There are few things more dignifying than when a towering public figure extends the courtesy of respect wrapped in humility. General Lucky Irabor, former Chief of Defence Staff, exemplifies that rare blend of strength and grace. When he invited me to the presentation of his new book, “SCARS: Nigerias Journey and the Boko Haram Conundrum,” I was reminded that behind the imposing military uniform lies a man of reflection, intellect, and empathy unless, of course, one dares to cross the line.

This quality stands in sharp contrast to the arrogance I have encountered at a strategic institute where a few officers inflated egos left little room for courtesy or intellectual exchange.

I could not attend the book launch due to a scheduling conflict with the International Public Relations Associations (IPRA) Golden World Awards in Ghana, where both the Nigeria Customs Service and my organisation, Image Merchants Promotion Limited (IMPR), were being honoured. On my return to Abuja, all copies of the book had sold out at the designated bookshops, and I was due to travel to Canada that same night. Learning of my predicament, General Irabor personally ensured a copy was sent to me a gesture that spoke volumes about his character.

Taking the advice of his friend, Vice President Kashim Shettima, that to truly enjoy a book, read it on a long journey, I opened it mid-flight and did not stop until I reached the last page. In less than twenty-four hours, I devoured the 300-page memoir a deeply analytical, well-researched, and intellectually stimulating work that goes far beyond the typical autobiographical recount of a retired general.

Irabors SCARS stands out for its narrative style. It is not a self-indulgent memoir but a reflective chronicle that blends personal experience with historical analysis and policy critique. He writes with academic precision, referencing other scholars, field experiences, and verifiable data. Between the lines, the discerning reader can sense his measured but firm convictions on the Boko Haram insurgency, Niger Delta militancy, IPOB separatism, Yoruba nationalism, and the societal decay that has haunted Nigeria since independence.

The book is a panoramic chronicle from the civil war and military coups to democratic transitions and insurgencies offering a sober reflection on the choices and failures that have defined Nigerias evolution. Notably, Irabor avoids sensationalism or name-dropping; even his acknowledgments are strikingly modest despite the calibre of personalities including former Presidents who later attended the unveiling in Abuja.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, in his foreword, aptly describes the book as a soldiers honest reflection on a nations unfinished journey. But the true revelations lie within the pages in Irabors unflinching interrogation of Nigerias political and moral contradictions.

Among the books most intriguing points is his assertion that no full-fledged coup dtat in Nigeria has ever occurred without civilian collaboration. He argues that soldiers, bound by their oath of allegiance, often justify interventions through the prism of national defence. This interpretation shifts part of the blame for Nigerias military incursions to opportunistic civilians who manipulate or enable such actions for personal gain.

Equally provocative is his historical framing of Northern Nigerias recurring religious conflicts. Irabor traces their roots to Usman Dan Fodios jihad of 1804, viewing it as the starting point of organized religious militancy in the region. While this perspective is historically grounded, it risks oversimplification. Thankfully, Irabor tempers his argument by contextualizing it within the broader millenarian revolts of early colonialism, suggesting that both Islamic revivalism and Christian evangelism during the colonial era contributed to shaping Nigerias spiritual and social divides.

One area readers may find conspicuously absent is any mention of the tragic death of gallant General Ibrahim Attahiru, the late Chief of Army Staff who perished in a plane crash shortly after Boko Harams leader, Abubakar Shekau, was reportedly killed. Given Irabors position as the CDS, his silence on the matter is perhaps deliberate an act of discretion from a professional soldier who values institutional continuity over personal disclosure.

Still, his candour shines through elsewhere. The sections on Northern Nigerias political elite are unambiguously critical. Irabor faults the regions leaders for presiding over deepening poverty, illiteracy, and insecurity despite their educational exposure and political dominance. He cites World Bank data showing that the ten poorest states in Nigeria are all in the North-East and North-West, with 87% of the nations poorest population concentrated there. He attributes this grim reality to elite hypocrisy, religious manipulation, and the failure to translate political power into social progress.

He particularly denounces the politicisation of religion, using the Sharia Movement in Zamfara (1999) as a case study of how political opportunism derailed governance. Quoting Emir Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Irabor laments the commodification of piety a process through which religion becomes a tool of control rather than a vehicle for moral upliftment.

He calls on Northern leaders to emulate progressive Muslim societies like Saudi Arabia and Turkey, which have harmonised faith with modernity rather than allowing religion to justify stagnation. His position on the Almajiri system is particularly powerful; he argues that no faith sanctions the institutionalisation of street begging or the abandonment of children in the name of learning.

The chapter on the Dead Horse Theory is one of the books most intellectually stimulating sections. Here, Irabor uses the metaphor to describe Nigerias tendency to keep beating dead horses sustaining failed policies and obsolete institutions instead of pursuing meaningful reform. He cites the duplication of examination bodies like WAEC and NECO, the Nomadic Education Programme, and the regional cut-off mark policy as examples of how Nigeria perpetuates inefficiency under the guise of inclusiveness.

The discussion on Boko Haram is both historical and diagnostic. Irabor situates the insurgency within a continuum of religious and socio-political crises, from the Maitatsine riots of the 1980s to the Sharia clashes of 19992000. He chronicles how Mohammed Yusuf, the sects founder, began as a member of Bornos Sharia Implementation Committee, only to break away and radicalise disillusioned youth by preaching against Western education and government corruption. The book exposes the irony of Boko Harams dependence on Western technology weapons, communication tools, and propaganda platforms even while denouncing Western civilisation.

Irabor portrays Boko Haram not as a purely religious movement but as a symptom of governance failure, economic deprivation, and elite negligence. He identifies the drivers of extremism as unaddressed political grievances, weaponisation of religion and tribe, a biased legal framework, and weakened institutions.

The author also voices deep concern over what he described as an international conspiracy against Nigeria, singling out certain foreign entities and media organisations. He accuses them of not only supplying logistical support to terrorist groups but also of deliberately spreading false narratives aimed at discrediting the Nigerian military and destabilising national security.

In his closing reflections, the General offers a pragmatic pathway forward: diplomatic negotiation, socioeconomic and political realignment, and governance reforms that reward merit and restore trust. The time for change is now, he writes, and it must begin with truth, inclusion, and a commitment to genuine progress.

SCARS is not just a memoir; it is a mirror reflecting Nigerias wounds the scars of war, hypocrisy, and wasted potential. Irabors writing is measured but fearless, scholarly yet deeply human. His critique of the North is not an attack but a plea for introspection; his assessment of Nigerias leadership failures is not cynical but reformist.

This book is an essential read for anyone seeking to understand Nigerias enduring crises from insurgency and leadership to the complex interplay between faith, politics, and national identity.

General Lucky Irabors SCARS leaves readers not with despair, but with hope the hope that confronting our scars honestly is the first step toward national healing.

Yushau A. Shuaib is the author of An Encounter with the Spymaster and Award-Winning Crisis Communication Strategies. yashuaib@yashuaib.com

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Arewa Biafran Relocation

Between Nigerian Igbos and Biafran Agitators – A Northerner’s Perspective
By Yushau A. Shuaib

The sweet memory of my youth service year in an Igboland of Asaba, Delta State in the 90s, is what I have continued to relish whenever a discourse on tribalism, sectionalism and the likes are on the front burner in my beloved country, Nigeria. As non-indigenes, especially young Northerners, we were well-received, accommodated and accorded respect and dignity. In fact, we freely walked into the Palace of the Paramount ruler, the Asagba of Asaba, Professor Chike Edozien for supports and guidance whenever the need arose.

Since then, I have had a proper perspective and understanding of the Ndigbo whom I have as friends. In this tension-soaked period where various sectional groups issue reckless and unguarded threats, it is necessary to further distinguish between a peace-loving Nigerian Igbo from a Secessionist Biafran agitator.

The Ndigbo, as I know them, are spread across every nook and cranny of Nigeria. The Igbo speaks local dialects and respects the culture of the host communities. He believes every part of Nigeria is a home away from home and adopted same as the place of residence. Experience has shown that if you go to any community and you cannot find an Igbo person there, your best bet is to leave that town immediately. Any city without an Igbo person is not business-like. On the other hand, a Biafran agitator is not exposed to other parts of Nigeria besides the Igboland and might have grown in the diaspora where he only learns the distorted history of Nigeria from myopic and eccentric points of views. The agitator hates other Nigerians and possibly believes in violent confrontation towards the actualization of his dream of the Republic of Biafra.

Meanwhile, the successes of an Igbo entrepreneur is more visible outside the shores of Igboland with enormous investments in hospitality, housing estates, spare parts, automobiles and manufacturing industries among others in different regions of the country. However, the business enterprise of a Biafran agitator is restricted within his ‘Biafra-land’ without a vision for expansion outside the South-eastern region. The primary activity of an agitator is in constant pursuit of hate speeches through empty threats and arrogance posture. This is not the Ndigbo that I know so well.

An Igbo Politician is a bridge builder, who establishes and sustains friendship across the Niger. The likes of Uzor Kalus of Abia, Rochas Okorochas of Imo, Peter Obis of Anambra among others are clear examples of successful Igbo businessmen who transcend geographic boundaries of Nigeria in wise investment in the productive sector, before venturing into politics to support the Igboland.

Unfortunately, the Biafran agitator has completely lost touch with the reality of our existence. The secessionist has forgotten that the map of the South-Eastern region of the 60s has completely changed in the new millennium where the minority tribes are no longer in that realm but in mostly Niger Delta region of the South-South. The Biafran Politician fantasises on annexing other resource-endowed territories by visualising Ijaw, Urhobo, Kalabari, Ibibio, Ikwere, Efik, Igala, Idoma and Edo into the illusionary Biafran Republic. Some of these ethnic nationalities have in recent times come out to dissociate themselves from the so-called Biafra agitation.

The Nigerian Igbo believes in oneness and indivisibility of Nigeria, he speaks Nigeria, breath Nigeria and will never leave Nigeria. An obvious example is the fact that Igbos in Kano populate the vast Sabon Gari District whose population is more than most big cities in the South-East. Apart from occasional sectional skirmishes which may not necessarily be their faults, the Igbos in the North are well loved by Northern leaders even protected by Arewa youths.

The Igbos are allowed to acquire properties and establish businesses in every Northern part of the country, but the Biafran sympathisers have continuously denied outsiders from owning lands for business related activities in the South-East. This glaring discrimination currently creates the disparity of inequality of business ownerships where an average Northerner can quickly relocate without losing a dime, while the sheer volume of investment of a South-Easterner can never be easily recouped or transferred even in decades.

It is necessary to point out that the modern day’s Biafran agitators hate Nigeria and Nigerians and have described the country as a zoo. The main agitator and Supreme Leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) known as Nnamdi Kanu has not only publicly threatened to wage war against Nigeria in a bloody and violent confrontation but has also described any Christian that attends “a Church with a Yoruba Pastor as an idiot, imbecile and not fit to be a human being and worse than Boko Haram.”

In series of his videos and audios, available online, Nnamdi Kanu engages in lousy intimidation and nauseating statements. It is just ridiculous, however, that rather than condemning him and bringing him to order, some respected Igbo leaders, who have themselves built bridges across the length and breadth of this country, celebrate and even stand behind him over his treasonable case in the court.

While the rantings of Biafran agitators had gone on for a while without a reply, it was the reckless declaration of the ultimatum issued by the so-called Arewa Youths as counterbalancing response to the inciting statements that reawakens the consciousness of Nigerians to the danger of hate campaigns.

While it may be justifiable to unleash a ferocious dog against a neighbour’s untamed mad dog, we should nevertheless tame the fury of Arewa youths who may have the exact mindset of Kanu’s IPOB. Some may not issue empty threat, they can just misbehave like the mad dogs.

As Nigerians, we should deploy common sense through dialogue to resolve the contentious issues of our nationhood. After all the hullabaloos and threats, I am so sure that no one is going anywhere. We should remain united and stop the dirty politics of ethnicity, widely played by sponsored and misguided youths. The ill-advised agitators from both parties must have read slanted history books since they were not witnesses to the history.

Yushau A. Shuaib
www.YAShuaib.com
yashuaib@yahoo.com

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