Terrorism and banditry will only end in Nigeria when the masses are prepared to stand up against it

Ayo Akinfe

[1] This is a picture of a German train being sabotaged by French resistance fighters in 1944. In many cases, German military trains were blown up while in the engine shed before they could be deployed to the war front

[2] Like all other resistance fighters across Europe, the French partisans could not match the Nazi military might, so all they could do was hit them and melt away. Pictures of wrecked locomotives in an engine shed at the French Annemasse railway depot is typical of what happened in say Poland, Italy, Holland, Germany, etc

[3] There is nothing new about this as it happens everywhere in the world. When Saddam Hussein occupied Kuwait, the Kuwaiti resistance was born. They carried out acts of sabotage and spied for the Americans

[4] In Nigeria, we have to learn from this great historical tradition. Waiting for the state to come and solve all your woes never has happened and never will happen

[5] Across the northeast, Boko Haram is brutally suppressing our people but there are little things local resistance movements can do to sabotage them

[6] For instance, is anyone poisoning the wells of towns Boko Haram is about to take over? Is anyone cutting down trees to impede their advance or is anyone luring them into traps by say digging holes and camoflaging them, so their vehicles get stuck

[7] All these bandits operating from Katsina, Zamfara, Kaduna, etc are only having it east because there is local opposition to them

[8] We have this terrible culture of waiting for the government to do everything for us, for which we have suffered terribly. Freedom comes at a price and that includes getting up to do things yourself

[9] When I see the people of the northeast sabotaging Boko Haram, I will start to believe that they really do not like the terrorist sect. Personally, I think it will take a while for this to happen. Maybe after living under their yoke for a few years, our people will get the message

[10] Yes, the government is not doing its bit but that is no excuse. As a people, we have to get over this bad habit of expecting the government to solve all our problems.