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Tag: Shehu Sani

  • Boko Haram : Swapping of Chibok girls best option, says Sani

    Boko Haram : Swapping of Chibok girls best option, says Sani

    Rights activist Shehu Sani said yesterday that the only solution to the Chibok girls’ abduction was swapping them with Boko Haram detainees.

    He advised the government not to rule out dialogue with the sect.

    The Civil Rights Congress President, however, faulted elders of the North for issuing an ultimatum to President Goodluck Jonathan and tying his 2015 ambition to the fate of the girls, who were abducted by Boko Haram on April 15 in Borno State.

    Sani, who has been one of the facilitators of dialogue with Boko Haram, made his views known in a statement in Abuja.

    He said the ultimatum was “most irrational, illogical and insensitive”.

    He said the safest option to set the girls free was swapping them with detained Boko Haram members.

    He said: “I still believe that the best way to secure the release of the abducted Chibok girls is through dialogue.

    “Swapping the girls with detainees of the insurgent is the safest and most pragmatic approach to securing their release.”

    Sani condemned Northern elders for playing politics with the girls’ fate.

    He said: “The position of Northern elders on  the abducted Chibok girls is faulty; the ultimatum and series of threats given to the Federal Government or the person of President Goodluck Jonathan is of no use or effect on the plight or freedom of the abducted girls.

    “The opportunistic submission of tying the fate of the Chibok girls to the political ambition of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 is most irrational, illogical and insensitive.

    “Telling president Goodluck Jonathan to forget 2015 ambition if he cannot ‘bring back our girls’ is the same thing as saying if he ‘brings back our girls’ he doesn’t need to do any other thing but just ‘carry go’.”

    Sani advised politicians to be cautious in their comments on sensitive issues, such as the abduction of the girls.

    He said: “There is the need for politicians to make a clear distinction between their political support or differences with President Goodluck and the need for all to converge on the moral imperative to rescue the abducted girls from captivity.

    “Northern elders have the fundamental rights to express their opinion on the presidency of Goodluck Jonathan but their attempt to link the Chibok girls’ plight to the political ambition of Jonathan is condemnable.

    “At this crisis moment  in our nation’s history particularly in the Northern parts of Nigeria, Northern elders should be more proactive in finding solutions to the raging insurgency and religious violence than scoring cheap political points from tragic situations.

    “The girls of Chibok need concern, sympathy and support from all Nigerians  but, above all, they need any form of active and result oriented intervention that can lead to their freedom.

    “Northern elders should be more courageous enough to engage or confront the insurgents than taking an evasive position, which is unhelpful to the cause of finding a resolution to the spiraling crisis.”

  • Osun poll: Shehu Sani warns against rigging

    The President, Civil Rights Congress of Nigeria, Comrade Shehu Sani, on Friday warned against the rigging of Saturday’s governorship election in Osun State.

    He also asked Nigerians to resist coercion and brigandage in the state.

    Sani, who gave the warning in a statement, condemned the use of troops to intimidate voters in Osun State.

    He said: “The Osun State gubernatorial election must not be rigged. The massive deployment of troops and the gale of arrest of All Progressives Congress chieftains in the state stands condemned. The people of Osun and indeed all the people of Nigeria must stand firm in the defence of free, transparent and fair election in Osun.

    “Any attempt to rig the Osun election amounts to declaration of war against all Nigerians and a deliberate mutilation of our constitution. Ekiti must not repeat itself in Osun.

    “The use of heavily armed troops by the Federal Government is aimed at intimidating the voters of Osun just as it was done in Ekiti. Nigerians must resist coercion and brigandage.”

    Sani said it is possible for Nigerians to resist deployment of troops for elections nationwide.

    He added: “We fought military dictatorship to a stand still and we can together defeat the misuse of armed troops to rig elections.

    “The resort of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party and their dogs to use the presence of soldiers to win elections is a testimony to their unpopularity. PDP believes and depends on physical force to win elections.

    “Injustice and evil flourishes when it’s not resisted at its budding stage. Osun elections will determine the sanity, orderliness or otherwise of the 2015 general elections. All Nigerians must be interested in what is happening in Osun.”

    He asked the people of Osun State to rally round Governor Rauf Aregbesola for second term in office.

    He said: “Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola is a genuine progressive and an upholder of the politics of principles and ideology. He is a freedom fighter and an incorruptible leader. He competently and meritoriously deserve a good second term.

    “The people of Osun must resist the return of slavery and slave owing government of the PDP In the state. The people of Osun should not bring back the rusted chains of the PDP.”

  • Government, opposition encouraging insecurity – Shehu Sani

    Civil rights activist, Mallam Shehu Sani, has said that political bickering and blame game between the government and the opposition parties in the country are helping to sustain the current wave of violence and insecurity in the country.

    In a statement made available to Saturday Nation, Sani who is also the President of the Civil Rights Congress (CRC) said it was wrong for the ruling party to blame the ongoing insurgency in the country on the opposition with any proof, while it is utterly false to concoct any conspiracy theory that links President Goodluck Jonathan or the Federal Government to attacks that clearly had the hallmark of the Boko Haram insurgents.

    Sani, who was reacting to Wednesday’s twin explosions in Kaduna which ostensibly targeted Islamic scholar, Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi and former Head of state, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, Sani said the nation has a major challenge which must be addressed with the cooperation of every Nigerian irrespective of political or religious affiliation.

    He noted that if the attempt on the lives of the two personalities had been successful, the nation would have been thrown into a major crisis which may have been the intention of those who sponsored the attacks.

    Sani said: “The multiple bombings in kaduna and kano which targeted Muhammadu Buhari and Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi stands unreservedly condemned. The assassination attempts once again demonstrated the annihilating danger faced by the Nigerian state. The attack if successful could have trigger a serious civil unrest of which the architect must have intended to achieve.

    “The ongoing insurgency and the overall security situation in the country should be a matter of concern to all. With the attack on these two prominent Nigerians, it’s evidently clear now that we are in a situation where everyone is vulnerable. The series of campaign and violence is the most imminent and concrete threat to Nigeria’s unity, freedom and democracy.

    “For how long should we continue to harvest the corpses of innocent victims of mass murder? There is the absolute need for national unity and solidarity in tackling the menace.

    “Violence will continue as long as there is no exigent national cohesion to combat it. Political bickering and blame game between the government and the opposition and warmongering between the north and the south helps in sustaining the violence.

    “It is utterly wrong for the ruling party to ascribe the ongoing insurgency to the opposition without any iota of proof to that and it’s utterly false for anyone to concoct conspiracy theory that links President Jonathan or the Federal Government to attacks that clearly and evidently has the hallmark of the insurgents.”

     

  • Attacks on Kwankwaso, press: Sani blasts Jonathan

    Attacks on Kwankwaso, press: Sani blasts Jonathan

    President of the Civil Rights Congress of Nigeria, Comrade Shehu Sani believes that the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan is itching toward tyranny on account of its recent conducts.

    He cites attacks on Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso over the appointment of Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as Emir of Kano and the harassment of the  press by  agents of the Federal Government and says  the Kano Governor is a victim of a desperate and dying government.

    Sani, in a statement in Abuja yesterday warned government apologists against returning the nation to the dark days.

    He traced Kwankwaso’s ordeal in the hands of the federal authorities to his defection from the PDP to APC and “the revelation of monumental theft of our national treasury by the ex-Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and now the Emir of Kano.”

    The Federal Government, according to him, “ has consistently targeted them for state persecution and slander. It’s no coincidence that the Federal Government has meddled into the appointment of the Emir of Kano. On this, the Government of President Jonathan stands unambiguously condemned.

    “ Kwankwaso is a victim of a desperate and dying government. All the ills and vices ascribed to him by the federal government were only splashed at him when he left the ruling PDP.

    “The orchestrated campaign of calumny and innuendos targeted against Governor Kwankwaso is a mischievous but failed attempt by President Jonathan and his henchmen and hatchet men to rubbish the hard-earned reputation of the  Governor.”

    Sani, who asked the government to leave Emir Sanusi alone, said security challenges facing the nation should be addressed than personal issues.

    He added: “Emir Sanusi Lamido Sanusi must be allowed to preside over the affairs of his emirate. Emir Sanusi is duly and properly appointed in conformity with the relevant laws, customs and tradition.

    “The interference by the federal government is nothing but a continuation of the federal mission to morally stain him and physically incapacitate him. The interest, energy and resources invested by the federal government to nail Sanusi could have been of better use if directed at addressing the security challenges bedeviling our country.”

    According to him, “Apologists of the government need to be reminded that this democracy was fought and won after a prolonged battle with the military, we cannot stand by and watch the nation sliding back to darkness of authoritarianism.”

    On the recent harassment of the press, Sani described the action as sheer act of foolishness and archaic.

    He said:”Without the sacrifice of the gallant Nigerian media, democracy could not have been restored and President Jonathan couldn’t have emerged as president. Free press is the guarantor of a free society. Setting the military against the media is tantamount to incinerating our civil liberties.”

  • Why Obasanjo met Boko Haram members’ families – Shehu Sani

    Civil Rights activist, Mallam Shehu Sani, said in Kaduna Wednesday that he led a delegation of some families of suspected Boko Haram members to a meeting with former President Olusegun Obasanjo to find ways of securing the release of the abducted schoolgirls.

    Sani said in a statement made available to The Nation that the meeting which took place at the Abeokuta residence of the former President was aimed at opening a new channel of dialogue with leaders of the sect and secure the release of the missing girls.

    He expressed the hope that the meeting will lead to a genuine dialogue between the abductors and the federal government on how to secure the girls’ release.

    He said, “My statement is in response to the reports and the enquiries on the Abeokuta meeting with the former president Olusegun Obasanjo and some family members of the Boko Haram group. The renewed effort to dialogue with the leaders of Boko Haram is being pursued with vigour.

    “This is to confirm that the meeting actually took place and I was part of it. The meeting was solely aimed at exploring the possibility of opening a new channel for dialogue or negotiation with the sect members towards securing the release of the abducted Chibok girls held in captivity for over a month.”

    He noted that the meeting between the former President and families of Boko Haram members appraised the reportedly collapsed back door deal that was later cancelled by the Government.

    “I wish to also confirm that the report of the intervention of Mr. Salkida in negotiating the release of the Chibok girls is credible.

    “I personally introduced Salkida to the government and spoke about him in many of my previous interviews. He has tried his best in the past and of recent to help in resolving the insurgency through dialogue but was on all occasions frustrated by the government.

    “Mr. Salkida should not be vilified but should be appreciated. Mr. Salkida’s attempt could have actually see to the release of the abducted girls. The meeting in Abeokuta was aimed at repackaging and salvaging the dialogue option. It was generally agreed that the initiative cannot take off without the consent of the Federal Government. It’s significant for Nigerians to note that negotiation is the only safer option to get the girls back home,” Sani stated.

     

  • Shehu Sani to govt: swap girls

    Shehu Sani to govt: swap girls

    One of the early facilitators of peace talks with Boko Haram, Comrade Shehu Sani, said yesterday that the best option for the Federal Government is to swap the abducted girls with the sect members in detention.

    He said the use of force to rescue the girls might turn tragic for the nation.

    He also said if the girls were kept longer in Boko Haram enclave, they might become radicalised and turn into insurgents.

    Sani, who spoke with our correspondent last night in Abuja, said the nation does not need the girls bodies after going through this harrowing experience.

    He said: “My advice to the Federal Government is to take the path of honour and swap the abducted girls. What is important is to get the girls out of Boko Haram enclaves.

    “The government cannot be talking of the use of force; it cannot be possible in this circumstance.

    “We don’t need the bodies of these innocent girls; we need their bodies and souls. Let us save these girls now by swapping.

    “After swapping the girls, the nation can now address insurgency in whatever way it deems fit.”

    Responding to a question, Sani added: “The Federal Government is in a dilemma. Those in government see that negotiation will make the government to be weak. And if they use force, it may turn tragic with Nigerians blaming them.

    “This is why swapping of the girls is an option the government should consider. By now, we would have forgotten this challenge.”

    Sani, who recommended Ahmed Salkida to the Federal Government (the central figure in the ongoing back-door talks with Boko Haram), warned against the danger of holding the girls hostage for long.

    He said: “The danger of keeping them is that Boko Haram will be radicalising them. And if they succeed in radicalising the girls, we will be coping with another round of insurgents. This is what those in government should understand.”

  • Shehu Sanni writes Sultan on girls’ fate

    Shehu Sanni writes Sultan on girls’ fate

    Rights Activist Shehu Sani has asked the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Saad Abubakar, to mobilise Northern clerics to rescue the abducted Chibok girls from Boko Haram’s captivity.

    He said the Sultan and others must not allow the girls’ fate to get worse, adding that the abducted girls have guns on their heads and chains in their hands and every second counts to save them.

    Sani, a key facilitator of talks with the extremist Boko Haram and President of the Civil Rights Congress of Nigeria made the plea in an open letter to the Sultan, who is the President of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA).

    The May 16 letter was obtained yesterday by our correspondent in Abuja.

    Sani, who once facilitated ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo’s visit to Boko Haram leaders, said the Sultan and other clerics would have to lead talks with the sect if the nation wants the girls released.

    The letter reads: “I’m writing to you as a concerned citizen, privately and proactively involved in the campaign to end the stand off and resolve the abduction saga, that has kept for one month, over 280 of our girls of the Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State as hostages in the hands and in the grip of the insurgent group, Boko Haram.

    “I have read the clear and unambiguous position on the issue by the Jammaatu Nasril Islam of which you are the leader, and that is commendable.

    “I have also followed your consistent position and opposition to all forms of violence or mayhem perpetrated in the guise of religion. However, I believe you can do more than pronouncement or public statement on the unfortunate incident.

    “Your Eminence, this letter is a personal appeal for you to move beyond your present position and directly intervene in the resolution of this national problem that has attracted so much international interest, attention and concern.

    “This is not a matter for the Federal Government or President Goodluck Jonathan alone or the security forces alone to resolve but it’s a national emergency which will predictably affect the future of our people and our great country.

    “You have a moral duty and a spiritual responsibility to be visibly and actively involved in seeking the resolution of this impasse happening within areas you have religious influence.”

    He asked the Sultan to secure the Federal Government’s nod to intervene in the fate of the abducted girls.

    He added: “Your eminence, you have the listening ears of the Federal Government and you also enjoy the respect of all religious clerics in northern Nigeria and beyond.

    “I advise that you should facilitate the intervention of selected Islamic clerics to ask the permission of the Federal Government and reach out to the insurgent group to demand for the release of the Chibok girls and take custody of them; the Islamic clerics to intervene should also appeal to the Federal Government to consider the release of all persons currently in detention without trial arrested on suspicion of security breaches.

    “Arbitrary arrested and prolonged detention of citizens, if there is any, clearly breaches our fundamental human rights as succinctly spelt out in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and our national laws.

    “Until the Chibok girls are released, they represent the encased conscience of our country. We must not let what will happen to them to be worse than what is happening to them.”

    Sani reminded the Sultan that the image of the nation is at stake.

    He said: “Your Eminence, as long as the Chibok girls continue to remain in captivity, it’s not only the credibility of the Federal Government that is at stake but the moral perception of the nation and the relevance of your institution and influence is under question and so also the image of all Muslims in Nigeria, irrespective of their verbal stance on the issue.

    “Religious clerics particularly in the North, should move beyond prayers and independently move further to reach out to the insurgents and amicably retrieve these girls via means that will guarantee their safe return.

    “This option is an alternative to the use of force and the unavoidable consequences of it. The insurgents have consistently justify all their actions on religious ground,as a spiritual leader you have a duty to engage them or intellectually confront them in line with divine teachings that promote and assert the imperatives of  peace, dialogue and harmonious coexistence.”

    Sani urged the Sultan to save the girls from being killed by the insurgents.

    He said: “Your Eminence, this is a simple appeal for you to use your vantage position to resolve this matter and so as to get the hovering drone off our skies and the pains off our hearts.

    “I’m quite informed about the limitation of your institution but I’m confident that your active intervention based on this advice can help in resolving this problem as every second counts.

    “The Chibok girls have guns on their heads and chains on their hands and we have a dangling sword of posterity hanging over our heads.”

  • Shehu Sani to govt: negotiate girls’ release

    Shehu Sani to govt: negotiate girls’ release

    Civil rights activist Shehu Sani advised the Federal Government yesterday to consider the condition laid down by Boko Haram sect to secure the release of the abducted school girls.

    The sect, in a video released yesterday, said it would free the school girls if the government agreed to release its members being detained across the country.

    He cautioned that Boko Haram had different levels of members in detention. He said if the government must agree on the condition, it should release the militants’ family members in detention.

    He spoke with the CNN last night.

    He said: “The Boko Haram members have shown how much they are in control of the situation and they have made an offer to exchange those girls for their own comrades been in detention since three years now. I think this is an offer we should take very serious.

    “When he (Abubakar Shekau) said he would sell them, I made it very clear that selling the girls is impossible. Impossible in the sense that you cannot trade them off without the girls finding their way back home wherever it is in Nigeria or in those countries that share borders with Nigeria.

    “When he said he was going to swap them for their own comrades, I knew it was going to happen that way because they have been used to abduction and taking hostages. I believe this is one of so many and the difference between this and other abductions is the number of the girls. I think we should take the offer seriously because it may not last so long.

    Sani added: “It is difficult for anyone, even the authorities themselves to give accurate number of Boko Haram fighters that are in detention now. But the arrest of the sect members have been going on for three to four years. These Boko Haram detainees can be categorised into three groups. You have their top leaders, you have their foot soldiers, and you have their families, which include their children and their wives. I think in an event of a swap, the third category should be considered in the interest of those girls. In fact, the lives of those girls are far more important than keeping the insurgents in detention. After all, they have nothing to lose; it is we that have something to lose because our own daughters are with them.”

    Can the sect be trusted with the offer? The activist said: “For me, I have never been a hostage but I have been a political prisoner that once lost my freedom. Once you lose your freedom, what comes to your mind is how you can get out of captivity. What is supposed to be done at this very time is for Nigeria to set up credible panel to reach out to the group and open a channel of communication, and then listen to them and look at the possibility of getting this girls. Because, we have two things here; we have over 280 girls in captivity of the Boko Haram and also, we have an insurgency that has been rising for the past three years. First of all, we need to get these girls out; we cannot engage, we cannot contain and crush the group with those girls still embedded. These girls would be taken not just as hostages, but as their human shield. It means you can’t fight he group without you getting these girls out.

    Would he be willing to act as mediator? Sani said: “It is not about me offering to mediate but it is about the kind of team that can be set up. And I believe that if we can have a team that comprises some respected Northern Islamic clerics, with some of the insurgents that are in detention, and some monitors, I believe actual line of communication can be opened for these girls to be released. Certainly, if I am invited and I am convinced that the resolution of that committee would be taken seriously, then I can be part of the team.”

     

  • Shehu Sani: Involve Datti Ahmed, others in negotiations with Boko Haram

    Shehu Sani: Involve Datti Ahmed, others in negotiations with Boko Haram

    •Fears use of force may turn tragic

    One of the early facilitators of peace talks with Boko Haram, Comrade Shehu Sani, yesterday warned the Federal Government against the use of force to free the over 100 students of the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, being held by the sect.

    He said recourse to force might turn tragic.

    He asked the government to raise a panel to open communication channel with the sect for the purpose of freeing the girls.

    Sani, who is the President of the Civil Rights Congress of Nigeria, suggested inclusion of the President of the Sharia Council of Nigeria, Dr Datti Ahmed, selected insurgents currently in detention and a few journalists from Maiduguri whom the insurgents will listen to on the panel.

    The panel, according to him, should be mandated to open a channel of communication with the insurgents and “secure the release of our children held hostage.”

    Time has come for government, he opined, to source for the right people to open discussion with Boko Haram.

    He said: “Some of us have made independent efforts and made countless pieces of advises towards ending the insurgency and restoring peace to our country which was ignored.

    “Some credible peace makers I know of were frustrated, blackmailed and threatened to the point of giving up. The insurgency in Nigeria is sustained by merchants of war who profit from heavy security budgets and merchants of peace who profits from costly, false and misleading dialogue funded by the government.”

    Sani specifically warned against the use of force because it could turn tragic for the innocent girls.

    He said there is nowhere in the world where force has been successfully used to free hostages.

    He alluded to the fact that the sect was already using the girls as shield to prevent counter-attacks by troops.

    He added: “The Chibok girls and other children in the custody of the insurgents can be freed, should be freed and will be free. The use of force or the threat of the use of force to free them can only lead to a tragic outcome by putting the lives of the innocent children in greater danger.

    “The use of force or threats of the use of force is not meant to free the children of Chibok but to save the face of our security forces, the government and the nation. The children of Chibok are clearly hostages and any attempt to free them must be through channel that will not put their lives in further jeopardy.

    “Anywhere in the world where children are used as human shield by gun men, use of force has always proven to be fatal. We must not bow or surrender to terrorism but we have a moral duty to free those children we failed to protect earlier and deliver them safe and alive to their parents. Every new day the children spent in captivity, we as citizens of this generation share the collective guilt for our inaction.

    “The anger and pains in the minds of those girls now in the grip of the insurgents is not just against a government with a constitutional duty to protect them but also against the nation with a moral responsibility to free them.”

    The CRCN president blamed the nation for not being proactive against insurgency.

    He said: “The abduction of the over 200 girls from Chibok by the insurgents is not the first time girls or children were abducted by the insurgents. As a nation we simply hesitated to take preventive action when it happened earlier in other schools until Chibok happened on a larger scale.

    “We have failed as a nation to protect ourselves, end the insurgency and now we have failed our children. Each day spent by the Chibok girls and other children held in the custody of the insurgents, our heart bleeds and our spirit is chained down. Our future generation has become innocent victims of the ineptitude, docility and infamy of the present generation.”

    He said the nation has failed to protect its young ones and “now we are denying them the opportunity to live a free life. If the nation had taken serious lessons from earlier brigandage by the insurgents, we could not have been talking of the use of force to free our children. For over three years, the insurgents have been burning schools, killing teachers and abducting children, why did our outrage wait for Chibok?”

  • Government, opposition playing politics with insurgency – Shehu Sani

    A civil rights activist, Mallam Shehu Sani, has accused the nation’s leaders of playing politics with the recent kidnap of female students in Borno State and the rising wave of insecurity in the country.

    Mallam Sani spoke just as the Borno State governor, Kashim Shettima and a Senator from the state, Ali Ndume disagree over government attitude to the rescue of the students.

    Sani said in a statement made available to The Nation in Kaduna Tuesday that it was most unfortunate and regrettable that the government and the nation’s political elites have not found the wisdom to stand up to this national emergency, but rather chose to play politics with it.

    According to him, “the government and the opposition are clearly playing politics with terrorism. Every moment of carnage is followed by idle condemnation, politics of blame game and nothingness.

    “After every bomb blast, the government finds excuses and the opposition finds a capital, politicizing response to the insecurity. The Insurgency has denied our leaders the wisdom to confront and combat the reality that faced us as a nation. Nigeria’s political class is in the soulless game of splashing each other the spilled blood of the innocent victims of the raging violence.”

    Sani noted that “the ongoing insurgency and violence in the northern part of Nigeria and Abuja stands unambiguously condemned. The abduction of innocent school girls and the regime of fear and mayhem unleashed are most abhor-able and intolerable. The unceasing violence is the most challenging threats to our freedom, our democracy and our corporate existence as a nation.

    “It’s most unfortunate and regrettable that the Federal Government and the Nigerian political elites have not found the wisdom to stand up to this national emergency but rather chose to play politics with bloodletting.

    “The allegations that the Federal Government and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party are behind the insurgents and the insurgency are political offensive by the opposition, but these are out rightly false: The allegations that the opposition leaders and the APC aid and abet the insurgency are also political offensive but it’s a malicious and untrue shifting blame game.

    “The insurgent group exists as a terror group pursuing their independent theocratic and nihilist agenda and with neither alliance to the opposition nor allegiance to the government.