In what appears to be its
hugest casualty hunt, the Boko Haram insurgents, directly and
indirectly, caused the death of over 200 people, mainly women and
children, at the fishing port of Baga in Kukawa local government area of
Borno State, last weekend. The onslaught was a devastating ash in the
mouths of the protagonists of the proposed amnesty for members of the
terrorist sect.
The federal government had last week surrendered to public opinion to set up a panel to develop a framework for the granting of amnesty in order to restore peace in the north and resolve the crisis of insecurity in the country. At the urging of many prominent Nigerians, President Goodluck Jonathan had agreed to consider presidential amnesty for members of the Boko Haram sect.
While we agree that it is within the president's constitutional right to offer presidential pardon to this or any other group or person, we have not been great supporters of this amnesty deal and had cautioned that it may exacerbate the crisis of insecurity rather than provide solution to the sad phenomenon. Is there no lesson to be learned from the Baga massacre, just hours after the constitution of a presidential panel? President Jonathan has ordered a probe into this horrific incident of bloodshed, while the United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon voiced shock and sadness at the horrendous carnage. About 2,000 houses, more than 60 cars, and more than 300 motorcycles were burnt in the commercial town, which is close to the desert.
Since, the sanguinary campaigns of the Boko Haram started in 2009, over 4, 000 innocent peopl have been killed; many more have been injured; scores of religious, military, and educational infrastructure have been destroyed; but only the self-confessed spokesman of the sect, Ali Sanda Umar Konduga (aka Al-Zawahiri), of the many "warriors" arrested, has been convicted. Many a time, government apparatchiks and security leaders have made veiled reference to the sect as one peopled by "ghosts".
The amnesty option seems a diplomatic way to sway the armed insurgents, but last weekend's attack at the border town calls for greater surveillance and a rethink of strategy on how to tackle the rampaging sect whose demands include: excising some parts of the country to be ruled through Islamic laws and principles, release of its arrested members, and arrest of some past governors who, they believe, had been unfair to them.
While all these are the "voiced" demands, we are inclined to believe that there are some oblique reasons that are not asseverated. Some political, economic and social forces are at work, and these must be addressed in the interest of justice, fairness and equity. The failure of intelligence is also palpable in the entire search for peace, as northern leaders prevaricate on the issues; two of those appointed into the amnesty committee have turned it down.
For the amnesty to work, and given the recent experience, it would be right, fair and proper, that Abdu Shekau and his co-travellers publicly renounce violence and stick to such renunciation. A time frame must be set for the renunciation to drive purposeful engagement and commitment to viable peace. The leadership and main financiers of the sect must be made known to the security and intelligence agencies and they must buy into government's amnesty agenda in consonance with domestic laws and international conventions. Most importantly, all northern leaders of thought and clerics must be carried along and submit to sincerity of purpose on the proposed deal. Until and unless these conditions are met, those who think the amnesty deal will lead to peace and stability labour in vain.
Source: Leadership
The federal government had last week surrendered to public opinion to set up a panel to develop a framework for the granting of amnesty in order to restore peace in the north and resolve the crisis of insecurity in the country. At the urging of many prominent Nigerians, President Goodluck Jonathan had agreed to consider presidential amnesty for members of the Boko Haram sect.
While we agree that it is within the president's constitutional right to offer presidential pardon to this or any other group or person, we have not been great supporters of this amnesty deal and had cautioned that it may exacerbate the crisis of insecurity rather than provide solution to the sad phenomenon. Is there no lesson to be learned from the Baga massacre, just hours after the constitution of a presidential panel? President Jonathan has ordered a probe into this horrific incident of bloodshed, while the United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon voiced shock and sadness at the horrendous carnage. About 2,000 houses, more than 60 cars, and more than 300 motorcycles were burnt in the commercial town, which is close to the desert.
Since, the sanguinary campaigns of the Boko Haram started in 2009, over 4, 000 innocent peopl have been killed; many more have been injured; scores of religious, military, and educational infrastructure have been destroyed; but only the self-confessed spokesman of the sect, Ali Sanda Umar Konduga (aka Al-Zawahiri), of the many "warriors" arrested, has been convicted. Many a time, government apparatchiks and security leaders have made veiled reference to the sect as one peopled by "ghosts".
The amnesty option seems a diplomatic way to sway the armed insurgents, but last weekend's attack at the border town calls for greater surveillance and a rethink of strategy on how to tackle the rampaging sect whose demands include: excising some parts of the country to be ruled through Islamic laws and principles, release of its arrested members, and arrest of some past governors who, they believe, had been unfair to them.
While all these are the "voiced" demands, we are inclined to believe that there are some oblique reasons that are not asseverated. Some political, economic and social forces are at work, and these must be addressed in the interest of justice, fairness and equity. The failure of intelligence is also palpable in the entire search for peace, as northern leaders prevaricate on the issues; two of those appointed into the amnesty committee have turned it down.
For the amnesty to work, and given the recent experience, it would be right, fair and proper, that Abdu Shekau and his co-travellers publicly renounce violence and stick to such renunciation. A time frame must be set for the renunciation to drive purposeful engagement and commitment to viable peace. The leadership and main financiers of the sect must be made known to the security and intelligence agencies and they must buy into government's amnesty agenda in consonance with domestic laws and international conventions. Most importantly, all northern leaders of thought and clerics must be carried along and submit to sincerity of purpose on the proposed deal. Until and unless these conditions are met, those who think the amnesty deal will lead to peace and stability labour in vain.
Source: Leadership
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