Shekau! The Nigerian man that can Never die

There is no man more wanted dead or alive by Nigerians, than the leader of the Boko Haram sect, Abubakar Shekau.

Revealed! The Nigerian man that can Never die

For too long, there have been great controversy of the health status of the jihadist who tends to have more than lives.

Shekau who is believed to have been born between 1965 and 1975 in Yobe state, took over as leader of Boko Haram after the founder, Mohammed Yusuf, was paraded and then executed in front of a crowd by Nigerian security forces.

Under his leadership, Boko Haram has killed thousands of people and displaced more than 2 million.

Revealed! The Nigerian man that can Never die

The minute Shekau is killed, another Shekau is emerging, leaving one to wonder how many Shekau’s there are. Will Shekau ever die?

Over a year ago, there were claims that Shekau had been captured by the army, claims which the Defence Headquarters never affirmed.

A history of deaths and resurrection

About 2-years ago, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) state categorically that the military had killed the head of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau.

The DHQ released a statement claiming that the Nigerian Army killed "Abubakar Shekau", the man who took up the mantle of leadership after the real head of the sect died in unclear circumstances in 2013.

Revealed! The Nigerian man that can Never die

A few weeks later, the re-emergence of the allegedly dead Shekau in some video, would prove as false the DHQ's claims.

Still in 2013, an army spokesman announced that Shekau may have died between July 25 and August 3 during a shoot-out with security forces. He was said to have died of gunshot wound received in an encounter with the Joint Task Force troops in one of their camps at Sambisa Forest on June 30, 2013”.

The statement from the JTF on his death said: “Shekau was mortally wounded in the encounter and was sneaked into Amitchide, a border community in Cameroon for treatment from which he never recovered.”

However, on August 4, a day after the period Shekau was believed to have died, suspected members of the Boko Haram launched an attack on two military camps in Mallam Fatori border village.

Afterwards, a video was released by the insurgents in which Shekau was seen taking responsibility for recent attacks carried out by the sect.

In 2014, Nigerian and Cameroonian sources provided video evidence that a Boko Haram commander named Bashir Muhammed, who ‘doubled’ as Shekau and took up the mantle of leadership after the real Shekau died in unclear circumstances in 2013, was killed in Konduga in Borno state.

Nigerian and Cameroonian army were locked in an argument over who killed Shekau and where he was killed.

Revealed! The Nigerian man that can Never die

In 2016, once again, report surfaced on Tuesday, Augusts 23, that Shekau was “fatally wounded” during an unprecedented and spectacular air raid.

“Those Boko Haram terrorists commanders confirmed dead include Abubakar Mubi, Malam Nuhu and Malam Hamman, amongst others, while their leader, the so-called ‘Abubakar Shekau’, is believed to be fatally wounded on his shoulders. Several other terrorists were also wounded,” Sani Kukasheka Usman, spokesman of the army, had said.

Still in 2016, speaking during a tour of Adamawa state on Thursday, September 1, Major General Irabor insisted that Shekau is dead.

He said that the individual originally identified as Shekau has indeed been killed.

Revealed! The Nigerian man that can Never die

His words: “I can confirm to you that the original Shekau was killed, the second Shekau was killed, and the man presenting himself as Shekau, I can also confirm to you that few days ago, he was wounded. We are yet to confirm whether he is dead or not.”

Too many lies and a doubting masses

Two months ago, the Boko Haram factional leader, claimed responsibility for the attack that led to the recent killing of Lieutenant-Colonel Muhammad Abu Ali.

Shekau made the claim in a new audio message on Monday, November 14.

Though the Boko Haram leader did not specifically mention the name of the name of the gallant officer who was killed in a night attack alongside five soldiers during an exchange of battle with the terrorist on November 4, the sect’s leader claimed that his faction of Boko Haram is responsible for all the recent attacks on the Nigerian military.

“We are responsible for these recent attacks. We did it and will do more,” Shekau said in the audio message.

With so many failed attempts at killing Shekau in the media, Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff Lt. Gen Tukur Buratai recently told Nigerians that Shekau has moved to another location after the military's recent massive onslaught on the dreaded Sambisa forest.

According to Lt. Gen Buratai, Shekau could not withstand the firepower of the Nigerian troops and had to move to another location, though the army is on his trail.

If this statement was made to allay the fears of Nigerians as regards the effective operations of Shekua, then it won't be out of place to say that it failed. And this is not just owing to the fact that Shekau has come out to claim that his group was behind the attack on a university in Borno state capital Maiduguri on Monday, January 16, but that the people have had enough of unverified claims by both the army and the government of the day.

A call for transparency

Nigerians are beginning to hold strong to the notion that the government and the army have not been transparent as regards their dealings with the Boko Haram sect.

There are claims that negotiations are ongoing as to the release of the remnants of the Chibok girls, but as is with the case of Shekau, the people have resigned to a seeing is believing modus-operandi.

Shekau! The Nigerian man that can Never die

Concerned about the fate of the kidnapped Chibok girls, President Muhammadu Buhari approved a prisoner swap with the Boko Haram, barely two months after he was sworn in, an official has said.

The Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, said during a press conference that the prisoner swap was agreed to in July 2015, two months after Mr. Buhari was sworn-in on May 29, 2015.

“Precisely on 17th July, 2015, the DSS opened negotiations process with the group holding the Chibok girls,” the minister said.

However, these claims have not been swallowed hook, line and sinker by Nigerians, as many still doubt the viability of the claims.

The way forward

Transparency is the only way forward, the Presidency has assured that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari will fulfill its promise of providing open and transparent leadership for the country.

It is only in this act that Nigerians can come again to trust its leaders. The people want to know, and beyond knowing, the people want to be involved.

The president as well as security operatives facing the insurgents within the northeast, must be ready to share with the people facts of what is going on with the theatre.

As regards Shekua, his death and resurrections continue, even as Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff Lt. Gen Tukur Buratai says that Shekau has moved to another location after the military recent massive onslaught on the dreaded Sambisa forest.

According to Lt. Gen Buratai, Shekau could not withstand the firepower of the Nigerian troops and had to move to another location, though the army is on his trail.

Alot has been said about the Sambisa forest and the army's progress. A recent revelation however has shown that the army may still be far away from the real Sambisa.

Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili, the convener of the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG), has revealed details of what she found out in the vast land of Sambisa forest.

The outspoken former minister of education disclosed her findings in series of tweets on her verified twitter handle @obyezeks in the early hours of Tuesday, January 17.

According to her, capturing Camp Zero is not like capturing Sambisa because it is a vast area.

The Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) group yesterday January 16 joined the federal government’s team on a day search for the remaining girls to Sambisa Forest.

The search, which also included the spokesperson of the Chibok community Dr Manasseh Allen, top BBOG campaigner Aisha Yusuf and Ibrahim Usman, have become an eye-opener on the vastness of the dreaded Sambisa forest

Relating her findings, Ezekwesili said the capture of Camp Zero in Sambisa is like capturing the Capital City of a country, “Camp Zero was the Capital SPOT of Boko Haram in Sambisa.”

This however, is in a sharp contrast to the Army's claim that Nigerian Armed Forces are in total control of Sambisa forest.

The Nigerian army is making great progress regarding the war against Boko Haram, it is the prayer of Nigerians that as they advance further into Sambisa, they can finally capture or kill Shekau and lay to eternal rest this insurgency that has cost Nigeria great losses that can never be regained.