The last time I checked, Imo and
South-East at large was dominated by operation this and that. Initially, it was
only ‘Operation Python Dance’ until ‘Operation David Dance’ followed suit. The
former – a military exercise – which is targeted to wipe out all forms of
social ills lingering in the said region to include armed robbery, kidnapping,
abduction, herdsmen/farmers clashes, and violent secessionist movements, was
recently launched by the Nigerian Army (NA).
In various quarters, the residents of
the affected area – particularly members of the Indigenous People of Biafra
(IPOB) – have strongly kicked against the military exercise, opining that it
was not for the good interest of the entire people of the Igbo nation. To this
end, the IPOB equally launched a parallel exercise code-named Operation David
Dance. According to them, the ‘David’ signifies the one in the Holy Bible who
defeated Goliath in a battle field with a mere stone. It suffices to say; they
were trying to insinuate that the military exercise represents ‘Goliath’.
As some groups within the South-East
zone have continued to condemn the new military operation, which is meant to
last between November 27 and December 27, 2016, the NA has explained
extensively that the exercise did not mean any harm except to criminals, hence,
would be in the overall interest of the good people of the area contrary to the
views making the rounds. In a press statement released by the Deputy Director
of the Army Public Relations – 82 Division Enugu – Colonel Sagir Musa, the
initiative reportedly aimed towards achieving a hitch-free yuletide in the
entire South-East would benefit the people of the region in the areas of
healthcare and security, among others.
Col. Musa, however, categorically
stated that the exercise wasn’t peculiar to South-East. According to him, having
painstakingly examined the myriad of security challenges cum scenarios across
the country, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai
directed the setting up of the conduct
of both Command Post and Field Training exercises, as a way of enhancing troops
preparedness toward combating the spectrum of the contemporary challenges. In
view of this directive, the Army Headquarters instructed the immediate
commencement of the request in different regions across the federation.
He further highlighted that operations
Ex Shirin Harbi, Ex Harbin Kunama, Ex Crocodile Smile, and Ex Python Dance were
instituted for the North-East, North-West, Niger-Delta, and South-East regions,
respectively, in regard to their individual security plights. The information
personnel equally disclosed that an elaborate Civil-Military Cooperation
(CIMIC) would be maintained throughout the exercise. Thus, he urged the people
of the South-East to support rather than despise it, since it means well for
them.
It’s noteworthy that the governors of
the five states that make up the zone including Imo, Anambra, Enugu, Abia, and
Ebonyi, have thrown their weight behind the operation. They were of the opinion
that the exercise would help tremendously to whisk out all the bad eggs in the
zone irrespective of where they are hiding, thus ought to be supported at all
cost. Many have called the governors’ gesture an act of sabotage that is only
aimed at witch-hunting the goodwill of the Igbo people; they opined that it was
a conspiracy between the governors and the Federal Government (FG) to truncate
the ongoing call for a ‘Biafra’ nation.
What
got me personally pissed off the moment I received the news regarding the
operation was its code-name. Why ‘python’? Where did they cull that from, or
what informed the name? I know quite well the military has a unique and weird
pattern of doing things, especially issues pertaining to security, but they
should have searched for a name that wouldn’t bog or startle one’s mind when
heard. We are not advocating for a friendly name because we’re not unaware that
security issues are involved, but at least something humanly would have been
sought to fit as the code-name instead of Python.
Moreover, Nigeria isn’t undergoing a military
era, hence, no one would overhear the operation and finds it friendly. The
police are good enough to guide and guard any Nigerian province at the moment
when it calls for security matters except the North-East that is still faced
with the Boko-Haram terrorism. The armed forces can be introduced later all if
security challenges became more severe or get out of hand. Right now, I don’t
think the police are complaining, or have been overpowered. It suffices to say
that they are still equal to the task, thus ought to be allowed to continue
with the concernment.
What we must comprehend is that
civilians don’t like hearing that where they are residing is being militarized;
they are of the opinion that the military should be involved only during
emergency. The moment civilians overhear that the area where they live would be
militarized, they would start shivering, thinking the place is no longer safe
for human inhabitation.
Now that the deed is already done, let’s not
engage in retrogressive discussions; rather, concentrate on progressive ones. The
only thing that can make the people of the affected area to be convinced that
the exercise truly means well for them is by ensuring that a thorough
civil-military relation is sustained as long as the initiative lasts, as
earlier claimed by the army. Outside this, the operation would end up springing
up further crises in the long run. Against this backdrop, every personnel
involved in the exercise must endeavour to jettison any act that could bring
any unwanted suspicion from the members of the public.
For the
time being, I would advise Imolites and the people of the zone in general to
maintain normalcy. Let’s support the exercise since we have been assured that
it’s only for our good. Please, they deserve the benefit of the doubt, so let’s
give it to them. We shouldn’t be beclouded with our socio-cultural and political
differences. Let’s handle the issue as a family instead of treating it as
divided people. Hence, I expect the governors to, in their respective
jurisdictions, calm the aggrieve parties down.
With what I have seen so far, I think
the operation has not violated any existing rules, or extant laws. If they
continue like this, we wouldn’t have any room to raise an alarm. In fact, I
enjoin them to extend the dance to my immediate clan if it would remain like
this. We all need to observe as well as enjoy the dance while it lasts since it
has proven thus far to be for our collective interest.
Please, for now, I advocate that David
ought to remain an observer while the Python controls the stage, because both
can’t dance concurrently. Think about it!
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