Former Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Mr. Udah Azubuko, was instrumental in drafting the blueprint which the Federal Government adopted to grant amnesty to Niger Delta militants. In this chat with JULIANA FRANCIS, Azubuko tasks the Muhammadu Buhariled administration to offer amnesty to the Boko Haram insurgents. Excerpts:
What do you think the Buhari-led administration can do to better secure Nigeria?
For me, the insurgency is paramount. The Buhari-led administration should ensure that the insurgency is brought to a halt. It should be brought to an end like the Niger Delta militancy. The government can even go outside the box to ensure that Boko Haram is brought to an end, provided the measures ensure legitimacy.
I’ve heard people calling for amnesty. I feel that now the Boko Haram militants may want to show their faces and are ready to take up the amnesty. It’s very important. Once this new administration addresses this problem, then it can tackle other security problems.
The first thing any government needs to sort and solve is security. When there’s peace, there should be progress, development and security. If there are investors and development, we wouldn’t be having problems like power supply, corruption and fuel crisis.
You drafted the blueprint on amnesty for the Niger Delta militants, and now you’re calling for the same measure for Boko Haram. But the insurgents have killed thousands of people.How do you reconcile that?
I look at the whole thing from a very spiritual and divine way. There’s no sin that a human being would commit what God wouldn’t forgive, provided the person repents and was remorseful. The Niger Delta militants also committed a lot of havoc. They killed so many and kidnapped so many. They committed a lots of robberies.
They attacked banks, oil installations and hijacked ships. The Niger Delta militants almost brought this nation to its kneel. At a point, the country was producing about 2.5 million or more barrels of oil, but at the height of the Niger Delta insurgency, the country produced below 600 barrels per day.
Then as the AIG Zone 5, I started writing on the issue and drafted a blueprint. The blueprint was presented to President Umaru Yar’Adua and he accepted it. I wrote the blueprint through my Inspector General of Police. When it was implemented, everybody saw the numbers of arms and ammunition that were recovered. A colossal amount of money was committed to the programme.
Yar’Adua advised one of the Niger Delta militant leaders to make an application, if they were really ready for amnesty. The man did on behalf of the other leaders of the militants. It was then the president knew they were very serious. This is what should be done now.
Niger Delta was fighting for a legitimate cause. But nobody knows what Boko Haram is fighting for.
The Boko Haram people were asking for many things, including Sharia. But if they are now ready for amnesty, then these things have to be discussed because that was how the Niger Delta situation happened. By the time the militants accepted, people went round and there were town hall meetings all over Niger Delta.
An agreement was reached. The militants said that if what they were agitating for were met, they would surrender their arms. True, some of the things Boko Haram is agitating for may not be realisable, but at least some other things may be done. There is a lot of unemployment and once these Boko Haram members are rehabilitated and brought back into the mainstream of society and there’s good governance, what would they take up arms for? That’s how I’m looking at it.
Talking about arms; what do you suggest Buhari administration do to check arms across the borders?
Most arms whether in circulation or used by militants are not only brought in through the borders. There is a lot of proliferation of arms even internally. We have Defence Company. This is international phenomenal; I mean the proliferation of arms. The terrorists or insurgents have links.
Take the Boko Haram members for instance; they have links with al-Qaida and Al Shabab. The new administration cannot handle the proliferation of arms, if it does not use diplomatic means to bring the world body one way or another to make laws or conventions.
There are already a lot of conventions, but they need to be implemented and ensured that arms do not go into wrong hands. This is what is happening all over the world. The new government, while taking necessary precautionary measures to control the inflow of arms into the country, should team up with international bodies. This is only when it can be possible to control proliferation of arms. Nigeria can’t do it in an isolated way.
How can all the security agencies synergise and work with the new administration for better security that will attract investors to the country?
Investors are already coming into the country. In fact, the security agencies in the country are doing their best. They are working together. But I believe that each of the security agencies should be strengthened more by the incoming administration. We’re witnessing a large influx of foreign investors.
They are building factories everywhere and manufacturing things. You find a lot of Chinese and Korean investors everywhere. The real issue is to ensure there is good governance. The corruption bedevilling the country should be curbed. If corruption is curtailed, the money the country is making can then be used for the good of the majority of the people and not for a few people that are cornering the commonwealth of Nigeria.
Do you think there’s a way the Nigerian government can fight corruption, which it hadn’t tried before?
The problem is that the agencies fighting corruption are still politically-controlled. They can see and know people liable, but may be ordered to overlook such people by those at the political helm of affairs. Something has to be done in such a way that the anti-graft agencies can be independent. It should be done in such a way that if the law enforcement finds anybody liable, including the president of the country, the person should be arrested. I however know that it will take time for us to get to that stage. It can be done. Countries are even now sending their first ladies to prison.
That’s what I’m saying. But our agencies here have not reached the stage where they can stand firm and do their jobs without interference and hindrances. The law enforcement agents may get fired without notice by those that have the power to do that.
If, for example, the Inspector General of Police cannot be fired anyhow, then it would help. Again, the problem is that those at the helm of affairs like the police, military, navy and other agencies, should be above board. If they are not above board, how can they control corruption? The new administration should look for people who are above board and anybody found doing something funny should be flushed out.
What do you think was the outgone administration’s greatest security achievement?
The administration succeeded in dismantling the Boko Haram militants, although people are still focusing on the yet to be rescued Chibok girls. The Boko Haram militants are now carrying out guerrilla warfare. They fight, hit somewhere and run away.
Boko Haram was the greatest challenge security wise. The others like kidnappings and armed robberies were contained. The military had however tried despite the fact that the Chibok girls are yet to be rescued. I know however that they would soon rescue the Chibok girls. I know that the military will not relent in making sure they rescue the Chibok girls. It’s a task that has to be done.
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