Boko Haram Republic of Arewa, Boko Haram Republic of Borno-Yobe, Boko Haram Republic of Northern Nigeria is not a bad idea. I have reiterated in an earlier write up ‘Boko Haram Republic: Why Not?’ that a referendum is necessary in the North so that northerners will either accept or reject an Islamic Republic on their own volition and save us all these killings in the name of religion. Referendum is simply the principle or practice of submitting to popular votes a particular idea, ideal or ideology be it social, political or economic. A “Yes” vote signifies acceptance while a ‘No’ vote signifies rejection.
Boko Haram Republic in concerned northern states is not a bad idea. It will at least stop the incessant killings of non- indigenes in the name of religion because the residents will be protected by international laws and perpetuators of such wanton killings could be treated as war criminals by the ICC.
The Boko Haram Republic should comprise of all the states where the populace through a majority vote have rejected the Federal Republic of Nigeria as presently constituted. A lot of people have argued that a Boko Haram Republic will not survive. I have a different opinion that a properly managed Boko Haram Republic which adheres to the tenets of Islam will survive and excel as a model for others to copy, provided the murderers now driving the Boko Haram train are replaced by refined Islamic professionals, bureaucrats, scholars and the more liberal Islamic middle class in Nigeria.
Boko Haram Republic will naturally be governed by strict Islamic principles. Foreigners living in the Islamic Republic will know ab -initio the conditions of their residency and will most likely not run into problems with the Islamic State. Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq are all Islamic Republics and foreigners are not killed at random. This is because they know from the onset the migration and residency conditions and they stick to it. If the Boko Haram Republic says close your shops every Friday between 12-4pm , then every foreigner will adhere and there will be less reasons for frictions.
Boko Haram Republic with the present mood of the north, will definitely stamp out corruption. The north have ruled Nigeria for forty years out of fifty two years of existence and produced leaders stepped in corruption. This republic will likely round up the looters and cut off their hands according to Sharia laws. Once hand cutting equipment is imported from China, Taiwan or Japan, there will be no need for EFCC, ICPC or other anti graft agencies. Those leaders who stole the north blind and underdeveloped them will either return the loot or face a hand cutting punishment. Billions of dollars and trillions of naira stolen by their leaders will be surrendered for accelerated development of the region.
The northern Muslim has so much dehumanized the womenfolk that a man has four wives, which is legal in Islam, and 24 ex- wives. The mischievous man eliminates old ones and adds fresh new ones just to maintain the legal four. The former governor of Zamfara State married thirteen wives, divorced nine, remaining four. This is not in accordance with the spirit of Islam. It is a Nigerian way of circumventing the strict provisions and conditions of divorce according to Islamic traditions. In the Boko Haram Republic, there will be strict adherence to the rules of marriage and strict conditions for divorce.
In the Boko Haram Republic, there will be no beer parlor for people to revel in alcoholic drinks. The citizens have to make do with soft drinks, Kunu, Zobo, Nunu and other healthy drinks. All the diseases and malfeasance associated with alcohol will disappear and the state funds will be diverted to other purposes. Those civil servants who hide under beer parlors at close of work will have no option than to go home.
The Boko Haram Republic will not tolerate prostitution therefore those politicians who send their aides to the streets to get a harem of babes for weekend will be made to stick to their legally married wives and allow the young girls to find another means of livelihood. Equally, men will learn to go home to their spouse and children after a hard day’s work instead of salivating around street corners looking for daughters of eve.
Boko Haram Republic will eliminate wastages in governance. All these exotic houses, cars and luxury ways of life would easily attract venom and resentment. Therefore, those who oppress the northern masses by flaunting their excessive wealth would either behave themselves moderately or relocate to Nigeria. Therefore, there will be less social tensions, agitations and less incentive to get rich quick which is injurious to any society it exists.
Boko Haram Republic will have no option than to invest in the education of the female child. The medical industry in the north is still dominated by males and it is suspicious for male doctors to treat female patients in most Islamic nations, therefore the republic will have no option than to accelerate the educational development of their women in the fields of medicine and other aspects of human endeavor.
Cost of living in the Boko Haram Republic will be very low. With as low as one naira, one could have a plate of Tuwo Shinkafa or a plate of pepper soup in a street corner , under shades of trees, and enjoy the full ambience of nature while savoring the meal. Simply put, life will be easy and there will be fewer agitations, less pressure and fewer cases of medical conditions associated with stress.
The Boko Haram Republic in question must not be led by Alhaji Shekau. He has so much blood on his hands and is morally not better than the change he wants to engineer. It must be pioneered by educated, refined and humane northern Muslims, and many of them abound, who will utilize the benefits of western education while rejecting the excesses of modernity associated with it. These leaders will know the difference between western education and misuse of western education.
If the Federal Republic of Nigeria continues to wallow in monumental corruption, injustice, electoral fraud, poverty, disease, murders, mediocrity and criminality and the Boko Haram Republic is able to entrench justice, fairness, security, electoral and financial integrity, hand cutting anti corruption mechanism and curtail excessive materialism, in a matter of years Nigerian residents will begin to apply for visa to live in the Boko Haram Republic. This Boko Haram Republic idea should not be a product of bombings, murder and senseless waste of human lifes , rather a product of consensus and sovereign conference.
Obinna Akukwe
