THAT the present administration also chooses to keep open all options on the thorny issue of Boko Haram, especially relating to the release of the over 200 abducted Chibok girls, while pursuing the military offensive, is commendable.
However, in the course of negotiation with the group, the government must ensure it bargains only from a position of strength. Whichever position or approach is adopted, the ultimate would be the release of the traumatised schoolgirls and a re-union with their parents. It is bad enough that the girls are still in captivity after 500 days.
President Muhammadu Buhari captured aptly at a forum with Nigerians in the Diaspora in France, the plight of the girls’ parents and the pain of their abduction in the heart of all Nigerians when he said some of the girls’ parents have died in pain and that «a lot of the parents who have died would have preferred to see the graves of their daughters instead of the conditions they imagined they were in.»
Days before his encounter with Nigerians in France, a grim reality was also brought home by the president on a foreign radio programme when he reaffirmed the reports that the girls had been dispersed while some of them have been married off against their faith and wish. The plight of the girls is certainly a gash on Nigeria’s soul but at least hope is rising that many of them are still alive.
In achieving the set goals of freeing the girls and liberating the nation’s territory, therefore, President Buhari should further strengthen the military’s hands to effectively tackle the insurgents towards surrender or eventual submission to negotiation. The president’s directive to the military to achieve this in three months by year-end is demonstrative of his determination to put an end to insecurity in Nigeria. The Boko Haram’s threat to Nigeria corporate existence has been overwhelming but government should not lose sight of the terror constituted by other criminal elements in the country including, but not limited to kidnappers, cattle rustlers and armed robbers.
So far, Buhari has shown signs he is on top of the game, although it is not yet total liberation and Nigerians cannot wait to witness a more peaceful atmosphere in towns and villages across the country.
President Buhari had confirmed during that trip that the government was in talks with the leadership of the dreaded group, a decision he said was expedient in view of the need to secure the release of the girls, more so as the issue had attracted global attention and sympathy, significant enough to force negotiations. It is hoped that the Federal Government has been able to gather adequate intelligence on the sect’s true leaders considering the mess that the Goodluck Jonathan administration made of a similar attempt as it struggled unsuccessfully for a breakthrough.
It is comforting that the president admitted potential pitfalls and made clear his determination not to make strategic mistakes of meeting with the wrong set of people, saying his government has to first establish genuine members of the group. More comforting even is the president’s revelation that his government had rejected the sect’s demand for the release of one of its leaders recognised as the brain behind the improvised explosive devices (IEDs) being unleashed on innocent citizens at soft targets almost on a daily basis.
Again, the insistence on the sect’s presentation of the girls before full negotiations is a step in the right direction. On the cards too is a provision by the government of amnesty for remorseful members who could be «absorbed into the community.» Potentially, that can facilitate their complete reorientation through a carefully designed programme of integration.
Regrettably, the sect has continued to strike at soft targets through its suicide bombers. Scores of lives are being lost unnecessarily. The country, therefore, desires an end to the menace, and this is not impossible given the right approaches. Intelligence agencies will do well to stop the emerging international dimensions to the crises whereby some of the extremists are declaring allegiance to the more deadly Islamic State (ISIS) group.
In the collective interest of Nigeria, the locals in the mostly affected northeast can also help the government win this unconventional war by identifying suspected suicide bombers early enough and reporting to security agencies or community leaders before the execution of their dastardly acts. All citizens must work to save themselves and the country from this terror.