Founder of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), Dr.
Frederick Fasehun, has warned the federal government to avoid going to Saudia
Arabia for the Boko Haram peace talk
negotiation, describing the move as an affair fraught with danger.
This was even as he vehemently kicked against the choice
of General Muhammud Buhari by the Boko Haram as the peace negotiator, insisting
that the former military president of Nigeria, is in love with the Islamic sect
too much to be able to an unbiased
arbiter of peace.
Speaking with journalists at Okota, Lagos State
yesterday, Fasehun stressed that peace could only be achieved, “When we have
bilateral talks and bilateral concessions. Nigeria should not give up its stand
at its expenses to capitulate. Nobody negotiates peace on the terms of the
opponents. OPC will not support any gesture that will make Nigeria government
to appear like an underdog!”
He argued that rather than go to Saudi Arabia, which
is headquarters for the international terrorists’ organizations; Al-Qaeda and
the Taliban, with whom Boko Haram has
links, the peace talk venue should rather be at Geneva or Nigeria.
Stating that between 3000 and 10,000 people had been
killed by Boko Haram since its formation
in 2001, in targeted assassinations, arbitrary shootings and calculated
bombings, Fasehun added that government should be wary of the pre-conditions
spelt out by the sect for dialogue. He urged government not to give in to the
conditions.
His words: “We cannot but note that the precondition
spelt out by Boko Haram for dialogue
have the potential of becoming a stumbling block to the positive outcome of the
proposed talks and to peace in the north. The conditions spelt out by the group
include; release of apprehended Boko
Haram members undergoing detention and facing trials. Compensation for
slain Boko Haram members. Rebuilding
of demolished Boko Haram mosques in Maiduguri,
Kano and Yobe States.
“These are ill-advised conditions. Boko Haram itself must realize that government’s
priority will be the reintegration of Boko
Haram members into the large society, not allow their continued existence
as a separatist group within Nigeria. And this is valid. Although the group can lay claim to
freedom of association, that particular right has a caveat in the constitution.
What the constitution guarantees in Section 40, is ‘Right to peaceful assembly
and association.” Has Boko Haram
associated peacefully?
“Should government succumb to these demands for
compensation by Boko Haram, it will
lay a dangerous precedent and wrongly signal that the way to get a slice of the
National Cake is through taking up arms against the country. It can encourage
other groups to start agitating. Boko Haram must drop any demands for
compensation and the federal government must resist all attempts to monetize any
aspect of Boko Haram’s grievances. Or
we Democrats will demand government compensation for Chief MKO Abiola, Alhaja
Kudirat, Chief Alfred Rewane and other activists killed by agents of the state
in the struggle for June 12.
“Since the conflict started, Christians as well as
Moslem have been killed by Boko Haram,
just as northerners and southerners. The question is; how much compensation
will Boko Haram pay for bombing and
shooting people at such places as the Catholic Church, Hamdalla, Niger State
and the Deeper Life Church in Okene, Kogi State and for the murder of Goni Sheriff, the brother of the former Borno
State Governor? Who pays compensation for the NYSC members killed in Bauchi,
Yobe and Borno States and other parts of the north? Who pays compensation to
the families of the media men killed by Boko Haram? Will Boko Haram pay
compensation for the Italian and British journalists who were kidnapped this
year by the group and immediately executed when an international rescue
operation was attempted?”
Stating OPC’s roadmap for dialogue between Boko Haram and federal government,
Fasehun suggested that the sect should immediately cease fire. They should
expunge Buhari from its list of delegate, except he confirms that he is a
member of the sect. Government must discuss only with known leaders of the
sect.
He further stressed that the negotiation should be
opened to other ethnic interests; Christians, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Afenifere,
Middle Belt Forum, Egbesu, MEND and other nationality groups, whose indigenes
had been wantonly slaughtered by Boko
Haram.
“Unbiased professional bodies like the Nigerian Bar
Association, National Union of Journalists, can be appointed as mediators,”
said Fasehun. “Any dialogue between government and Boko Haram, should be hold within Nigeria. What is good for the
goose must be good for the gander, so the federal government should consider
amnesty for Henry Okah if it must offer such to Boko Haram terrorists. Government must guarantee the safety of Boko
Haram’s representatives, instead of viewing it as an opportunity for security
agents to tail, hound and arrest sect leaders!”
No comments:
Post a Comment