History is a map for us to follow, a man without history may never find His way home.

It saddens any sane mind to believe we are towing this path of injustice and folly.
I once believed that truly a change has come to our psyche as a people but regrettably I'm wrong.

According to the dictionary Amnesty is defined thus;

noun, plural amnesties.
1. a general pardon for offenses, especially political offenses, against a government, often granted before any trial or conviction.
2. Law. an act of forgiveness for past offenses, especially to a class of persons as a whole.
3. a forgetting or overlooking of any past offense.
verb (used with object), amnestied, amnestying.
4. to grant amnesty to; pardon.

Going by these definition in contrast to what is happening in Nigeria today, every Nigerian needs amnesty to enjoy the basics of life.

The Nigerian amnesty programme gives a diplomatic treatment to criminals and celebrates successful arms struggle by all means necessary. If a criminal could hold his fort for too long in Nigeria its only a matter of time before an amnesty deal will surface for him.
According to the guardian ( http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/aug/06/niger-delta-militants-amnesty-launched ) on August 6, 2009, a news title "Nigeria begins amnesty for Niger Delta militants", the third paragraph has written;

"A lot of militia leaders and foot soldiers have indicated that they are tired of fighting, and want to come out," Timiebi Koripamo-Agary, spokesperson for the amnesty committee, said today. "The arms collection centres are now open, but I think people will watch what happens for a few days before it takes off."

Paragraph 6 & 7 of same article read;

"The government has responded with a two-pronged strategy. In May the military launched a major ground, air and sea offensive to flush militants out of their camps in the Niger Delta. President Yar'Adua then announced the amnesty deal, and freed Henry Okah, a suspected leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend), the most active militant group in recent years."

"Okah accepted the amnesty offer after treason and gun-running charges against him were dropped. Another Mend leader in Bayelsa state, Ebikabowei Victor Ben, or Boyloaf, also accepted the terms this week. Government officials say the gunmen who surrender their arms will be given about £255 a month in cash and food allowances during the rehabilitation period."
If you evaluate the 7th Paragraph you will observe that in the current day nigeria where several millions go to bed hungry and a whole lot more are living under a dollar per day, we all need amnesty to survive.

While I will not ignore the efforts of the Niger-Delta emancipation groups (tagged "militants" to ensure that they clamour for a better life for their people, I will say the amnesty programme has not done much to ameliorate the poor living conditions in the creeks of the Niger-Delta.

According to a study by Adegboyega Isaac Ajayi published in the Journal of Asian and African Studies in August, 2013 Titled "The Gains and Pains of the Amnesty Programme in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria, 2007–2012: A Preliminary Assessment",
He observed that "the amnesty programme is a short term expediency that could not address the myriad problems confronting the Niger Delta comprehensively. This implies that more broad-based programmes, targeted at the rapid development of the area, creation of job opportunities, environmental restoration and robust support for sustainable socio-economic endeavours geared towards self-reliance, would have to be proposed in order to ensure lasting peace in the region."

In light of the current economic realities, the present government is considering granting Amnesty to the dreaded Boko-Haram terrorist group, a fundamental Islamic Sect who has been implicated to be responsible for the murder over 20, 000 people, rape and kidnap of several girls and women and also for the displacement of over 2.3million people from their homes.



Let us start with the fundamentals, a report by NigerianPilot.com news platform on Monday, May 9, 2016, reported that not less than 800 repentant Boko-Haram Insurgents are to benefit from a new kind of amnesty with skectchy details. According to the Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, Alhaji Sani Sidi, He said

"It is not correct that the Federal government does not have a plan for repentant sect members. The federal government has set up the safe corridor programme. I do know that over 800 sect members have been registered in it.
“They have exited the Boko Haram militants through the programme in line with the International best practice. They are currently receiving various skills acquisitions programme, which is being handled by the military. It’s being by the Chief of Defence Staff”.

Allow me to say this is unfair to every law abiding, hardworking Nigerian who instead of creating anarchy, lawlessness have decided to go about life with dignity. Thousand of young boys and girls hawking drinks, carrying luggage, selling water in kegs just to mention a few and yet the government ignored these ones like plague. They can only play their way to relevance through arms struggle.
Instead of setting up skill acquisition centers for this helpless sets of people, the government has decided to empower those who are responsible for the murder of 20,000 plus humans who deserve a shot a life like everyone else.

This injustice called Amnesty is an act of cowardice on the path of government and it must stop.

@howmon

i remember this today, it's so sad we're still here.