinians, killing a total of 150 people within three and a half years. Side-stepping the crucial legal dimension of Israel’s policy of extra-judicial executions, which has been employed in the Occupied Territories and abroad for at least 30 years, is currently being challenged in the Israeli High Court of Justice. Expectedly, Israel’s policy of targeted killings has met with considerable controversy but not the continued bashing and labeling the developed world had meted out to countries like Nigeria(Gross, 2006). In the same vein, the Yemen attack by the United States of America (USA) and the ‘targeted killings’ by Israeli forces is yet to be castigated by human rights NGOs and some UN bodies as extrajudicial executions. The developed world must therefore realise the failure of the Nigerian State to succeed in the ongoing counter-insurgency is the failure of the entire international community because no aspect of the international community will be spared of the spill-over effects of such failures should it happen. The US and other developed countries must therefore support the Nigerian state to achieve her anti-terrorism agenda and quest for success in the ongoing counter-insurgency.

Does the report by Amnesty International reflect the true picture of the situation report in the field of operation of Nigeria army?

The submission by Amnesty international to the International Criminal Court (ICC) on the Nigeria Army is destabilizing; injurious and defamatory. To say the Nigeria Army is guilty of murder pursuant to article 8 (2)(c)(i); torture, cruelty, outrages upon personal dignity and intentionally directing attacks against civilians just exposed how far away from reality the ICC is. Till date, the ICC which is quick and very proactive to highlight and prosecute crime against humanity in Third world countries lost its voice over the wrong invasion of Iraq in 2003 for search and deactivation of weapon of mass destruction which is yet to be found. This invasion of Iraq left many Iraqis dead and Iraq plundered. The Amnesty International/ICC till date is yet to find its voice of the continuous occupation and provocation of Palestinians in Gaza by Israel. The Amnesty international/ICC till date is yet to declare either the military or government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia guilty of war crimes against humanity with its actions on Yemen which, according to United Nations and other sources, has it that from March 2015 to December 2017, 8,670-13,600 people have been killed in Yemen, including more than 5,200 civilians, as well as estimates of more than 50,000 dead as a result of ongoing famine due to the war. I implore all Nigerians irrespective of political affiliations or convictions to come together and resist this cheap blackmail against our Army. At this critical time in our nation’s history, I consider it mischievous and malicious the timing of the release of the said report, and the usual double standard of the so called Amnesty International is demoralizing our patriotic Army. We were thrown into mourning some weeks ago, when our soldiers were slaughtered by insurgents. This resulted in low morale among troops, and one must acknowledge efforts put in place by the present administration and previous ones in motivating the Army.

What then do you think should happen?

I believe the only way to go is for Nigerians in a rare show of patriotism is to reject this assertion and keep supporting the ongoing efforts of the present government through the Army is protecting the integrity and sanctity of our sovereignty.