EMERGENCY MINUS AMNESTY EQUALS CHAOS!

During that onslaught, thousands of civilians were killed as collateral damage. Investigation has shown that the Tamil Tigers had held civilians as ‘human shields’, while the government forces refused any and all appeals to ensure civilian fatalities were avoided. So, while the Tigers were annihilated, the Sri Lankan government ended up wearing the albatross of […]

During that onslaught, thousands of civilians were killed as collateral damage. Investigation has shown that the Tamil Tigers had held civilians as ‘human shields’, while the government forces refused any and all appeals to ensure civilian fatalities were avoided. So, while the Tigers were annihilated, the Sri Lankan government ended up wearing the albatross of killing thousands of its own people by not deliberately discriminating between innocents and militants in those final days of the civil war.
This week at the British House of Commons in London, the PMQs (“Prime Minister’s Questions” held every Wednesday) discussed several issues, but opposition Labour Party MPs were more concerned about why the British Prime Minister announced that he would attend, in six months’ time, the Commonwealth Summit in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The British Labour Party reminded the Conservative Government that the Sri Lankan government as now constituted is guilty of war crimes from that episode four years ago when thousands of civilians fell as collateral damage in a bid to dislodge the Tamil Tigers.
So, then, to Nigeria where a similar situation is unfolding: the government has just declared a state of emergency, in essence ordering the armed forces to make a final onslaught on the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunnah Lid Da’awati Wal Jihad (known as Boko Haram). Like the Sri Lankan case, this conflict is interestingly centred in the north eastern corner of the country, and again, whereas the LTTE had the Indian Ocean as outlet, the Jama’a may seem to have the Lake Chad.
But the million dollar question, asked by all commentators and which has left even Administration officials in a bind and in confusion, is why should the Government appoint an Amnesty Committee and, even before the Committee sits down to start its work, the government turns round to yank the carpet off from under the Committee’s feet? This is a decision diametrically opposed and negating all what the Committee is supposed to do; unless, of course, that Committee is the first ‘collateral damage’.
This is an Administration enamoured of the West, especially the United States. Therefore it should be expected that all suggestions from the West, especially America, on how to end this crisis will have an active listening ear from the Administration. After all, when President Jonathan was quizzed not too long ago on a major policy issue, he was reported to have begun his reply with “Even President Obama praised us on…”
There are two reports which seem to have got the attention of the Administration. The first, titled BOKO HARAM: A PROGNOSIS was prepared by the James Baker Institute at Rice University in the United States and authored by David Cook, dated December 2011. In the report’s Chapter VII on Policy Suggestions (apparently targeted at the Nigerian Government), it was suggested:
”Probably for Nigeria, the only solution at present for dealing with Boko Haram is to utilize force, although it should be recognized that extrajudicial force, exemplified by the murder of Muhammad Yusuf has fuelled the rise of Boko Haram since 2010. Therefore, this force should be seen as judicial in nature, and with the possibility of amnesty (which has worked to a large extent in the Delta region since 2009.”
Now, if the Government is listening to such advice from these quarters, why would it appoint an Amnesty Committee and, before it even begins its assignment, jump over to another suggestion?
The second report, also prepared in America by the United States Institute of Peace and authored by Andrew Walker (a one-time colleague on this newspaper) and dated June 2012, it was suggested that:
“Tactics employed by government security agencies against Boko Haram have been consis¬tently brutal and counterproductive. Their reliance on extrajudicial execution as a tactic in ‘dealing’ with any problem in Nigeria not only created Boko Haram as it is known today, but also sustains it and gives it fuel to expand. The police’s tactics have also made Boko Haram members harder to catch. The people of Maiduguri and Kano are, for the most part, more scared of the police and the army than they are of Boko Haram. Ordinary people would not now go to the police to report suspicious activities in their neighborhoods…
“Roadblocks set up to prevent militants from moving arms around are quickly turned into opportunities for police to extract bribes. Once in the queue of traffic—which can last hours in some places—drivers dare not turn around for risk of being fired upon. There are frequently shootings by police at major roadblocks. These incidents are very disrupting to normal life but not as dangerous as the way the police actively go after the group…
“More positively, the United States would be well advised to pursue policies that lead to the identification of the corrupt proceeds of economic crime that have been invested or hidden by politically exposed Nigerians within the United States. The jailing of former Delta state governor James Ibori by a London court proves that such a policy can have an impact. Reducing the ability of corrupt leaders to hide their cash outside the country will hopefully have a positive effect in Nigeria, because if nothing else such money will be more likely to end up back in Nigeria’s economy.
“The U.S. government should also pursue policies that help Nigeria diversify its economy and reduce its reliance on oil. Specifically, it should enact programs that aim to strengthen the Nigerian agricultural sector, the most likely to provide livelihoods, employment, and future prospects for northern youths.”
Reports of air raids on Borno State have started coming in. CNN reported that: “At least 20 insurgents were killed Friday as Nigeria’s military carried out an aerial bombardment of suspected militant Islamist camps in the country’s northeast, a Defense Ministry spokesman said.
The raid by Nigerian Air Force jets and attack helicopters is part of what the military says is a ‘massive deployment’ of Nigerian forces this week to tackle insurgent groups, including Boko Haram. ‘Our military has overrun a number of the militants’ camps in north and central Borno state,’ said defense spokesman Brig. Gen. Chris Olukolade.
Now, then, several questions arise: What of civilians? Where is the Amnesty Committee? What does it intend to do in view of what is now on the ground? What are the rules of engagement in a State of Emergency as we now have? Will civilians be collateral damage?
The Sri Lanka massacre must not be repeated in Nigeria. Civilians must be spared, one way or the other. Otherwise, war criminals from here cannot go to the Commonwealth Summit as well. At least.