Amnesty for repentant B/Haram members

In Nigeria, we know that Boko Haram terrorism was a creation of a few people sometime in 2009 in the North-East region of the country. But overtime, it developed into a true monster, a nightmare and a sour grape with unimaginable tentacles.

I wept endlessly the day military authorities authentically established the existence of Boko Haram child-soldiers and teenage female bomb carriers they hypnotized into committing these satanic acts at designated destinations.

But the Almighty God in His infinite mercies has through the Nigerian military shown us a today, which is far better than the yesterday’s years of turmoil under Boko Haram terrorism. If we believe in the existence of God Almighty and listen to our inner voice of conscience, we shall hear the truth and truly empathize with some Boko Haram insurgents.

I believe other Nigerians also know that at the turn of 2015, Boko Haram foot soldiers were in multitudes. And the recruitment of innocent Nigerians into this devilish sect was also done diabolically and frequently. Some were charmed; while others were forcefully captured and indoctrinated into the ideology of the sect much against their wish. They were threatened with death and all manner of intimidations into submission.

And I do understand that winning such war completely is beyond the force of guns and booths. The stick and carrot approach is also a veritable instrument in resolving such conflicts in most parts of the world. We must understand that artillery exchange of gunfire alone do not terminate wars, but dialogues on the dialogue table, with concessions on either side, assist tremendously in facilitating the process of peace.

Therefore, I was taken aback, when loud murmurings greeted hints by Nigeria’s Minister of Information, Culture and National Orientation, Alhaji Lai Mohammed that the federal government is tinkering with the possibility of granting amnesty to repentant Boko Haram insurgents. I read the deluxe of opposition to the idea, but found nothing or a point strong enough to cancel the idea of amnesty to repentant insurgents. But they were handsomely replete with baseless sentiments of either religion or ethnicity.

I was almost weighed down. Analysts, commentators, mob attackers and critics left the core of the issues and dwelt on trivialities. We forgot easily that the orthodox religion we practice in Nigeria, whether Christianity or Islam all preach forgiveness of those who offend us. Not just that but also as a way of making our victory total.

I am amazed at how every Nigerian places himself a professional or expert to advise government on every national issue. So, we were the least to remember that the guilt of some Boko Haram members is through vicarious liability by demonic indoctrination.

Some of them who regained consciousness have willingly surrendered themselves to the Nigerian military. Yet others are still held by the goons of terrorism because they are skeptical about the fate that awaits them should they surrender. Invariably those who left this angle out got it completely wrong.

But we all know the severity of the Boko Haram scourge before now and the efforts at quelling it at the moment. For instance, Boko Haram attempted to take over Giwa Barracks in Borno State, but succeeded in taking over the Police College Gwoza and palaces of some Emirs in the North. They deposed these Emirs, appointed new Emirs and foisted their emblems in every territory they captured. Nearly 23 LGAs in the Northeast were under the control of BHT at the turn of 2015.

And apart from Borno or the Northeast, we are all living witnesses to hellish experiences of Nigerians with terrorists in Abuja. But by 2016 all these vanished.

The kidnap of the Chibok schoolgirls at that time was to crown the supremacy of Boko Haram over the Nigerian state. And our reactions only worsened the matter by demonstrating and trumpeting to the whole world our status as a failed state.

What we cannot take away from the current efforts in our appraisal of the anti-terrorism war is that the insurgents have been decimated and defeated through the efforts of our military. No matter the pretenses, we cannot dodge this reality with the empirical evidence around us.

Unfortunately, some of us believe more in the conspiracy theories. So, we are not prodded to first appreciate why it was convenient for Boko Haram to keep more Chibok girls for years, despite all the international and local pressures on them to return them, but why insurgents had to release the Dapchi girls almost immediately.

That’s the fruits or potency of dialogue and forgiveness in war situations. It has extinguished the fire of vengeance and established the first test case of insurgents’ trust that the government can be gentlemanly enough to honour its promise of pardon to all repentant insurgents if those still hiding decide to lay down their arms. And more would lay down their arms.

It therefore gladdens my heart to hear about plans by the Federal Government to offer an exit program to members of the insurgent group who are ready to lay down their arms. This should be seen more as a testament to our collective humanity as a people and the efforts of the Nigerian government to humble these evil men to a point where they have abandoned their ideology. . Already, many of the Boko Haram commanders have surrendered and many more are still willing to surrender. But they want to be assured of the sincerity and commitment to this promise by government.

In essence, the planned exit program or soft-landing proposed by stakeholders is important to safeguard the lives of all innocent Nigerians or families dragged into the sect outside the main ideology which its core promoters had proclaimed. It’s permissible and practicable in any jurisdiction around the world and has worked perfectly well.

Nigerians have seen this worked in the instance of the Niger Delta militancy. It is now the prime responsibility of the international partners and civil society organizations to work conscientiously to ensure all parties keep to their bargain for disarmament through the amnesty. This shall quicken the death of terrorism and return permanent peace to our devastated and ravaged communities.

Agbese wrote this Middlesex University Kingdom piece from the London, United