Promise Adiele
Many challenges have confronted Nigeria since the inauguration of the Lugardian territorial architecture in 1914. However, for some inexplicable reasons that bother on providence, the country still stands on its feet, defying the entire negative prognosis by those who claim to know more than the rest of us. Nigeria is a country that has survived a brutal civil war, many coups and counter-coups. A country where, cumulatively, more than 600 billion dollars grew wings and flew out of the exchequer since independence, a country where citizens are consistently bludgeoned by economic hardship, a country serially ruled by less than average people, a country where the lives of the ordinary citizens are strewn with prohibitions, forcing them to demonstrate a rare doggedness in the face of insecurity and government harassment. Surely, Nigeria is a country with nine lives.
However, one of the greatest challenges to confront Nigeria is the emergence of the deadly Boko Haram, a terrorist group committed to annihilating every signpost of civilization. Sambisa Forest is their enclave, the whole Northern part of Nigeria is their stomping ground. The mere mention of Boko Haram instils dread into the hearts of the bravest soldiers, leaving their spirits disconsolate, their courage weakened. It is a name nobody wants to associate with.
According to the Global Terrorism Index, Boko Haram is classified as the second most deadly terrorist group in the world. The group has displaced more than 2.6 million people, killing over one hundred thousand people. In their acts of savagery, they have sodomized young boys, raped women, young girls, and even pregnant women. They have killed thousands of soldiers, turning many children into orphans, many young women into widows. Boko Haram is Nigeria’s worst news item. In many cases, they have buried people alive, beheaded people, videoed their dastardly acts, and through social media, circulated same across the world to drive home their blood-thirsty disposition. Although the Nigeria army has, on many occasions, assured Nigerians that Boko Haram has been defeated, yet the terrorist group continue to unleash mayhem on the country at will, still holding a good number of Chibok girls in captivity.
Recently, it was announced that the Federal Government of Nigeria has granted amnesty to repentant Boko Haram members. I watched on tv as the scoundrels were paraded and treated with respect like they were Nigeria’s Super Eagles after winning the world cup. It was also reported that they will be enrolled in the National Open University to pursue various degrees to earn a good life. There is nothing wrong for a government to grant amnesty to repentant rebels or those who have committed treason against the state.
But there is a dangerous precedent in the way amnesty is granted to devious, rebellious people, and it is for this reason that terrorism still holds sway in our country. If the government must grant amnesty to members of a group who have unsuccessfully tried to dislodge Nigeria’s territorial integrity, those who have tried in vain to vanquish the country, then the identity of such people must be widely publicized. They must go through the legal process, charged with the crime they committed. When the legal system finds them guilty and pronounces their punishment, then the government can exercise its power and grant them amnesty. It is wrong to grant Boko Haram members extra-judicial amnesty when they have not gone through the established penal structure.
The names of all the Boko Haram repentant members should be published immediately. Their states of origin, local government areas, and members of their families should also be made public. To grant amnesty to members of such a renowned deadly group without revealing their identity does not portend well for the security of our country. Amnesty is only possible when the Boko Haram group has been crushed and their members convicted of various crimes. For Boko Haram to continue to kill Nigerians while some of their members are already granted state pardon is inimical to Nigeria’s security circumstances.
Let us not compare Boko Haram to the Niger Delta militants. Such comparison will only dignify the terrorist sect and diminish the injustice which the militants fought for. The Niger Delta militants fought against the degradation and exploitation of their land by multinational oil companies while the same land is ravaged and underdeveloped.
They were fighting against the injustice of transmitting billions of dollars from their community to develop other parts of Nigeria while they wallow in squalor and poverty. In as much as I do not support militancy in any way, the actions of the militants cannot be compared to the actions of Boko Haram who have tried to take over the government of Nigeria, killing and maiming in the process. What is the difference between a coup plotter and a Boko Haram member?
How does it feel as soldiers to see people, who raped your wives, killed your children, killed your colleagues, and buried fellow citizens alive walk free? If these Boko Haram terrorists are pardoned with a slap on the wrists to sin no more, it will embolden those in the forest, fellow terrorists, to become more daring knowing full well that when they are caught, amnesty follows immediately.
While I do not quarrel with amnesty, I believe that its process should be revisited and overhauled. What is the rationale behind sending people to jail when they commit far less crimes like petty stealing motivated by the need for survival while those who have killed millions, committed acts of sabotage, and sacrilege against humanity are set free? Where is the place of crime and punishment, where is the place of actions and consequences? Or should we continue to imbibe the timorous salvo of timid consciences, ‘it is well’/ ‘God is in control’? Many times it is not well and God is not in control. The Almighty will never subvert the indelible ordinances in creation because we are Nigerians. Those who have committed crimes must face the consequences.
It is condemnable for a governor in the North to quickly proclaim that a repentant Boko Haram member can aspire to become the president of Nigeria. Such utterances betray a composite lack of tact and disrespect for families decimated by the deadly terrorist group. May I never be alive to witness a Nigeria where a Boko Haram member will be the occupant of Aso Rock. The federal government of Nigeria should revisit their amnesty procedure and plug all the loopholes.
The bitter truth is that millions of Nigerians are not happy with the government’s amnesty protocol. Unfortunately, there is no avenue to gauge public opinion in this administration partly because the subsisting power machinery does not consider it important to interface with the populace. While I am not against amnesty, I insist that its processes must be revisited. If this is not done, groups and persons will probably begin to agitate for amnesty for armed robbers, kidnappers, internet fraudsters, political thieves and economic plunderers because what is good for the goose is also good for the gander.
Dr. Promise Adiele writes from Lagos via [email protected]