Acting out the script of The Islamic State.

by Eze Eluchie

The initial kidnap and murder of 3 Israeli Jews (Naftali Fraenkel, Gil-Ad Shaer and Eyal Yifrah), was claimed by a little-known group by the name ‘The Islamic State’ – Hamas, most uncharacteristically, denied involvement in the dastardly act;

The retaliatory kidnap and murder of a Palestine youth (Muhammad Abu Khdeir) was similarly, most sinister and devilish. Ordinarily the retaliation took out the wind from Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s railing to ensure that the perpetrators of the kidnap and murder of the 3 Jewish youths were brought to justice, even if it meant razing all of Gaza.

How did the region descend to the current spate of bombardments resulting in the death of over 100 Palestine civilians?

Israel and Hamas (and gradually, the broader Arab and Islamic populations) are gradually being enticed into a war both sides did not plan or prepare for, and I suspect least have any idea as to how it will roll out or eventually end, or what will translate as ‘victory’ for either side.

Who stands to gain from the present face-off in Gaza? The entity which at the very onset claimed to have instigated the crisis – The Islamic State!

With a continuation and broadening of the conflict beyond Gaza, The Islamic State would have created sufficient diversionary cover to allow it to continue to consolidate and expand its scope of influence beyond its present territory straddling Iraq and Syria, probably inching into Jordan and improbably, Saudi Arabia. The longer the present conflict in Gaza lasts, and as the death toll of children and women and non-combatants in Gaza continue to escalate, the easier it will be for the Islamic State to justify its existence and need for support from millions of Muslims across the world.

The ongoing indiscriminate bombardment of Gaza is despicable, unwarranted and uncalled for – it certainly cannot be called a ‘war’.  The retaliatory missile attacks by Hamas into Israel ought to cease forthwith.

The only winner from the ongoing conflict will be Abu Bakar al-Bagdadi and his Islamic State. Israel and Hamas/the Palestinians are apparently playing out a devious script crafted by The Islamic State. 

Picture: Abu Bakr al-Bagdadi, leader of the Islamic State

The Great Escape: More women ‘escape’ from vicious terrorists in Nigeria.

by Eze Eluchie

Only in Nigeria: Another 63 'abducted' women and girls ‘escape’ from Boko Haram custody????

American and Israeli soldiers and other westerners who are likely to be abducted or kidnapped by terrorists groups across the world need to come over to Nigeria to receive a crash course on ‘How to Escape From Terrorists’ from our daring babes here in Nigeria!!

Repeatedly, no efforts are made to debrief the ‘escapees’, rather we are routinely informed that they need privacy and have been relocated for their ‘safety’! The 'escapees' apparently depart from the place of their detention and 'miraculously' show up in the Government House in Maidugri, where the spokesperson of the Bornu State Government announces the 'escape' and the 'relocation' of the 'escapees'! Great!!

With the British Broadcasting Corporation and former British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, now becoming the first source of information concerning the ‘abduction’ and ‘escape’ of women by extremist Islamist terror group, Boko Haram, in Nigeria’s northern regions, one can safely conclude that the sponsors and instigators of BH in Nigeria are going international in their quest to ventilate the ‘crisis’.

It has been clear to discerning observers, right from the onset, that the Chibok ‘abductions’, alongside some other BH escapades were craftfully contrived frauds, which sadly enough, have real life dire implications for the unfortunate victims who have been turned into pawns in this macabre effort to make Nigeria ‘ungovernable’ for the present Government and ensure that the Office of the President of the Federal Republic is ceded to a particular region of the Nigerian contraption come 2015.

It is also clear that some of the ‘abducted’ students from Chibok , as earlier revealed by Nigeria's former dictator and intermediary with Boko Haram, Olusegun Obasanjo, will not ‘escape’ from their captors, as they will pay the ultimate price - they will be wasted.

Kudos to the #bringbackourgirls gang who were quite successful in getting an unsuspecting segment of the international community, inclusive of political and opinion leaders across the world, to buy into the Chibok ‘abduction’ fiasco – again, unfortunately for our contraption, as depicted in the ancient fable, when you shout ‘fire, fire, fire’ and people rush to your assistance only to discover it was a hoax, when the real fire starts, there might be no one willing to come to your aide for fear of being duped a second time.

There are several globally acceptable paths to power, none of which is to terrorize politics or politicize terror. 

The BBC fable: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-28189035

 - a fable entirely based on an 'alert' received by one local vigilante which the BBC chooses to name 'Abas Gava'. The BBC also somehow knows that none of the 63 'escapees' are part of the '200 school girls abducted in April', perhaps the BBC cross-checked the ID's of all purported escapees.

Picture: A well orchestrated  #bringbackourgirls rally strategically taking place at a location near foreign embassies and with a 5-star hotels frequented by foreign visitors in the foreground in Abuja

When soldiers go on rampage

by Eze Eluchie

When people are trained to kill and are allowed free access in society, there is always the likelihood of violence between such trained persons and the rest of civil society. Even the ‘best trained’ soldiers often times, unleash animalistic tendencies when they think no one is watching – but for Wikileaks, Bradley Manning and social media, infractions and bestial behaviours’ by the soldiers of the United States and European armies in Abu Ghraib, The Collateral Murder video and several other untoward instances, would never have been unearthed and some would have continued with the ‘nice-boy’ image depicted of such soldiers by popular media.

Any frequent flyer through United States airports (and airports or public transport systems across Western Europe) will be familiar with the added perks accorded military personnel and their families at such areas. These perks and benefits serve to show societal respect and appreciation for the soldiers’ service and sacrifice and also reduce the likelihood of conflict between soldiers and the rest of civil society.

That is the reason why in most other civil climes, such militarized persons are, whilst in groups, kept away from civil society (in barracks) and all efforts are made to ease their path through civil society whensoever they have cause to so transit.

When the United States and the European Union, through their so-called ‘developmental’ grants, send funds to ‘preach’ military subservience to civil leadership in emerging societies, they either somehow omit, or those who implement such grants fail, to stress the need to appreciate and respect such service personnel – traits which are engrained in the ethos and fabric of all countries which have successfully navigated the balance between their military personnel and civil society.

After Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, a few months ago, mischievously publicly braided a senior military officer (even ensuring that his media team captured the insults on video and repeatedly broadcasting the unsavory event on all available media outlets) for doing what even low ranking civil servants in the Lagos State public service do on a daily basis – drive through illegally demarcated Bus Lanes in Lagos, any discerning observer would have realized that it was only a matter of time before the Boys will hit back for the insult on their Officer cadre.

Obviously, Fashola had not realized that neither he nor Senior Military Officers, who would have reined in the Boys, will be around when the result of his earlier ill-thought showmanship action would materialize. 

Whilst ensuring that the military is effectively brought under civil authority and that military personnel who deliberately set out to harm civilians and destroy public property are brought to justice in accord with relevant statutes, it is also vital that our contraption adapt sufficient measures, as is the case in other sane climes, to minimize the risk or possibility of civil-military conflicts.

Though the destruction and mayhem meted out to staff and property of Lagos State mass transit service after a Mass Transit Bus had knocked down and killed a soldier is condemnable, it is hoped that the experience will engender a more matured, mutually respectful relationship between the civil society and those who our contraption has trained and equipped with weapons to stand guard over us. In addition, the event will hopefully douse the air of impunity with which the said Mass Transit Bus operators approach other road users - an air which most likely led to the death of the soldier in the very first instance.

    
The lack of understanding of the tenuous relationship between the military and civil authority has been the cause of most military interventions/coups across sub-Saharan Africa. Mastery of the art of navigating between the psyche and mannerism of our armed forces and the larger needs of our contraption will serve to guarantee continued civil rule.

Picture: Some Lagos State Bus Rapid Transit buses burnt after one of the BRT vehicles knocked down and killed a soldier (4^th July 2014)