Northern leaders, yesterday, frowned at what they described as a desperate attempt by President Goodluck Jonathan and his administration to blame the rising wave of insecurity in the north on the leaders.
The grouse of the northern leaders was that whereas the President had earlier claimed that he could not offer amnesty to Boko Haram members as they were ghosts, he went ahead to call on Northern elders to enjoin Boko Haram to stop bombings in the country.The leaders vowed to resist any attempt by the Presidency to use the Boko Haram onslaught to blackmail them instead of taking proactive measures to nib the insurgence in the bud.
A member of the Northern Elders Forum, Dr. Junaid Mohammed and National President of the Arewa Consultative Forum, Alhaji Yerima Shettima, who spoke separately to Vanguard described the action of the government as a deliberate attempt to blackmail and provoke the north.
It will be recalled that during a visit to Borno State last month, Jonathan had rejected calls for amnesty to Boko Haram members, saying that he could not be dealing with those he described as ‘’ghosts”.
Last week, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Doyin Okupe, issued a statement, calling on the Northern elders to prevail on the sect to down tools and accept dialogue as the Niger Delta militants did before the late Yar ‘Ádua offered them pardon.
Okupe said: “There is no need for over-politicization of the demand for amnesty, or to blackmail the President for taking strong, patriotic views that are contrary to those of some of our respected elders.
“The true expectation is that our respected leaders will go back to the drawing board and increase consultation and networking with the aim of reaching out to the leadership of the insurgents and convincing them to do the needful and step out to be counted.”
Mohammed, a second Republic politician and leader of the ACF vilified the President for refusing to grant amnesty to the sect members, saying that what was good for one part of the country was also good for the other.
Mohammed noted that the President had failed to use his position as the President and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces to find an answer to rising insecurity that has led to the killing of innocent men, women and children in the north despite the avalanche of security apparatus and intelligence at his disposal.
The ACF leader, Yerima Shettima, on the other hand, told Vanguard that the north took serious exception to the attempt by the Presidency to associate its leaders with the Boko Haram sect.
Shettima noted, “We don’t control Boko Haram and have no way of knowing what they are doing and what they want. It is the President who once declared that there were Boko Haram members even in his government.
“Having made that public declaration before the world, it is baffling why the President has found it difficult to deal with such members in his government but has continued to make contradictory statements almost on a daily basis, trying to rope in northern elders”.
“We therefore, plead with the President to leave northern elders out of the Boko Haram issues and devise realistic ways of solving the problem of insurgency in the country, one of them being, the carrot and stick approach, so as to give peace a chance to reign in the land.
Yes,there is no way you will expect an amnesty to be given to a faceless group.The northern governors should desist from protecting the group and stop denying they knew nothing about the insurgence in their region.
And they should also apologise to the country for creating such restiveness in the country on a frivolous and baseless reason that what is good for the gander is good for the goose.
Is it all about national cake?the niger delta militant were known and granted amnesty for fighting against injustice melted on the region but boko haram has no justified reason for such nuisance they have become recently to our society.
As much as I feel Jonathan’s government is completely useless, I also think these useless northern governors caused the Boko haram crisis in the region by not providing education or proper skill acquisition training to their people. An idle mind is the devils workshop, instead of barking at GEJ’S, I suggest the governors should buckle up and start providing good governance and schemes to educate and lift their people out of poverty.
How do you provide good governance when there is insurgence? The use of force can’t bring about needed stop to the insurgence. D Northern elder has asked for armnesty why not give them what they want? Most the killing continue because some people and benefitting from it financially? The genesis of this deadly insurgence started because government couldn’t protect the rule of law.
Story, this Nigeria must be share Arewa must goooo.
This Northern Elders are so diversionary, blame shifting, contradictory and controversial!
The South- South militants in all their struggles to be heard by those in Authority, never bombed mosque, church, police station. They never killed a soul except to kidnap foreigners which they let go after getting their ransome. They were neigther religiously inclined or politically associated to any Party and it’s standard bearer! They had a very good reasons to carry arms and they won the support of some International Communities and were never branded a terrorist! The Elders who dares to compare the Militants of Niger Delta with the Boko Haram who has no sanctity for life is a potential Boko Haramist! That Elder should be investigated. I feel awful to hear this.
Boko Haram can be given amnesty if they willingly call for cease fire and surrender! But somebody is issuing threats warning day in day out and still killing and maiming innocent lives everyday and you are advocating for armesty on their behalf.
I think the Elders should come out point blank to tell Mr President to step down and vacate ASO Rock for the Boko Harams to takeover the reigns of this Government! But if they are truly sincere, I advised that, the Elders should call the Northern Governors together to use their security votes which were in billions to flush out Boko Boys from the North.
How many responsiblity do you want to saddle Mr JEG with? Ask him to to come and put food on your tables as well.
I am personally disappointed at this administration because of so many hardship it has caused Nigerians, since the last anarchy due to removal of oil subsidy. Secondly they claim to be fighting corruption and also pardoning corrupt person. It is a sheer travesty of role in the face of anti corruption crusade.
But inspite what the Government done to poor masses like me, I want to say that the Elders should call their kinsmen in power and the rascals to order.
Militant in niger deita had a course they were fighting for ,they were fighting the foreighn oil firm that have poluted their land and their environment.this militant did not bomb mosque neither did they burn down police station they did not kill inocient people.but this good for nothing people call boko aram have have bomb churches not one or two they burn down police station what are they fight for nothing in particular so the so call norther leader should stop talking about amnesty for this sect cause they don’t deserve it .
the northern leader should not be talking about the amnesty granted the niger delta militant becuse their reason for carring arms the whole world knows and this militant did not bomb any mosque or police station their anger was directed to the foreign oil firm and oil instalation.this good for nothing sect called boko aram what are they fighting for nothing no body knows ,they have bomb churches not one not two they killed innocest souls who are going about looking for what to eat.so my advice for the so call northern leader call a spade a spade .
It is a fact that there is no basis for comparing T̶̲̥̅̊h̶̲̥̅̊e̶̲̥̅̊ atrocities of T̶̲̥̅̊h̶̲̥̅̊e̶̲̥̅̊ Boko Haram terrorists with T̶̲̥̅̊h̶̲̥̅̊e̶̲̥̅̊ defined agenda of T̶̲̥̅̊h̶̲̥̅̊e̶̲̥̅̊ Niger Delta militants. However, both groups operated or are still operating outside T̶̲̥̅̊h̶̲̥̅̊e̶̲̥̅̊ confines of T̶̲̥̅̊h̶̲̥̅̊e̶̲̥̅̊ law. Both groups are criminal groups that have continued to threaten T̶̲̥̅̊h̶̲̥̅̊e̶̲̥̅̊ security α̲̅πϑ well being of our dear country. What government should concern itself with is adopting a proactive α̲̅πϑ realistic approach to eradicating this humongous menace of insecurity. Amnesty to T̶̲̥̅̊h̶̲̥̅̊e̶̲̥̅̊ Boko Haramists should be one of T̶̲̥̅̊h̶̲̥̅̊e̶̲̥̅̊ options. They should come forward α̲̅πϑ indicate a willingness to down arms. GEJ was wrong to have dismissed T̶̲̥̅̊h̶̲̥̅̊e̶̲̥̅̊ request by Northern elders to consider amnesty.
Jona is confused dats is why d imbroglio i d nation is rising day in day out,GEJ said i know dats there is boko haram in my government simple step is wats to be followed to pin dem down but our president is not willing to do something and later he would come out and said boko haram are ghost,which view does he actually wants us to go by.plx our leaders d deception is ok with us do spmeting new.
Mr president!!! Be brave and make a list of officials in your government that should be assassinated. That, I promise you will put them at bay.. Enough grammar has been exhausted on this matter already. No Amnesty for boko haram!!!