Afghanistan: Taliban’s starting from where they left it 20 years ago

Afghanistan: Taliban’s starting from where they left it 20 years ago

By: James Bwala, Maiduguri

Taking over the Afghan’s seat of power in a bloodless manner raises a lot of questions for many security and political analysts around the world. The fall of a country like Afghanistan to a terrorist organization (The Taliban) should not be an easy one looking at the 20 years of military training and equipment at the disposal of the Afghan military.

They (The Afghan military) were supposedly trained by one of the best if not the best in the world. But for a country like Afghanistan to collapse days after the US Marines pull out reveals a lot about the many faces of the war that ends where it started. NEWSng looks at people’s reaction to the trading stories on Afghanistan days after the collapse of Asharaf Ghani’s presidency.

Ibrahim Danladi in his submission believes that for the Taliban to have it easy with more 300,000 well trained Afghan’s soldiers on the ground is nothing but a point to the fact that, either the country has no plan for western democracy or President Asharaf Ghani was actually a member of the Taliban to have given in so cheaply.

” If you have been a follower or have been following the incident of the President of Afghanistan since coming to power you may agree with me that he has a lot of inclinations to the Taliban’s believes. I do not know whether he is an extraction of the Taliban or not. I work with an international organisation and have worked in Afghanistan for three years on the Musharaf regions. Afghan is a rich country with a lot of untapped mineral resources. The Afghan forces are well equipped military but for this to happen so easily is something I could not understand.y worry is that poor individuals are going to go back to the history they never wish to recall.”

Mathew Okoli, a security analyst and keen follower of the development in Afghanistan has said that he was surprised as any other individual would because no sovereign nation with the kind of supposedly military that Afghanistan have today will allow itself to go down the way the world has witnessed in the case of Afghanistan.

According to him, “the pulling out of Afghanistan by the US government was not only about the billions of dollars being lost in that futile war as some have observed. It is also about the world view of the Americans as world bully, especially from the Islamic world. It is about democracy and the system it derived. It is about the immediate past administration under Donald Trump and the current administration in America. It is both the politics and religion in play. And it is about American interest.

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“The Americans are done with their interest in Afghanistan. They have gotten what they needed for centuries to come going by some arguments trading. However, Afghanistan has fallen, why it was too soon is what the world seemed to be finding with citizens fleeing the country. The Taliban are in Kabul, they have taken over the seat of power and are celebrating inside the presidential palace. How did it happen? For me, I see an insider job. “

Dr. Nurudin Ahmad a Nigerian Community medicine expert, who also served with an international organisation and have shuttled between Pakistan and Afghanistan in the last five years submit that he was not surprised that the country would collapse the way it does.

” I have seen it coming. There are a lot of Taliban living in the city in Afghanistan long before now. Some of them were given amnesty by the Asharaf Ghani’s presidency. I have worked with some of them in Kabul and the Afghan’s citizens know about this. It is not a hidden thing. Most of these supposedly former fighters are the same people who aided the taking over of the cities from government forces. There are many stories coming from the people. I left Afghanistan since the Covid-19 pandemic sets in but I know the country is likely to collapse since the news begins to filter about the pulling out of the American troops. It was not meant to be so sudden, I mean the pulling out of the American troops but this present administration in American also has its own political weaknesses to have allowed this mess currently ongoing.” He said.

Speaking on the recent events at Kabul International airport, Dr. Ahmed Baidu, a University Don wrote on his Facebook page and liken the situation to the rush hour at Oshodi park in Lagos.

“Recent events at Kabul’s International Airport reminded me of the rush-hours at Oshodi, Lagos in 90s where people scampered and chased Molues to their various destinations. So disheartening that the bad corruption of Ghani’s led adminisration and American neo-colonialism led to the collapse of social structure which resulted in the victory of the Taliban in Afganistan.

“Asharaf Ghani’s ineptitude towards the Afghans’ welfare and their social security helps to spread hatred among society’s classes due to injustice and inequality. The ousted President deprived the right Afghan citizen from holding high positions, which increases hatred and affects national patriotism and cooperation between State’s institutions and tribal leaders in the fragile country.

“At last we all saw how the oppressors and oppressed (victims) of the bad governance were chasing plane like Molue at Oshodi Lagos. The moral lesson is that let our political leaders know that corruption and selfish style of leadership are the perfect tools for undermining national security and the social ladder that can promote patriotism directly or indirectly; In the end, we can all be victims of corruption’s economic and political repercussions like Afghanistan if we are not careful. When citizens have mistrust in the rule of law, surely such can led to weakening democratic reform which in turn damages political stability of any nation including our dear nation.”

Abdullahi Hafis described the 20 years of America’s invention of Afghanistan as the saddest war in world history. According to him, the Americans have been chasing shadows all this while and in the end, they gave back the land to the owners.

“More than two trillion dollars has been expended in the war in Afghanistan so much that can change humanity but all put to return over two thousand American soldiers back home on coffins. Afghanistan remains backward with the Taliban starting from where they left it 20 years ago. I think the lies about this tragic mess should stop at this. Russian came and left in shame, the Americans followed who is next?” He asked