On the horns of a dilemma, that is
where President Goodluck seems to
find himself right now. Or, as my
friends used to put it in those sweet-
scented ghettoes of North DC, “He’s
damned if he don’t, and is
damned if he do. “
He told the Borno elders he wasn’t
about to negotiate with “ghosts” And
he was right. It is not given to ordinary
human beings to hold any meaningful
discourse with ghouls. Let the Boko
Haram come out into the open, he
advised. Let them present their
grievances; then there could be
“dialogue”.
But that was after the terrorists had
asked for his conversion to Islam as one
of the conditions for the cessation of
their attacks on innocent citizens,
particularly those of the Christian faith;
but even before that, there had been
the ultimatum of the removal of high
security officials and the outlandish
demand for the entire country to
embrace Islamism. Now is the season
for a deeper step into the pool of the
absurd – an amnesty, a general pardon
and a total forgiveness for
acknowledged and self-confessed
felons.
The President may seem to have
capitulated at last, depending on how
anyone interprets it.
He has, at least, yielded to granting the
proposal a consideration. That, to me, is
the import of the appointment of a
committee to outline an arrangement,
a feasible and acceptable arrangement,
for the processing of the amnesty. It
cannot be that the proposal itself has
been adopted since its terms have not
been formulated, anyway. And it must
have rules, especially, to ensure that
the safety of the citizens is henceforth
protected. That is a viewpoint I can
share.
Some people have also mentioned the
issue of “restitution”, and remember
that we are not talking about burglary
or some petty larceny here. This
concerns the massive taking of human
lives in a wanton and callous manner.
We are talking about young lives
snuffed out without any sense; of dear
ones torn away from their lovers’ arms
without any cause; of sudden death
visited with sudden viciousness on
victims in the prime of life. How do you
recompense, or repay for, or “make
good’’ on that? It was not even as
though as if a war had been declared,
or a firm basis for hostilities had been
decided. That committee has got its
work clearly carved out for it, I must
say.
But to read what is reported in the
newspapers about what the Peoples
Democratic Party leadership’s reaction
was from Abuja, the amnesty itself has
been granted, bar the shouting. These
putative spokesmen of the party
describe the declaration of establishing
of an “Amnesty Committee” as “the
best decision at the moment”. Some of
them see it as a “submission to the
yearning of the Northern leaders over
the plight of the people of the region …
“
The man who still parades himself as
the PDP National Publicity Secretary
(no matter what INEC says) enthuses
that the President’s decision further
demonstrates “his sincerity and
forthrightness in handling the affairs of
the country” and typifies him as a
“listening leader” to whom the unity of
the nation is very dear. We have heard
all that before, of course, and from
other quarters as well.
Chief Olisa Metuh then added that “the
North is the most receptive region in
the country.
Indeed, there is no part of the country
that is more accommodating than the
North which has been home for all
people, irrespective of religious creed
and tribal affiliations”. Now, does he
have to provoke an argument? I could
ask him if he has ever heard of a place
called Lagos, for instance, if he has to
introduce the “accommodation” of non-
indigenes by other States into the
discourse.
All the same, it is not surprising that
some governors of the Northern States
have welcomed the constitution of the
Amnesty Committee in laudatory
terms. Unfortunately, like Metuh, they
have not enough vision to appreciate
that whatever good might be achieved
could not be for the North alone. Their
stance portrays a proprietorship of the
proposal which, true as that may be,
leaves them outside the support of the
country which they do need, for this is
a problem of the entire nation that will
not respond to any solution that does
not take in the whole country.
Even now, the mere idea of the
constitution of the committee is an
abomination to several sections of the
country, and so to gloat over-much
about it could be more than slightly
offensive. It would be counter-
productive and a colossal shame and
tragedy if what may be intended to
foster our unity through the
enhancement of our security ends up
creating a wider gulf of resentment
among different parts of the country.
But even more frightening is the fact
that the composition of the committee
has been drawing flaks already, even
among those that one would have
expected to support the issue of the
amnesty for Boko Haram. They have
been incisively critical of various
aspects of the Amnesty panel,
especially its composition.
If the members appear to be too close
to government, some opine, it would
not meet with the approbation of the
Boko Haram, and some of the
appointees are already being described
as “government apologists”.
The valid point is also made that a
mediating committee should be able to
ensure a ceasefire for at least an
appreciable period before it starts its
work. There are doubts expressed in
these quarters also that the Boko
Haram may not even accept the
amnesty anyway. So it seems we have
been appealing to the physician to
make the drug available without first
ensuring that the patient would accept
the drug.
In all, the constitution of a committee
to consider the possibility of an
amnesty for the Boko Haram has been
further linked with the idea of dialogue.
In the perception of some actors in the
drama, the entire package consists of a
ceasefire leading to an amnesty that
would enable the shadowy forms of the
Boko Haram to materealize into flesh
and blood with whom a dialogue can be
conducted.
But the frightening aspect is the
mention of some money, hundreds of
thousands of naira, that would be paid
to the insurgents for laying down their
arms. That would be the most
controversial point yet. But why not?
People are saying there is a precedent.
That aspect is even being mentioned
ahead of compensation (which is a
lifeless issue anyway) for the victims.
Whichever way it goes, President
Goodluck Jonathan may indeed find
that he is at the beginning of a tunnel
without an end. Indeed, this proposition
has a precedent that time has shown is
leading to no joyful end.
.
Maligning the yorubas:
Chief Obafemi Awolowo established a
leadership that put the Yoruba people
on a high pedestal of pride through
achievement. At his departure from the
turmoil of this terrestrial scene, the
break-up with his deputy, Chief S. L.
Akintola, had depleted the store of
prestige occasioned by his
imprisonment which his eventual
release, and the chance of
rehabilitation as a high government
functionary, could not adequately
replenish.
The upshot was that an awful vacuum
in leadership conspired with an onset of
lethargy among the indigenes of the
West, and the Yorubas groped around
unable to fully defend even their own
soil. By the time General Sani Abacha
capitalized on the failure of Ibrahim
Babangida to maintain the grand
edifice of democracy of which he was
the architect, the Yoruba pride and
prestige had shrunk to an almost
insignificant measure, aided by the old
penchant for infighting among
themselves.
And then gradually appeared, as
though from a misty horizon, an
organization which called itself the
Oduduwa Peoples Congress, OPC. It
was not a political party, as such. It was
slightly more military than militant, in
stages. It was described in many ways
by many people, but everyone
acknowledged that it had arrived to
reclaim the self-esteem the Yorubas
had lost.
This was the organization that filled the
gap when the so-called leaders that
were seeking political fortunes had left
the head of their heritage uncovered.
The members were young, virile and
devil-may-care, whenever the honour
of the Yorubas was concerned. They
reclaimed a wide expanse of grounds
lost to people from other parts of the
country, some of who abused the
natural hospitality that was theirs to
enjoy. Their exploits became
legendary.
They confronted and bested their
adversaries by various means,
including the so-called “ju-ju” at
which they were adepts. They became
the fear of robbers and hooligans,
daring to rout the hide-outs of criminals
to which even the police gave a wide
berth. They operated under a rigid
moral code of integrity and respect for
elders. And so they acquired the space
for Yorubas to square the shoulders as
stakeholders in the commonwealth of
the nation once again.
In all this, they received no gratification
from anyone but relied entirely on their
own resources. They asked for no
largesse nor ran dishonourable errands
for anyone. They scarcely presented
themselves for elective office, or
sought any official appointment. Like
any organization instituted by human
beings, the OPC, at one time or the
other, ran into headwinds but it has
survived to tell its own story.
I am not here to tell it for them, but
what you read on this page today is
authentic, and I can add that it may be
too late in the day for this organization
to even consider obtaining a contract
worth any amount of money, for the
sole purpose of undermining ANYTHING
OF YORUBA CONNECTION. That is of a
tall order!
Who is marginalizing —or rather,
maligning — the Yorubas?
LINK:
www.vanguardngr.com/2013/04/aspects-of-the-amnesty-deal/

,what is wrong with this ppl?don't know what to say but if this happens this country may be splitted in to biafra and Nigeria.

GEJ should convert o.
Atleast he should be able to pretend to be a muslim till 2019.

solomon111: GEJ should convert o.
Atleast he should be able to pretend to be a muslim till 2019.

LMAO

Hmmm! I don't really know FG's stand again, cos he might say he won't convert now later we'll hear 'Breaking News: GEJ converts to Islam'