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BOKO HARAM: FG reaches out to Muslim leaders, scholars
[Nigerian Tribune] AS part of a soft approach to the ongoing Islamist insurgency, the Federal Government has commenced discreet contacts with moderate Islamist salafists who, while sharing similar thoughts with the Jihadi salafists within the  Boko Haram... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... sect, are opposed to armed struggle. Previous efforts at reaching the hard boyz had been through mainstream Islamic leaders who, in no way, share the conservative interpretation of Islam, with the Boko Haram sect and, therefore, incapable of motivating genuine dialogue with the Federal Government. Nigerian Tribune was told that moderate salafi-Wahabists from the North and the South are to be contacted as a starting point in the dialogue process even as it was gathered that Nigeria is reaching outside its shores to moderate salafi organizations across Africa and Middle East. It was specifically learnt that a particular moderate Islamic organization based in the North-Central part of the country would soon be contacted as the group is widely acclaimed as the umbrella body of salafiya-wahabiya movement and scholars in Nigeria. The said organization was reported to be very influential and very deep in the salafiya thoughts and principles, just as it was gathered that the group, peopled by very enlightened Islamic scholars, is affiliated to an international body of moderate salafiyat movement based in Riyadh, the Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in their national face... n political capital. While details of the outreach were still scanty, findings showed that the new National Security Adviser is deploying softer tactics, especially in reaching out to the grass-roots salafiyas and Mohammedans population who are reportedly already alienated from the government due to alleged strong arm tactics of the military in the troubled areas. A source within the establishment told Nigerian Tribune at the weekend that the decision to reach out to the moderate salafists was designed specifically to address the religious component of the Boko Haram crisis. Referring to Nigerian Tribune's publication of last Friday, the official noted that efforts to solve and tackle the political and criminal Boko Haram were well underway but accepted that the hard nut to crack is the religionists constituted by followers of the late Mohammed Yusuf. "We are identifying the salafis, the wahabiyas, especially their moderate leaders. We want them to be the contact point this time round," the source said.  Meanwhile,...back at the laboratory the fumes had dispersed, to reveal an ominous sight... the issue of Nigerian participation in the Mali intervention force is creating division within the Nigerian security establishment with some arguing that avoiding Mali would amount to capitulating to international terrorists' threats. A military officer told Nigerian Tribune that Nigeria risked a Kenyan scenario if it should deploy troops in Mali, noting that since Kenya intervened in the Somali conflicts, the Central African nation had become a hotbed of terrorist conflicts. "We are at a cross roads here. The Malian Islamists are already in league with Boko Haram. If we take them on, then the Boko Haram thing will become internationalised and Jihadists all over the world will face Nigeria," the officer said. Findings, however, showed that the new National Security Adviser will give formal advice to President Goodluck Jonathan ... 14th President of Nigeria. He was Governor of Bayelsa State from 9 December 2005 to 28 May 2007, and was sworn in as Vice President on 29 May 2007. Jonathan is a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). He is a lover of nifty hats, which makes him easily recognizable unless someone else in the room is wearing a neat chapeau... later this week. Posted by: Fred 2012-07-02 |
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