MAIDUGURI (Nigeria), Oct 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Thousands of Nigerian hunters, armed with charmed amulets and intimate knowledge of harsh terrain, are preparing an offensive against the Boko Haram extremists who have ravaged the northeast for a decade, calling it “high time” they help soldiers end the deadly insurgency.
Nigeria’s government discouraged a similar offensive five years ago, calling it a suicide mission. This time it has the backing of the governor of Borno state, which has suffered the worst of the Boko Haram attacks.
It is a sign that Nigerian authorities, who have repeatedly claimed the defeat of Boko Haram, might be running out of options against the extremists and a recent offshoot that has pledged allegiance to the Daesh group.
Borno state’s new Gov. Babagana Zulum, who inherited the conflict after winning election earlier this year, said he is tired of applying conventional strategies against an extremist group that has killed and abducted tens of thousands of people and displaced millions. The unrest has created a vast humanitarian crisis.
He said it is part of finding new ways to end the decade-long conflict.
He wants to recruit 10,000 men who are known for their hunting skills and some 2,000 of them have already been enlisted from across northern Nigeria to join the offensive against the militants.
“The hunters are from different parts of the north. They are very familiar with different kinds of forests,” Isa Gusau, one of the governor’s advisers, told the BBC Newsday programme.
“Governor Zulum thought there is a need to combine approaches. He would continue to support the Nigerian military, but he felt there is need to combine approaches.”
Gusau added: “They (hunters) will help in navigation, they will also help in increasing the number of government forces going after the militants. We have reached a stage where we have to apply different approaches; you just have to try whatever means that is necessary so long as it’s within lawful means.”
The hunters are separate from the civilian self-defense forces that have sprung up in northeastern Nigeria to combat the Boko Haram insurgency.
Usually inheriting their vocation, the hunters are seen as the only group with intimate knowledge of the forests and other terrain in the vast region near Lake Chad. They see their charms and amulets as protection from attack.
More than 5,000 are being mobilized from Nigeria and regional countries including Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad, said one leader of the hunters, Baba Maigiwa.
“We are here because the governor is passionate about ending this madness called Boko Haram,” said another leader, Abdulkareem Umar.
“I remember about five years ago when we, on our own, converged here in Maiduguri with the intention of storming Sambisa forest to confront Boko Haram, but we did not get the backing of the government and the military. As law-abiding citizens, we had to withdraw. But as this is happening now, it means it is time.”
He said the hunters had received 10 vehicles from the state government to help in transport but said they need 30 more, along with weapons.
He said the hunters are being fed by the Borno state government as they wait for the offensive, and food and water have been deployed to various locations that can be used as forward operating bases.
“We are so happy with the move the state governor is making by recognizing the contributions that the hunters can bring into the counterinsurgency war,” said another hunters’ chief, Maigana Maidurma. “We are ready to lay down our lives if that is what it would take to bring peace to our dear land.”
A younger hunter, 32-year-old Auwal Unar, called the upcoming offensive “a war to safeguard our future and the safety of our women and children.”
He said the hunters believe in the potency of the charms they will carry into battle.
“We don’t fear guns but fear only God,” he said. “When we roar in the jungle even the lions fear because our fathers have tapped the secret of the forests, so Boko Haram will have no hiding place. They will have no choice than to surrender, or they die if they dare stand in our way.”
Boko Haram’s attacks are estimated to have killed 27,000 people and forced about two million from their homes since the uprising began in 2009.
