Daily Times

Sir: It is quite discouraging to see how the Nigerian government is moving at a snail’s pace in its search for 270 girls kidnapped by Boko Haram. I do not see any sort of seriousness on the part of the government to fight the terrorists. Just this week, it asked the UN Security Council’s Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee to blacklist Boko Haram; this terrorist organisation should have been banned and dismantled long back. But this is the time for action, not for merely talk and discussions. Nigeria was able to win support from its neighbours and the west in a summit meeting in Paris but the onus remains on Nigeria to lead the action against Boko Haram. President Goodluck Jonathan has so far frustrated everyone by not even visiting the northeast of the country where hundreds of distressed families have been waiting for their loved ones for more than a month. Nigeria needs to wake up and see how it can dismantle the web of bloodthirsty Boko Haram, whose terrorists are waging a campaign of indiscriminate killings, kidnapping and property destruction. Such attacks have claimed 12,000 lives while countless people have been injured and maimed. The attack on Jos this Tuesday that killed more than 100 people shows the danger is not limited to the northeast of the country; it is moving towards the major metropolises. Jos followed the same pattern as the Taliban do in Pakistan; the second blast came 30 minutes after the first, mainly targeting rescue workers and ordinary people helping the injured ones. In my opinion Nigeria is playing with fire by not taking concerted action against Boko Haram. We are all aware of the simmering religious conflicts in the most populous country in Africa. Inaction on the part of the government will force other communities to face Boko Haram by themselves; that will be a recipe for civil war. Let us hope better sense will prevail and the Nigerian government will put aside its reservations and take on the terrorists for a final blow. Otherwise, I fear bloodletting in Nigeria will be far more horrible than what is going on in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Somalia.

MASOOD KHAN

Jubail,

Saudi Arabia