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| Unongo |
Northern leaders have accused the Federal
Government of being insincere and unwilling to negotiate with the Boko Haram
sect.
They cited President Goodluck Jonathan’s denial
of dialoguing with the sect during the Presidential Media Chat last Sunday and
the offer of cash rewards for information leading to the capture of 20 leaders
of the group on Friday, as their reasons.
The spokesman of the Northerner Elders’ Forum,
Dr. Paul Unongo, said the bounty placed on the leaders of Boko Haram, was an
indication that the Federal Government has suspended the plans to negotiate
with the sect.
He also said the President could not say leaders
of the group were still faceless.
According to him, it was the responsibility of
the Federal Government to kick-start the negotiation with the sect in the
interest of Nigerians.
He said, “If by facelessness, Jonathan means that
there are different versions of Boko Haram, then it is understandable. Security
agencies have been arresting people they say are leaders of the sect. So, there
must be something not quite correct here.
“When we (NEF) met the President, we suggested
the carrot-and-stick approach to him and he accepted it. However, what is
reprehensible is the excessive application of the stick. What Nigerians want to
see is the end of the violence and loss of innocent lives.
“If Jonathan applies himself to it, he would
identify people he can talk to and they would relate his message to Boko Haram.
He has to create the atmosphere for that negotiation to happen.”
Unongo added that when the Federal Government
could not handle the violent activities of the Niger Delta militants, it
negotiated with them.
He said, “The militants were rehabilitated and
compensated with huge sums of money; some of them were given big contracts. If
it was possible for the militants in the Niger Delta, which is Jonathan’s part
of the country, why would it not be possible for Boko Haram in the North?”
On the cash reward placed on the leaders of the
sect, Unongo said, “On the surface, placing a bounty on the heads of the
leaders of Boko Haram shows that the FG has dropped negotiation.”
Similarly, Secretary of the Borno State Elders’
Forum, Dr. Bulama Gubio, said by giving excuses for the inability of the
Federal Government to initiate the negotiation, Jonathan had shown poor
commitment to resolving the crisis.
He said, “Since the President has said there is
no negotiation going on between the Federal Government and Boko Haram, what
else can we say? All we can do is to continue to appeal to both sides to
negotiate in the interest of the people.
“Our people are dying every day and our economy
is paralysed. Borno State is still part of Nigeria, so the Federal Government
should swallow its pride and go the extra mile to make sure the negotiation
works. I don’t think Federal Government can solve the problem without
negotiation.”
In addition, the Convener of the Concerned
Northern Professionals, Politicians, Academics and Businessmen, Dr. Junaid
Mohammed, said it would amount to double standards if Jonathan’s administration
shies away from negotiating with Boko Haram, the way the late President Umaru
Yar’dua did with Niger Delta militants.
“The Federal Government has been spending about
N1bn every year on security; that amounts to about 20 per cent of the total
budget going to the armed forces. So, they have made a lot of money and would
not be interested in seeing the end of the violence,” he claimed.
However, the spokesman of the Arewa Consultative
Forum, Anthony Sani, said offering cash rewards for the capture of the leaders
of the sect does not stop the Federal Government from going ahead with the
negotiation.
He said, “There is nothing new about placing a
cash reward on Boko Haram members. A cash reward was promised for Osama bin
Laden’s head. I don’t think the action and negotiation are mutually exclusive.
Even the United States suggested the carrot-and-stick method. So, it doesn’t
mean that the Federal Government cannot still negotiate.”
The Punch
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