Cleric and public affairs commentator, Isa El-Buba has recounted how the early days of Boko Haram in Borno State were confronted by the indigenes of Maiduguri, particularly the Kanuri people, who took collective responsibility in identifying and resisting the sect.
Speaking during an interview on News Central TV from 1:52, El-Buba said the people of Maiduguri did not shy away from acknowledging that the insurgency emerged from within their community.
“When Boko Haram started in Maiduguri, it was us the indigenes, the Kanuri’s who came together and said, ‘this thing is among us,’” he recalled.
According to him, that bold admission was crucial in the early response to the insurgency, as community leaders, residents, and security forces began working together to curtail the spread of Boko Haram. He noted that such an approach demonstrated integrity and responsibility, qualities he believes are lacking in some other regions currently facing violence.
El-Buba stressed that acknowledging the origins of violence within one’s own community is the first step toward addressing it. He argued that denial or shifting blame only allows criminality to flourish unchecked.
“The Kanuri people showed an example. They did not defend the indefensible. They stood up and said, ‘this menace is among us, and we must confront it.’ That is the kind of courage we need across Nigeria today,” he added.
He further urged ethnic and cultural associations across the country to emulate that example by holding their members accountable rather than shielding criminals under the cover of identity politics.
El-Buba’s remarks come at a time when insecurity continues to plague many parts of Nigeria, with debates persisting on the role of community responsibility in ending violence.
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