by Godson Ogheneochuko

Despite all this, we must learn to forgive those who have hurt us and our loved ones. If we continue on the path of revenge, we will all be victims one way or the other. 

Nigerians have an unusual obsession with certain words and phrases – some of which are coined or trumpeted by groups or individuals for specific purposes. Some of these words become so intertwined with the discussion that it becomes a barrier to proper understanding of the situation that the word was originally used to describe. I think that the most frequently used word in Nigeria’s political circles is ‘marginalisation’.  Other words that have gained prominence over the years include ‘power shift’, ‘consensus’, ‘zoning’ and ‘amnesty’. Amnesty is the subject of my interest today.

It may be that the title of this piece appears to trivialise the issue – afterall the title suggests that amnesty is like Nigeria’s presidency that many insist should be occupied on the basis of a zoning formula. So, if zoning were to be practised, it is arguable (even if just for laughs) that it is the turn of Boko Haram to enjoy amnesty since MEND and their offshoots in the south of Nigeria are current beneficiaries of the amnesty programme.  On a serious note though, I am in support of amnesty for Boko Haram and I believe that I do so for the right reasons.  As difficult a subject as this is, and the penchant for many people to hurl insults instead of proferring useful, constructive reasons why one’s position is not correct or should not be the case, I think it amounts to a diservice if people from different sides of the divide do not add their voices to the debate.  To be agreed with is a different matter entirely.

I believe that willing members of the Boko Haram sect should enjoy amnesty because of a number of reasons.  Firstly, while the military option is yielding good results, it has not stopped members of the sect from carrying out more attacks – some daring and high profile and some others, remote. A number of the attacks even go unreported. It has to be acknowledged that some wars cannot be fought and won by military occupation alone and battle tacticians emphasise that the military is not best suited for ‘wars’ that happen within a civilian population. The guerilla tactics employed by the sect make them seemingly invicible. The biggest losers have so far, been the innocent people who bear the brunt of the attacks by the sect and pre-emptive or retaliatory security actions by the military and other law enforcement agents. It is time to include dialogue as a means of winning this war.

Secondly, extending amnesty to Boko Haram sect could result in defections from the sect by the repentant members who possibly continue their nefarious activities for fear of prosecution by government. If given the option to lay down arms to secure rehabilitation, there is a good chance that members of the sect will accept the offer.  The repentant members can, in turn, provide useful information to combat the remaining Boko Haram members. I suspect that this is why the leadership of Boko Haram quickly rejected the amnesty offer.  The amnesty offer remains the best chance to pull the rug from under the feet of the top commanders of the sect. If the foot soldiers accept the amnesty offer, the effectiveness of the sect would have been compromised. The Federal Government should not be deterred by the rejection – I recall that some commanders of MEND also rejected the amnesty offer when it was proposed by late President Yar’Adua but it turned out to be a success in terms of peace and security in the Niger Delta.

The third reason for my support for the amnesty offer is the inability of government to prosecute the initial sponsors of the Boko Haram sect and those that conspired to kill the leader(s) of the sect. Even though it is acknowledged that the killing of Mohammed Yusuf, then leader of the sect in 2009, was extra-judicial and unlawful, no one has been held accountable for the unfortunate action. Instead, accusations and counter-accusations were exchanged by the Police and army. Despite the claimed involvement of the then leadership of Borno State, no proper action was taken. The manner of his killing remains a legitimate question/concern for many and a genuine cause for aggrievement by the Boko Haram sect.  Prosecuting those behind the killing of their leader should go a long way to prove government sincerity.  On this subject, I recall that Olusegun Adeniyi in his book “Power, Politics and Death” mentioned that there seemed to be a conspiracy of silence regarding Mr. Yusuf’s death even in the corridors of the Presidency under the late President Yar’Adua.

Evidently, lives have been lost on both sides of the divide. Innocent people have been slaughtered by members of the sect without any sense of remorse or understanding of the pain and horror, law enforcement agents live on the edge and government sometimes seems to run out of ideas other than to say that the wave of violence will come to pass.  Despite all this, we must learn to forgive those who have hurt us and our loved ones. If we continue on the path of revenge, we will all be victims one way or the other.  The situation cannot be allowed to degenerate to a situation where a northerner is viewed with distrust.  Till date, I believe that the most sincere and humble people are of the northern extraction.  They keep their word. We must forgive as we ask our God for forgiveness.  This cycle of hate has to end.  Our strength does not come from an expression of hate or an insistence that the wrongdoer must be put to the sword.  Let us, by forgiving, show our strength and superiority.  Mahatma Gandhi, in ‘All Men are Brothers: Autobiographical Reflections’ said “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”  The question for everyone that seeks retaliation in the form of continued military attacks without amnesty is – do you want to remain weak and subdued by anger or show strength by forgiveness?

Having said the foregoing, there are no guarantees that the amnesty offer will work the way it did in the Niger Delta or even work at all.  In fact, while I hope that it works, I also pray that it does not become a means for some people to defraud the country even further. While claims of shady/less-than-transparent deals in connection with the payments to former militants have been made, there has not, to the best of my knowledge, been any investigation or prosecution in this regard.  The nature of payments to these former militants is also kept secret. As we know, accountability in the Nigerian government is sadly more of a mirage than reality.

In the event that amnesty is eventually formally offered to members of the Boko Haram sect, I would recommend that it is based on actual consultation with eminent elders and religious leaders in the relevant states and on negotiations with members of the sect.  No one can claim to understand the methods of the various Boko Haram splinter cells that have been formed or their motives most of the time.  This is also not the time for incendiary language from members of the government or exchange of words by the ruling government and opposition. Our military should also be supported to tighten the noose on members of the sect, so that the offer of amnesty amounts to a ‘carrot and stick’ approach of dealing with the insurgency. If this does not work, what will?

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Godson is a legal practitioner and tweets as @senor_godson

 

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.