Of recent, as a result of the deadly activities of bandit and kidnappers in parts of the country, some state governments, especially in the North, have sought amity with the supposed criminals and are paying them handsomely to get them to drop their weapons. STEPHEN GBADAMOSI looks at the development and interrogates what gains or losses might come from it.
ABOUT the middle of 2009, the then president of Nigeria, the late Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua, began a programme of amnesty for restive youths in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Then, the youth in the Niger Delta, operasting in different groups were fighting for the control of the crude oil found in their space, but which has been the main source of wealth for all parts of Nigeria since the dismantling of regional system in the country.
A chain of events had led the country to that spot. For decades, stakeholders in the region complained of neglect, inability to access advantages naturally provided by their communities’ ecosystem, owing to activities of oil exploration. Yet, despite successive governments reaping billions of naira from the oil in the region, only 13 per cent derivative, which they got after years of agitation, was paid to their governments. Even with that, a majority of Niger Deltans still live in abject poverty, even as they saw opulence in the streets of other states that were not contributing to the oil revenue. These and many others had been the argument of the militants at the time.
Over the period of about 20 months after the Yar’Adua-led government came on board, sabotage, oil theft, kidnapping were some the activities of the militants that nearly crippled the nation’s economy. It was reported that about one-third of the nation’s oil production was cut off as a result of their activities.
Yar’Adua-led government, however, did not just announce the amnesty programme. It first, in May 2009, launched a military offensive, both on the sea and in the air, against the militants in different camps in the creeks of the six main oil rich states. It was after this that the president announced the release of leader of one of the militant groups, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), Mr Henry Okah, and announced the amnesty deal.
Okah and other leaders of the ‘struggle,’ like Ebikabowei Victor, aka Boyloaf, keyed into the deal, but not without making a statement underlining their engagement of the Nigerian nation in strife.
In an official reaction to the deal, MEND had told Nigerians that “when we choose to disarm, it will be done freely, knowing that the reason for our uprising, which is the emancipation of the Niger Delta from neglect and injustice, has been achieved.” Thus, the purpose of the enmity of the groups with the rest of the nation appeared not to have been lost on any one. Besides, it was learnt that some of the Niger Delta militants used the proceeds of their exploits to provide facilities that governments failed to provide for their communities.
Why Sowore is still in our custody ― DSS Spokesperson
Indeed, in declaring the amnesty, the late Yar’Adua had said explicitly that: “Pursuant to Section I75 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria… the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria acknowledges that the challenges of the Niger Delta arose mainly from the inadequacies of previous attempts at meeting the yearnings and aspiration of the people, and has set in motion machinery for the sustainable development of the Niger Delta States.”
It is in the light of this Niger Delta experience and what is being witnessed over the activities of armed bandits and the “new-found love between the criminals and some state governors,” as a political analyst put it, that some people have become agitated.
Side-by-side with the problem of Boko Haram, came the security challenge of Fulani herdsmen which skyrocketed shortly after President Muhammadu Buhari assumed the mantle of leadership in 2015.
Many Nigerians agreed that the Boko Haram case had been with the nation long before the advent of the Buhari-administration, even beyond the tenure of his predecessor, Dr Goodluck Jonathan. Indeed, many have said that the Boko Haram menace had been receiving attention such that the intensity of its attacks was no longer widespread as it used to be. The argument is that while the Boko Haram is an offshoot of the ubiquitous global terrorism, an issue that has more to do with religious fanaticism and fundamentalism, the other group killings by herdsmen and bandits were literally armed robberies, cattle rustling, and retaliation for the refusal by the affected communities to granted them (herdsmen) passage and allow their cattle to pasture.
The issue of parleying with killer bandits actually started with the governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasiru el-Rufai. It was reported that Governor el-Rufai admitted to identifying, linking and compensating killers of Southern Kaduna people in the neighboring countries of Niger, Cameroon, Chad, Mali and Senegal.
A newspaper report had stated that el-Rufai said: “We took certain steps. We got a group of people that were going round trying to trace some of these people in Cameroon, Niger Republic, and so on, to tell them that there is a new governor who is Fulani like them and has no problem paying compensation for lives lost and he is begging them to stop killing.
“In most of the communities, once that appeal was made to them, they said they have forgiven. There are one or two that asked for monetary compensation. They said they had forgiven the death of human beings, but want compensation for cattle. We said no problem, and we paid some…”
The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) has described the decision by some governors in Northern Nigeria to negotiate with bandits as a welcome development, but said it was an insult to use Niger Delta amnesty programme for agitators as a reference point to pacify criminals.
It’s an insult to use Niger Delta amnesty as a reference point to pacify criminals —IYC
But Nigerians are not looking at the development with what should be handled with levity. For instance, the National President of Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) worldwide, Pereotubo Oweilaemi, in an interview with Sunday Tribune stated that such deal with armed bandits in the North ought to be done with genuineness of purpose, so that it would not end like the case of some Boko Haram detainees who were released by the Federal Government in exchange for the kidnapped Chibok girls who later went back to the trenches to terrorise the country.
“Ordinarily, I would not have subscribed to the idea of negotiating with criminals, but this security of a thing has a multidimensional approach. There is what we called carrot and stick approach. I think that was what the Governor of Kaduna State was trying to do. The point is that, el-Rufai missed the target, as he only sponsored the said herdsmen to perpetrate evil against Southern Kaduna people.
“It would not have been a wrong idea if the governor had done that with genuine commitment to achieving all round peace. So many states, including Delta State, have also used that approach and it worked for them.
“Those Northern governors who want to use the carrot and stick approach to address insecurities in their states are free to do so. They’re also free to grant the bandits amnesty, if that will address the problem of insecurity in the region.
“In doing so, governors need to be circumspect in order not to take wrong steps. We heard the Federal Government also negotiated with some Boko Haram sects for the release of the kidnapped Chibok girls. The government struck a deal to swap the Boko Haram members in detention in exchange for the kidnapped girls. Unfortunately most of those prisoners, after being released, as part of the government’s bargain, later joined their colleagues again to wage jihad against Nigerians.
“Northern governors should look at their intentions and the reason why the bandits are terrorising the country. Of course, through dialogue, we can also achieve peace. That, to me, is not cowardice.
“The governors of the various states in the North affected by bandits’ activities can negotiate with the boys. After all, Southern states also employed that method to dialogue with cult boys, especially in Rivers State. What I will disagree with the governors is the notion that the bandits should be granted amnesty because Niger Delta youths were given amnesty to abandon the oil crisis. It’s preposterous to compare the crisis in the Niger Delta with the banditry in the North.
“The former were fighting for a justified cause which is the criminal neglect of the region. Did the bandits have any clear objective in waging war against Nigerians? It is an insult for anyone to use Niger Delta amnesty as a reference point to pacify criminals.
“Niger Delta youths were not fighting to get amnesty. Amnesty was even forced on us. Our target is to control our resources. The offer of amnesty is just a cosmetic approach to the crisis that will not last long. I have said this before. Some Boko Haram detainees released by the government in exchange for the kidnapped Chibok girls later went back to the trenches. If there is genuine commitment on both sides, then I support the governors’ move,” he noted.
The Ijaw youth leader also highlighted the danger in tribalising the security of the nation.
“Any nation in the world that tribalises security is doomed for life. I’m seeing a situation of total collapse of our national security structure. If it is true that el-Rufai gave killers money to stop killing Christians in Southern Kaduna, then, he should be held responsible for the massive death records.
“It’s a total abomination for a serving governor to utter such a word from his mouth that what happened in the Niger Delta should also be replicated in the war-ravaged Northern region.
“It has come to a stage where criminality is celebrated and adopted as a sign of counterpart challenge. It’s a shame that our country is on the verge of major security breakdown and if care and proactive measure are not taken, I doubt the way forward of this country.
“Do you know it is due to insecurity that Chevron recently announced it was currently divesting its onshore and near offshore oil facilities and operations in Nigeria?
“Mark my words, with the adoption of the amnesty programme that most state governors from the North are agitating for, we are close to borderline of disintegration,” he added.
— Additional reports by EBENEZER ADUROKIYA.