Everyone is forced and expected to believe a lie.
That the Nigerian government, with the biggest army in West Africa, with drones, with satellites, with billions in the security budget, cannot stop teenage village boys turned into Islamist fighters.
Boys from poor families. No education. No shoes. No food. Boys with rusty guns.
We are told they are too powerful. Too hidden. Too many. That the forest is too big. That the north is too far.
That is a lie.
The same Nigerian government can track a coup attempt in hours. It can tap your phone, follow your WhatsApp, and arrest a journalist before he finishes typing.
The same government can crush a protest in hours. It can bring out water cannons, tear gas, and soldiers, and clear Lekki Toll Gate before sunrise. It can shut down the internet in a whole state overnight.
It can find a separatist leader in Kenya and fly him back in a private jet. It can find a critic in London and threaten his family in Lagos.
But when it comes to protecting women and children in Zamfara, Borno, Kaduna, and Plateau, suddenly it is blind. Deaf. Helpless. Nowhere to be found.
The politicians are clearly complicit.
Either they are protecting the terrorists because they share the same Islamist ideology: the same dream of a Sharia-ruled north, the same hatred for Christians, for Western education, for girls going to school.
Or they are protecting them because it is profitable. War is business. Security votes disappear. Contracts are awarded for guns that never arrive. Ransom money is shared. Villages are emptied so land can be taken for grazing, for mining, for politics.
Either way, the boys are not the problem. The boys are the product.
You take a 14 year old boy who has never been to school, whose father is dead and whose mother is begging. You give him a gun, a motorbike, and 50,000 naira, and you tell him God wants him to kill. That boy is not a mastermind. He is a victim turned into a weapon by men in suits in Abuja.
The real terrorists are not in the bush. They are in the Senate. In the governors' lodges. In the mosques where hate is preached with protection. In the ministries where security money is looted.
If Nigeria wanted to end this tomorrow, it would end tomorrow. It has the men. It has the weapons. It has the intelligence.
It just doesn't have the will, because the blood of the poor is paying for someone's power.
Don't tell us the government can't stop them.
Tell us why the government won't stop them.
Everyone is forced and expected to believe a lie. That the Nigerian government, with the biggest army in West Africa, with drones, with satellites, with billions in the security budget, cannot stop teenage village boys turned into Islamist fighters. Boys from poor families. No education. No shoes. No food. Boys with rusty guns. We are told they are too powerful. Too hidden. Too many. That the forest is too big. That the north is too far. That is a lie. The same Nigerian government can track a coup attempt in hours. It can tap your phone, follow your WhatsApp, and arrest a journalist before he finishes typing. The same government can crush a protest in hours. It can bring out water cannons, tear gas, and soldiers, and clear Lekki Toll Gate before sunrise. It can shut down the internet in a whole state overnight. It can find a separatist leader in Kenya and fly him back in a private jet. It can find a critic in London and threaten his family in Lagos. But when it comes to protecting women and children in Zamfara, Borno, Kaduna, and Plateau, suddenly it is blind. Deaf. Helpless. Nowhere to be found. The politicians are clearly complicit. Either they are protecting the terrorists because they share the same Islamist ideology: the same dream of a Sharia-ruled north, the same hatred for Christians, for Western education, for girls going to school. Or they are protecting them because it is profitable. War is business. Security votes disappear. Contracts are awarded for guns that never arrive. Ransom money is shared. Villages are emptied so land can be taken for grazing, for mining, for politics. Either way, the boys are not the problem. The boys are the product. You take a 14 year old boy who has never been to school, whose father is dead and whose mother is begging. You give him a gun, a motorbike, and 50,000 naira, and you tell him God wants him to kill. That boy is not a mastermind. He is a victim turned into a weapon by men in suits in Abuja. The real terrorists are not in the bush. They are in the Senate. In the governors' lodges. In the mosques where hate is preached with protection. In the ministries where security money is looted. If Nigeria wanted to end this tomorrow, it would end tomorrow. It has the men. It has the weapons. It has the intelligence. It just doesn't have the will, because the blood of the poor is paying for someone's power. Don't tell us the government can't stop them. Tell us why the government won't stop them. https://t.co/VF6hQhHqmE
— Farai Mazhindu (@FaraiMazhindu) November 13, 2026
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