The
effort of government to find a lasting solution to the Boko Haram menace hit a
brick wall with the rejection of a pre-amnesty offer by the Abubakar Sherau-led
faction of Boko Haram. It stands every reasoning on its head, that the gravy
train of amnesty was contemplated for a radical and remorseless sect that have
slaughtered over 4, 000 people since it began an offensive against the Nigerian
state in 2009.
Pardon
with its financial rewards as it is done in the country, is a disincentive to
the real Boko Haram.’ It beats every logic that in an attempt to buy peace, a
hurriedly packaged amnesty was offered to terrorists on a platter of gold.When
they first began their violent attacks, we were at a lose what their grievance
were. From seeking vengeance for their slain former leader, Yusuf, to an
onslaught against the institutions of government which they considered ‘haram,’
non-islamic and too secular for their religious inclinations.
Their
radical beliefs soon took a different turn. Soon they saw all forms of western
education and influence as sin. But as of today, the reason for their
continuous bombing, wanton destruction of lives and properties is to entrench
an Islamic government in north-eastern states and by extension Nigeria. It was
expected that after the president’s meeting with the northern elders where the
decision to set up a committee to dialogue and consider the feasibility or
otherwise of granting pardon to the Boko Haram adherents, President Jonathan
should have first commissioned them to go back and do their home work in
identifying and establishing contact with the leaders of the Jihadists before acceding
to their demands of setting up a committee.
Since the Northern Elders Forum
will have usbelieve that the blood thirsty renegades deserve clemency like the
Niger Delta militants, they need not be reminded of the crucial role Niger
Delta elders and leaders played in persuading the militants to unmask and cçrne
out from their hideouts in the creeks to negotiate with government. Northern
leaders cannot continue to claim ignorance of the leaders’ of the sect. In this
regard, the buck stop with them.The criminal and political factions of Boko
Haram will eventually jump on the amnesty bandwagon buthardliners like Shekau
and his minions, which is by far the deadliest faction, will continue to reject
pardon in a manner that will further ridicule the Jonathan government. Indeed,
Boko Haram has boxed the state to a corner. The President’s inconsistent stance
has fuelled rumour that the whole idea of pardon was politically motivated.
The
Presidential Committee on Dialogue is the latest cash cow in town. Grapevine sources
say the so-called northern elders jostled and lobbied to be on the committee.
They fail to realise that the closeness of the committee members to government
might end up scuttling any peace initiative as President Jonathan apologists
might not meet the approbation of Boko Haram. In Daniaturu , we saw a president
talking tough. He spoke with a certain conviction as he expressed doubt on the
feasibility of an amnesty as advocated by the Sultan. But as soon as he
returned to Abuja, after a rather clandestine meeting with the Northern Elders
Forum, he made a U-turn. Probably he realized that amnesty to the Jihadists is
a bait to negotiate his second term bid with the North in 2015 and the northern
elders hold the dce.
There is a school of thought that Boko Haram will die a
natural death when a northerner becomes President. To buttress this, the sect
made good their threats to make the country ungovernable should Goodluck
Jonathan become president. Sadly, Jonathan knew those have fanned the embers
the insurgency but lacks the political will to go after them. The northerners
respect their elders, be it religious or political leaders. Boko Haram will
never have grown to such deadly proportion if the president was of northern
extraction. As 2015 approach, analysts are predicting a rise in the wave of
attacks so as to make it almost impossible for Jonathan to win re-election.
Considering they have a preponderance of electoral votes in the north, it might
be all too easy.
There
are arguments in some quarters though, that the activities of the Haramists are
religious rather than political. But the rejection of a pre-amnesty offer by
the government is the strongest indication yet that there leaning is political.
They crave an Islamised Nigeria and care no less if the country breaks up else
a northerner succeeds President Jonathan. Beyond amnesty and dialogue,
government must begin to explore other avenues to speedily bring the crisis,
threatening to tear the country apart, to an end. Dollars and naira cannot
convince a radical Shekau to give up his Jihadist belief. Hence, the government
must not completely rule out the use of military might. The Odi massacre for
whatever it was sent a strong message to the Niger Delta militants who sent
subliminal signals to thè Olusegun Obasanjo, to grant them amnesty.
Bill
Clinton, when he was President of the United States, ordered the Waco massacre
after the killing of four American law enforcement-agents. The president,
ordered a military raid of Branch Davidian, an area of Waco, Texas, in the wee
hours Of Monday, April 19, 1993. Tanks and amoured vehicles rolled into the
area, reducing everything thereupon to ashes. Branch Davidian, Odi and Boko
Haram hideouts are analogous in this context. To those of us from the Niger
Delta, the Odi incident left a bitter pill in on mouths, but then, Obasanjo did
what had to be done to end the restiveness in the Niger Delta. The communities
in the north shielding the members of Boko Haram must be warned forth with.
In
Algeria, what started as election grievances from an Islamist group snowballed
into a prolonged terrorist attack against the state spanning over a decade,
around the early 90s till 2002. Many presidents fought a bloody guerilla war
with insurgents resulting in over 100,000 deaths and shelling of many
communities. No one would wish such cataclysm for Nigeria. Military force was
used to break down Islamist insurgency before dialogue and some sort of amnesty
was offered in the end to resolve the conflict. Only a President Jonathan will
defend hi compatriots from years of incessant brutality and terror by the ever
rampaging and blood thirsty Boko Haram terrorist with amnesty.
The
country is tottering precariously on the brink disaster. President Jonathan
must act now. Nigeria must not be allowed to descend into another civil war.
Issues of security must be separated from politics - his 2015 ambition. There is
an exigency, that he must as a matter of urgency take decisive action to
protect the lives of Nigerians and unity of Nigeria. He cannot shy away from
this. He must throw down the gauntlet. The Nigerian state must begin to act
more intelligently and forcefully.