Nigeria is a blessed nation. Its people
are unbelievable. Its leaders are ingenious. Quite very ingenious
leaders! From the late Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa to the incumbent Dr.
Goodluck Jonathan, our leaders have been incredible. Take, for instance,
the late President Umar Sheu Yaradua. He met on ground a delicate
situation in the oil rich Niger- Delta, which, if not well managed,
could have torn the nation apart. Niger Delta youths were angry.
Perhaps, reasonably so. They felt they were not getting a fair share of
the natural resources which nature has endowed their land with.
Consequently, they resorted to militancy to draw the attention of
appropriate authorities to their grievances. Thus, began an era of
sorrow, tears and blood in the Niger Delta. It was so bad that estimated
national revenue from oil started to dwindle since expatriates working
in the various oil fields across the region had to flee for fear of the
rampaging militants. Sadly, as much as the various security agencies
tried, they were no match for the excessively aggressive and determined
Niger-Delta militants.
Continue reading after the cut...
This was, indeed, the situation when the
late President Yaradua came into the picture. Widely acclaimed as the
very first graduate president to rule over the country, Yaradua did not
disappoint. The scientist that he was, he took the Niger-Delta problem
to the laboratory and after series of experiments; he eventually came
out with a very innovative result which gave birth to the now famous
amnesty programme. The core feature of the programme is for militants,
who are willing to embrace the Federal Government olive branch to
surrender their weapons, within a certain period of time, in exchange
for official state pardon.
Oh, how it worked like magic! Soon, Aso
Rock became a Mecca of sort with several leaders of the various militant
groups visiting the villa to pay homage to Yaradua as well as pledged
their loyalty to the new amnesty arrangement. In a twinkling of an eye,
peace returned to the once volatile Niger Delta region. Of course, it
has to be. The leaders of the various militant groups secured diverse
mouth-watering deals with the Federal Government while some of their
foot soldiers were sent to various schools abroad to acquire quality
education aside from being put on good monthly salary packages. Thus,
while the oil czars smile to the bank, the militants also have their own
share of the proverbial national cake. The end result is that everybody
is happy.
Lucky President Goodluck! At the demise
of his late Principal, Yaradua, he inherited a peaceful Niger Delta.
But, as it is with leadership; he was soon to face his own challenge
through the activities of the Islamic insurgence group popularly
referred to as Boko Haram. The group, which had been in existence before
the Goodluck presidency, for reasons best known to it, chose the
occasion of the Jonathan presidency to demonstrate to Nigerians that it
could be as daring ( if not more ) as the Niger Delta Militants. Till
date, the group has continued to hold the northern part of the country
hostage with its numerous acts of terrorism which have led to loss of
countless human lives in addition to destruction of limitless private
and public properties. The economy of most of the affected northern
states, no thanks to Boko Haram activities, is now in shamble.
Like his late principal, President
Goodluck Jonathan is a scientist. Perhaps, a better one at that
considering he holds Ph.D degree zoology. Many, understandably so,
looked forward to the President coming up with his own version of
another scientific solution to the Boko Haram crisis which has now led
to the inglorious exit of many top security officials from office. With
the President keeping his battle strategy against the Islamic sect tight
to his chest, prominent northern figures began to agitate for the
adoption of the now tested and trusted amnesty option to ward off the
Boko Haram challenge. Soon, powerful individuals began to put pressure
on the presidency to enter into dialogue with the group for the sake of
peace.
But the President would have none of
that. How do you dialogue with a faceless group? He wondered. On an
unusual visit to Maiduguri, a city that is perhaps the worst hit in the
Boko Haram onslaught, the President foreclosed entering into dialogue
with the group by reiterating his earlier held view that it is a group
without identity. However, prominent leaders continue to canvass for
amnesty with the revered Sultan of Sokoto adding his respected voice to
the call. With time, the Federal government shifted its position on the
issue. A committee, as it is always the case, comprising eminent
Nigerians has been put in place to fashion out strategies that would
bring about engagement with the Boko Haram. Most analysts see this step
as a prelude to the process that will lead to granting amnesty to the
Boko Haram group. To those who support this plan, if amnesty is working
wonders in the Niger Delta, it should bring about the much needed peace
in the crisis ridden northern states.
Now, as we contemplate granting amnesty
to the Boko Haram group, there is another major dissident group in the
country that one would like to draw the attention of appropriate
authorities and other powerful individuals to. Like the Niger-Delta
militants and the Boko Haram, this group is equally angry with the
country. They are angry that government has not been able to solve the
problem of unemployment. Their anger also stems from wide spread
corruption that has continued un-abated in the system coupled with other
social ills bedeviling the nation. But unlike the Niger-Delta militants
and Boko Haram, their operational style is different. It is not really
violent in outlook. They just look out for cash worthy individuals who
could be kidnapped, for some time, in exchange for handsome sum of money
and the circle continues. Welcome to the world of kidnappers!
As it was the case with the Niger-Delta
militants and the Boko-Haram, government is yet to come up with the much
needed solution to tackle the activities of kidnappers across the
country. But, why look for another solution when we already have one
that is working well? Is it not true that you don’t change a winning
formula? To stem the tide of kidnapping in the country, we need to begin
the process that will bring up a national discourse on the need to
grant amnesty to kidnappers. Respected traditional monarchs, politicians
and other powerful individuals across the country should begin to bring
the issue to the front burner. The press should, as well, echo it.
Kidnappers, on their own, need to form themselves into one powerful
association with functioning web site and other channels of modern
communication since the government is averse to discussing with faceless
groups.
Before we all become victims of the
dastardly act of kidnapping, government should begin to give serious
consideration to granting amnesty to kidnappers whose main grouse is
joblessness. Like the Niger-Delta militant, they could be sent to good
universities abroad and equally place on mouth watering monthly
salaries. As it is often said, no development can take place without
peace. If we are to achieve the much needed national development, we
should begin the process of granting amnesty to kidnappers now. Lest I
forget, we could also extend the amnesty arrangement to other aggrieved
members of the society such as armed robbers, rapists, pipe line
vandals, 419ers among others. We must not spare anything in our quest
for a peaceful society. This way, our overstretched security agencies
would have a break and we shall all live in peace. God bless Nigeria!
- Tayo Ogunbiyi (tayoogunbiyi@rocketmail.com)
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