Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - So there will be no exchnage of prioners between Boko Haram and the Nigerian Government?

Sir Adeshina Afolayan,

From yesterday to today:

Our speculations about the hidden potential in the concept of could has now receded from the positive can (as in "yes, we can") to the negative can't (as in no we can not).

The ray of hope was extinguished  the moment  "He-who-decides-everything", his Excellency  the President of Nigeria Jonathan Goodluck  probably prevailed upon by his advisers, decided that on no account  is there going to be an exchange of prisoners between Boko Haram and the Nigerian Government. I guess that in his eyes such an exchange of hostages would dignify his sworn enemy the Boko Haram by giving the Boko the kind of dignity that cannot be earned by the Boko terrorising the Naija nation as that would be tantamount to positioning the Nigerian Government on an equal footing , on the same platform, by conducting an unequal  kind of peace talk: "Give me what is mine (all of my Boko Haram prisoners in your jails) and I'll give you some of what is yours" ( the girls who have not converted to Islam – implied – we are certainly not going to be handing over to you any of our wives -  those among them that we have already married. I guess that answers the questions you posed?

The Boko could (good word) also accuse President Jonathan's government of terrorising the civilian population in areas where they have deliberately failed to distinguish between Boko Haram fighters and innocent civilians. The latest atrocity reported yesterday was a group of vigilantes headed by one Mohammed who went on a rampage with their machetes, clubs and crude artillery, killing people that they accused of being "Boko Haram supporters"

 As Nigerian pundits and would-be pundits who like waxing into the nebulous metaphysical and  the others who have some insight into the future usually claim, "Nothing is permanent "– perhaps only echoing one of Buddhism's most permanent  truths and they should know that echoing Lord Buddha  is no substitute for a good argument, even as autumn turns to spring, as surely as the day follows the night or as Touchstone once said, "a great cause of the night is lack of the sun"

It's not only about freedom in all its forms, including freedom of speech and freedom of movement. SO it's possible that President Goodluck Jonathan could change his mind though, or have his mind changed for him.  It could be as supernatural as

"I was visited by the power and the glory"

 But Sir Adeshina, I do fear that this war against Boko Haram could go on till the day of the next presidential elections before which we could well witness (at least on TV, "great bolts of lightning, lighting up the skies", drone attacks on alleged Boko Haram strongholds and hideouts, ammunition depots, sanctions imposed on the bank accounts and offshore holdings of those said to be Boko Haram's financial supporters  - and let's hope and pray that the whole  situation  doesn't  degenerate into  El-Sisi's Egyptian kind of situation in which The Muslim Brotherhood having been declared a terrorist organisation, thousands of  suspected  Muslim Brother hood members and supporters have been arrested  and detained  - and over seven hindered sentenced to death  in a mass trial. Should that happen to alleged Boko Haram members that it would seem to many observers that Nigeria would be sliding into a civil war between the North and the South, the Muslims and the kuffar

 As the pundits like to exclaim, "There are no permanent enemies, and no permanent friends, only permanent interests!"

Sir Adeshine I am now on my way to keep an appointment with an African American Brother - an inventor - and one of Israel's top internet security agents (he tells me that they are miles ahead of the criminals - I tell him that as for a poor man like, there's nothing, especially no money or secret stocks and shares that they could steal from my computer, because I don't have any stored there...)

I should like to leave you with this thought-provoking article written by someone I hope to be meeting very soon, here in Stockholm

If Nelson Mandela were only a terrorist

Sincerely Yours,

Cornelius

We Sweden