Following the setting up of a committee to fashion out amnesty for members of the Islamist sect, Boko Haram, by President Goodluck Jonathan last week, Nigerians are sharply divided over the planned move.
Some Nigerians and groups have continued to voice their opposition to the federal government’s new position on amnesty.
Leading the charge against the move to declare amnesty to members of the group that has sustained terrorist acts in the North against government, citizens and institutions, the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, has expressed regrets over President Jonathan’s turn-around on no amnesty for Boko Haram members and other insurgents.
The General Secretary of the CAN, Rev. Musa Asake, in a telephone interview said it was unfortunate that the president had to buckle under pressure from some segments of the country, stating that the modalities for amnesty should be wide ranging to include those clamouring for amnesty leading the dialogue in fishing out those behind the several violent acts in the country.
“Our position has been very clear. We don’t support amnesty for Boko Haram. You don’t give amnesty to people you don’t know. If those people who are calling for the amnesty know these people called Boko Haram, and they are seeking peace, let them come out and tell us why they are killing people; their targets are Christians and they have been going after Christians and they have been saying it without mincing words.
“They have been saying that the Nigerian Constitution should be removed from the North and be replaced with the Sharia, if not, the violence will go on. For somebody to come out and say there should be amnesty for people like that, without considering the people that have been made widows and orphans, without considering the places of worship and schools that have been burnt down, is insensitive.
“In calling for amnesty, they never mentioned those widows, those orphans; they never mentioned the grave injustice that has been done to Christians. This leaves me with a very big question mark. What is the motive behind the call? There was a time that some Muslims denied that Boko Haram members were Muslims. But none of the Muslims is ready to support our position,” Asake said.
According to him, now that the federal government is mulling the amnesty option, the window of opportunity for surrendering of arms should be not be more than a month as he argued that anyone who genuinely wants to surrender does not need a long period to do so.
In a similar vein, the pan-Yoruba group, Afenifere, described the amnesty plan as unfortunate and surrender to brigandage and madness.
The Yoruba group in a statement observed that the federal government should have used intelligence to identify the perpetrators and deal with them severally.
“Our position in Afenifere is that the Boko Haram members are evil. They should be identified and severely dealt with according to the laws of the land.”
The leader of the Afenifere, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, described the amnesty option as “outrageous and highly unfortunate,” adding that “it is an express approval for the mass killings, devastation and destructive activities of the dreaded sect over the years.
“I cannot imagine why amnesty should be given to a sect whose activities had rendered many homeless and left thousands of children as orphans.
In the same vein, a former President-General of Igbo pan-cultural group, Ohaneze Ndigbo, Dr. Dozie Ikedife, said it was premature granting amnesty to members of the Boko Haram sect when its leaders and backers were yet to be identified.
“There is a need to stop the senseless killings. But what type of amnesty are you talking about? They have not been seen and there is the need to understand what their grievances are, then they can say grant them amnesty or not,” he said.
Also in opposition is the Christian Association of Nigerian- Americans, CANAN, who on Friday faulted the federal government’s plan to grant amnesty to Boko Haram.
According to the CANAN, their position on the issue has been forwarded to President Goodluck Jonathan in a three-page letter dated April 5th 2013.
The Executive Director of CANAN, Laolu Akande, in a statement in New York and made available to The Abuja Inquirer, argued that besides amnesty, there were other options.
“We are not out rightly against a political solution, it should go side by side with the enforcement of law and order which is government’s primary assignment anywhere,’’ he said.
Akande said that the idea of dialogue with Boko Haram is questionable since the leaders of the sect have rejected the idea of negotiations and the amnesty itself in the past and have “even killed certain leaders who have been perceived to be leading the charge for a political solution.
However, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and mainly politicians from the North have hailed the move as timely and the right decision by the president.
The PDP said constituting an amnesty committee is ‘another demonstration’ of President Jonathan’s sincerity and forthrightness in handling national issues.
“We believe the initiative of the President in setting up the Amnesty Committee is the best decision at the moment and we are optimistic that this drive will yield the desired results in the general good and restore the unity of our nation,” the National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh said in a statement.
Governors Ibrahim Shema of Katsina State, and Sule Lamido of Jigawa, who spoke in Abuja described the president’s decision as good for the country.
Shema said: “My advice is that there is no nation that can progress without peace and stability. We need peace and all hands must be on deck. Those who are aggrieved for one reason or the other should come forward and be able to resolve this crisis, such that our nation and our people can progress and develop rapidly.
“I believe if a security committee is set up in good faith, it is for the good of Nigeria and for the resolution to the crisis that has bedevilled most part of northern Nigeria on the issue of insecurity.”
On his part, Lamido said: “Wisdom has prevailed. It’s all about what do we do to secure our country. Especially when Nigeria becomes very secure, we will be able to confront the problems of national development.
“This country needs our energy, it needs our skills and a number of things are begging for our attention. Therefore, whatever it is that will be able to get Nigeria united, to make it very secure, we should do it.”
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