The recent amnesty proposed to Boko Haram by the Federal Government has become a topical issue of immense debate and discourse. While most Northern elites view the amnesty plan as a viable option for curbing Boko Haram’s menace, other well meaning Nigerians are kicking against the idea.

By offering amnesty, President Goodluck Jonathan has again demonstrated weakness by extending “pardon” to the very people who have marred the progress of his administration. From a Bird’s eye view he seems to be applying the Biblical principle of forgiveness, but through the lens of a political microscope, you will discover that his motive lies in the interest of his party and his ambition for a second term.

I remember with dismay, his last media address after the recent bomb blasts on a Sunday -with his usual cliche and mantra “I condemn in totality this act of terrorism. On that occasion, he wore a very mean face and declared in his speech that “Enough is Enough”. I thought his last words were a signal to the end of the mayhem, ironically, he meant ‘enough of my speech after bombings. Now he appears in the media again on the same issue, with his tail between his legs, pleading and holding up a large amnesty placard for people who do not deserve it and have even rejected it.

The concept of amnesty and the deal that comes with it, is different from amnesty as defined in the conventional sense. it transcends an unlimited pardon offered to criminals for their wrongs doings. It includes rewards for offences committed. In other words; it pays to be the bad guy. If amnesty was all about surrendering of weapons and an enormous pardon to the insurgents, I wouldn’t have raised an eyebrow, but to think of the money, training and care they will be given afterwards makes me sick. We must be careful lest we condone amnesty that has already been soaked in devil waters, amnesty that has not been properly defined, the kind of amnesty that will bring us back to point zero.
The first time I came across the phrase ‘devil waters’ was in Ngugi Wa Thiong ‘O’s WEEP NOT CHILD, in which he refers to the mirage that appear on tarred roads from a distance on hot afternoons as ‘devil’s water’.

The insistence of the Federal Government on amnesty without the approval of the sect and in contradiction to their tenets and ideologies may allude to the devil’s water analogy I referred to earlier, because the insurgents may receive the pay and continue their violent attacks. At the end, both government and her hapless citizens will remain victims of the carnage. To put things into perspective, it costed the Federal Government a fortune to run an amnesty programme for Niger-Delta Militants. Last year alone, 450million Dollars was expended on the rehabilitation of approximately 13,000 militants. Perhaps you should know that Asari Dokubo and his men rejected the amnesty offer on the grounds that he and his about 400 footsoldiers were not militants but freedom fighters, having said that, he still got a mouthwatering 1.420 billion Naira for the “freedom fighting work”, I guess. His proteges, Ebikabowei Victor and Ateke Tom received N599.64 million annual contracts to guard pipelines. For the same job, Ekpumopolo also known as ‘tompolo’ enjoyed a N3.614 billion contract. In the midst of these massive sums, oil bunkering still continues unabated; shell loses about 60,000 barrels of crude oil daily to oil theft, and recently, 11 policemen were shot dead in helpless circumstance. MEND is about to erupt again and this makes one wonder whether the amnesty to the Niger– Delta militants has achieved its desired effect.

The recent amnesty proposed to Boko Haram by the Federal Government has become a topical issue of immense debate and discourse. While most Northern elites view the amnesty plan as a viable option for curbing Boko Haram’s menace, other well meaning Nigerians are kicking against the idea.

By offering amnesty, President Goodluck Jonathan has again demonstrated weakness by extending “pardon” to the very people who have marred the progress of his administration. From a Bird’s eye view he seems to be applying the Biblical principle of forgiveness, but through the lens of a political microscope, you will discover that his motive lies in the interest of his party and his ambition for a second term.

I remember with dismay, his last media address after the recent bomb blasts on a Sunday -with his usual cliche and mantra “I condemn in totality this act of terrorism”. On that occasion, he wore a very mean face and declared in his speech that “Enough was Enough”. I thought his stern words were a signal to the end of the mayhem, ironically, I reckon he meant ‘enough of my speech after bombings. Now he appears in the media again on the same issue, with his tail between his legs, pleading and holding up a large amnesty placard for people who do not deserve it and have even rejected it.

The Nigerian concept of amnesty and the deal that comes with it, is different from amnesty as defined in the conventional and broad sense. The Nigerian amnesty transcends an unlimited pardon offered to criminals for their wrongs doings. It includes rewards for offences committed. In other words; it pays to be the bad guy. If amnesty was all about surrendering of weapons and pardons to the insurgents, I wouldn’t have raised an eyebrow, but to think of the money, training and care they will be given afterwards makes me sick. We must be careful lest we further implement an amnesty that has already been soaked in devil waters, amnesty that has not been properly defined, the kind of amnesty that will bring us back to point zero.
The first time I came across the phrase ‘devil waters’ was in Ngugi Wa Thiong ‘O’s WEEP NOT CHILD, in which he refers to the mirage that appear on tarred roads from a distance on hot afternoons as ‘devil’s water’.

The insistence of the Federal Government on amnesty without the approval of the sect and in contradiction to their tenets and ideologies may allude to the devil’s water analogy I referred to earlier, because the insurgents may receive the pay and continue their violent attacks. At the end, both government and her hapless citizens will remain victims of the carnage. To put things into perspective, it costed the Federal Government a fortune to run an amnesty programme for Niger-Delta Militants. Last year alone, 450million Dollars was expended on the rehabilitation of approximately 13,000 militants. Perhaps you should know that Asari Dokubo and his men rejected the amnesty offer on the grounds that he and his about 400 footsoldiers were not militants but freedom fighters, having said that, he still got a mouthwatering 1.420 billion Naira for the “freedom fighting work”, I guess. His proteges, Ebikabowei Victor and Ateke Tom received N599.64 million annual contracts to guard pipelines. For the same job, Ekpumopolo also known as ‘tompolo’ enjoyed a N3.614 billion contract. In the midst of these massive sums, oil bunkering still continues unabated; shell loses about 60,000 barrels of crude oil daily to oil theft, and recently, 11 policemen were shot dead in helpless circumstance. MEND is about to erupt again and this makes one wonder whether the amnesty to the Niger– Delta militants has achieved its desired effect.

Even more catastrophic are the demands of Boko Haram -their requests cannot be met because their wants are not negotiable. Nigeria is about to allow a cash rain to plummet down the drain, because Boko Haram will still strike even after the dialogue or the amnesty. Assuming the same amount is spent on Boko Haram Militants, don’t you think the Niger Delta Militants will agitate for higher pay? Already, a section of the Niger Delta militants is already threatening to return to violent ways if amnesty is given to Boko Haram. The amnesty appears to be laced with several ambiguous connotations and immersed in devil waters so much that people cannot see what it really is, if it really is, and the damages it has set to cause this country and its people.

Also encapsulated in the amnesty package is the exoneration certificate for people like Senator Ali Ndume, Senator Alimodu Sherif and other prominent northern elders that have previously been indicated or related to the Bokom Haram insurgency while the victims still crave for any form of compensation from the government.

by Bizum Yadok.

Bizum is a political analyst & social affairs commentator who writes for Viewpointnigeria from Jos

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The Devil Waters of the Proposed Amnesty by Bizum Yadok