Mixed reactions by politicians, lawyers and rights activists have trailed the clamour for amnesty for the members of the Boko Haram sect by the northern leaders. Group Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU captures their optimisms and reservations.
Should the Federal Government grant amnesty to the members of the Boko Haram sect? There is no agreement on this vexed issue. Many Nigerians have supported the recommendation by the prominent northern leaders, including the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Saa’d Abubakar, that the Federal Government should end the carnage in the region through amnesty to the rebellious sect. But other stakeholders have called for caution, saying that it is wrong to reward murder with an unearned pardon.
Those who opposed the extention of the amnesty to the sect said that, unlike the Niger Delta militants, who protested against the environmental denigration of the oil-producing states, the Boko Haram sect members are not known. Besides, they believe that the claims of the invincible group are neither valid, justifiable nor verifiable.
In Damaturu, Yobe State capital, President Goodluck Jonathan apparently ruled out the possibility of holding dialogue with unidentified people. It is another way of asking the sect members to remove their masks. However, those who perceive the amnesty as a likely solution to the killings have submitted that the option should be explored for the sake of peace and security.
A political scientist, Prof. Kunle Ajayi, who reflected on the grievous security situation in the country, submitted that the amnesty should be given a trial. He urged the government to embrace the reality that it lacks the power to overcome the current predicament. “I believe the agitation for amnesty is a welcome development, particularly if it will translate into the laying down of arms by the sect and giving peace a chance”, he added.
But Ajayi, who teaches at the Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, emphasisded that the politics of the amnesty should be investigated. He feared that the agitation may be borne out of the desire by the North to achieve ethnic balancing in the amnesty policy. The university don warned that amnesty may therefore, translate to national resource allocation by another means. Noting that a lot of money has gone into the amnesty programme and ex-militants are enjoying foreign training to the envy of the other geo-political zones, he said that “the fear is that, before long, other militants such as the Oodua Peoples Congress and Bakassi Boys may request for amnesty”.
“All the same, I support the amnesty for Boko Haram sect as it will make them come to the open for camping and registration as it was done for the Niger Delta militants. This way, their identities will be known”, he maintained.
Former National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) Chief Victor Umeh aligned with the pro-amnesty stakeholders. Although he doubted how the government will identify the sect members, he said any method that can bring peace to the troubled nation should be encouraged. “It is an amorphous organisation. They have used their tactics to wreak havoc on the country. I don’t know how they can come out. Government should investigate them, if they can be identified. If they are sincere, it should be pursued as an option to avoid the waste of lives and resources”, Umeh added.
House of Representatives member Hon. Morouf Akinderu-Fatai is ambivalent about the advice by the northern leaders. He called for a wholistic approach to the security challenge, urging caution against resolving intransigency through amnesty. In his view, the government and elite have failed to uncover the den of the troublers of the national peace. The legislator said, although all possibilities should be explored, not all the routes will lead to the solution.
“We must encourage those of them that decides to retrace their steps and come forward. However, we should be careful to avoid the kind of situation in the Southsouth whereby young men in the creeks were regarded as militants, thereby encouraging corruption”, he submitted.
Like Ajayi, the legislator alluded to the challenge of granting amnesty to faceless rebellious youths whose demands are offensive to the commonsense. Akinderu-Fatai re-echoed the national question, saying that the Boko Haram threat has made its resolution more compelling. He pointed out that the sect’s onslaught has implications for national unity. “We must sit to discuss, if we really want to be together and design how we want to govern ourselves”, the legislator added.
This line of thought is supported by the Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) chieftain, Mr. Kunle Famoriyo. He lamented that certain people are encouraging people to behead innocent Nigerians without provocation and justification and go scot free. “How do we bring back to life those who have been wasted senselessly under whatever guise”, queried Famoriyo, who said that the murderous sect should not be treated with kid gloves. Stressing that criminals should be made to face the wrath of the law, he said, since Boko Haram members are not licensed to kill, they deserve no amnesty.
To Comrade Joe Igbokwe, Lagos State Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) Publicity Secretary, amnesty is being politicised in the country. He opposed the North’s suggestion, saying that it is counter-productive to reward crime with special favours. In his opinion, the sect members are murderers and international terrorists waging an inexplicable war against their fatherland. “We may be setting a dangerous precedence. Such groups may rise up tomorrow, murder many people as possible, and before you know it, their people will be asking for amnesty, citing previous ones as templates.
“But, if the Federal Government feels hopeless and helpless in dealing with the insurgency, if they do not know what to do any longer and granting amnesty remains their last card, let them do it to stop this carnage. But what happens to the victims of Boko Haram? Will they just go home to lick their wounds? Would they be compensated?”, he queried.
The Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, shares these views. He described the amnesty programme as a big scam, which gave rise to a number of emergency billionaire-thugs in the Niger Delta. He said granting pardon to killers is unimaginable, adding that the amnesty being proposed may amount to another freeloads to criminals. He said, even if dialogue is contemplated, the those who have killed innocent people should be brought to book. “We must combine dialogue and law enforcement, but the most enduring thing is to use the resources given to the thugs in the creeks to build infrastructure and create an enabling environment for economic opportunities for the impoverished people. We need to invest seriously in social security”, he added.
A psychologist, Dr. Soji Aremu, said that, since amnesty is a state pardon for taking arms against a state by those who have been convicted by the law court, the prerogative can only be extended to the Boko Haram sect, if it shows remorse. “The question is: have Boko Haramists shown remorse? Have they laid down their arms and ammunitions against the state? Have they restituted the serial killings of innocent children and foreigners?.
“So, asking for amnesty is putting the cat before the horse. It is a misplaced call in the context of the crime committed by the sect. Amnesty presupposes a change of mind not to take arms against the state again. It is on that condition that amnesty can be given and there after, members of the sect will be rehabilitated”, he stressed.
Observers believe that no calamity of enormous proportion has befallen the fledgling nation-state more than the horror unleashed by the dreadful sect, since the end of the civil war in 1970. Many lives and property have been destroyed. Targets of the attacks include government officials and buildings, traditional rulers, police and military formations, and church worshippers. The invincible agitators’ projected demands are inexplicable and indefensible
Many have argued that the political undertone of the curious war by the bombers may have been inadvertently ignored. Also, it is curious that the sponsors of these destructive have escaped the detective lenses of the intelligence agents. Critics have also submitted that the failed attempts at curbing the activities of the sect have created a hollow in the record of President Jonathan in the critical area of national security. At a time, there was confusion in the government as the Commander-In-Chief cried out that Boko Haram had invaded the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
In recent times, Boko Haram sect decided to raised the hope of Nigerians about ceasefire. A faction of the group announced that it was tired of killing. But two weeks after, the hope was dashed. More callous killings were reported. The camouflage surrender only paved the way for more panic in the North. Soon, the faceless fighters started to demand for the release of their members who are in detention.
According to analysts, an important component of the amnesty being suggested by the northern leaders is dialogue. Stakeholders who have objected to dialogue insist that the approach is defeatist. Their argument is that dialogue with similar organisations in many African and Asian countries have never yielded the expected dividends. Others have canvassed the option of daring the arsonists by tracking them down and bringing them to justice.
Government has exercised caution in its response to this emergency. Apart from rejecting the pressure to label the members of the sect as terrorists, President Goodluck Jonathan has not relented in urging the sect to embrace peace. . This approach, many agree, is conciliatory. Ajayi said that dialogue may also be explored for the purpose of unveiling the power brokers sustaining the onslaught, the strength of the sect, the identity of its financiers, arms suppliers, links with terrorist organisations and the real motivation for the affront.
However, dialogue has limitation and it requires more political and professional skills. Although Aremu described it as the language of democracy, he warned against its misuse. Supporting him, Igbokwe said that the option smacked of timidity.
Ajayi however, reminded the anti-amnesty crusaders that dialogue is critical to crisis resolution and peace making. He recalled that peace returned to the troubled Niger Delta, following the dialogue between the government and the militants. “ Dialogue with the sect will enable the government to know the real grievances of the sect, the reasons behind their actions and what can be done to appease it and elicit from them solution possibilities. It will also bring the two sides to a negotiating table. The advantage is that it will make the government to know the actual members and leaders of the group, who cannot ordinarily be disclosed under normal situation”, he explained.
Ajayi urged the government to shun the fear of being labeled “ a government that hold talks with terrorists” by foreign powers. He said that the expected dividend of peace overrides the stigmitisation that may follow the dialogue.
Another human rights activist, Lanre Suraj, advised the President to employ all the constitutional and legitimate means to ensure security. He said dialogue is not bad, if it is properly managed. “Dialogue with any disgruntled stakeholder is in the collective interest of the system. This is not limited to Boko Haram. If every war and conflict ends with a dialogue or discussion, why not avert the cost of a violent conflict and start embarking on the resolution of the disagreement with dialogue? This is better”, Suraj added.
Igbokwe disagreed. “They have murdered children, mothers, fathers and youths for a cause that is not only laughable, but stupid. To engage them in a dialogue is to celebrate criminality”, he said, maintaining that other groups may spring up to terrorise the trembling country. He said government should come out to tell anxious Nigerians that the dialogue and amnesty are the last options.
Former Rector of Lagos State Polytechnic, Olawumi Gasper, said it would be a sad day in Nigeria when government officials sit with faceless people carrying dangerous weapons and threatening the collective peace of the society. He urged the President to rise up to the occasion as the Commander-In-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces.”The nation requires a sound and effective local and community intelligence framework. This should further be complemented by military action. Our actions must be non-political, brutal and forceful within a short span of three months, with all the borders closed during the operation period. We must commence these military actions before the beginning of political activities leading to the next presidential election,” he said.
