A former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and ex-presidential candidate, Kingsley Moghalu, has advised Nigeria not to recognise the Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
Moghalu stated that the events unfolding in Afghanistan are a lesson for Nigeria which is currently battling Boko Haram and the Islamic State in West Africa Province.
He said a secular country like Nigeria must never tolerate those who harbour and express sympathy for globally recognised terrorist groups while being quick to label dissenters terrorists.
According to Moghalu on Twitter, “Recent events in Afghanistan, where the fundamentalist and terrorism-incubating Taliban has taken over the country, carries important lessons for Nigeria. Religious fundamentalism is dangerous and tends to verge into terrorism as we see with BH, ISWAP etc.
“We must stop cuddling so-called “repentant” Boko Haram. Which serious country absorbs erstwhile terrorists into its armed forces? Nigeria and its @NGRPresident and @NigeriaGov must never recognise or deal with the Taliban.
“We can never be a theocracy. What has happened in Afghanistan is possible only because of its monolithic religious makeup.
“The government of a multi-religious country that is constitutionally a secular state must never tolerate some of its members harbouring and expressing sympathy for globally recognised terrorist groups, while political dissenters are very quickly branded terrorists. The other lesson from this is that the destiny of any country will ultimately be decided by its own people.
“Clearly, many Afghans are quite comfortable with the Taliban, while a minority are opposed to them. American intervention in 2004 that dislodged them from power was clearly unpopular with the locals, and Washington has decided to leave the Afghans to their fate. If Nigeria breaks down into civil war and violence, no one is coming here to save anyone. We will ALL suffer the consequences.” (Punch)
