Of Power probes and national interest

Going through the news streaming from  various media on the activities of the Boko Haram sect, one is hit by a deja vu feeling, of history repeating itself and our hopelessness in the midst of glaring options. We are once again faced with the multiple ‘IF’ questions.
If we had handled the Boko Haram differently, if we had dealt more decisively with them at inception, if we had been more careful with the happenings in our surroundings, if we had connected more with the grassroots, if we had not seen it as a purely Christian problem initially, if we had not seen it as a Muslim problem, if we had not politicised it, if we had not seen it as a northern problem, if we had properly monitored the almajiris, if we had placed proper surveillance on our Mullahs and itinerant preachers, if we had truly allowed everyone to practice his/her own religion in all parts of the country without discrimination, if the government had maintained true secularity in matters of religion, if the people of the ravaged areas had collectively agreed to take the bull by the horn, if the communities had been more active and proactive to security issues – so many ifs.


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/11/of-power-probes-and-national-interest-2/