Source: http://www.suanusblog.com/2017/09/nnamdi-kanu-should-president-buhari.html

All democratically elected Presidents of Nigeria from 1999 till date have always had huge security challenges to battle with from different parts of the country. The Obasanjo era witnessed the commencement of militancy in the oil-rich Niger Region. Obasanjo to some extent understood the agitations of the youths from that region and though against approaches that would amount to sharing money to a few individuals took practical steps aimed at addressing poverty and underdevelopment in the region. Chief of such approaches under the Obasanjo Presidency was the creation of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). The agency had the sole mandate of fast-tracking development in the region. Despite this and other efforts, some youths in the region didn’t deem it fit to give up on oil theft and militancy. At various times, Obasanjo took very abrupt actions against the Niger Delta due to the insecurity and economic sabotages perpetrated by the militants; a key ugly example is the genocide at Udi, in Bayelsa State.

After the tenure of Obasanjo, the violent agitations in the region continued to crumble the Nigerian economy which relies heavily on oil. This was happening despite the fact that Obasanjo had strategically ensured a son of the Niger Delta was in the Presidential Villa serving as a Vice President to President Umaru Musa YarAdua. Alhaji YarAdua took a more civil approach to addressing the huge insecurity that greeted the Niger Delta under the early days of His tenure. He took key decisions to further fast-tract the development of the region as an appreciation of its God-given resource that has continued to hold Nigeria together economically. In a similar manner like that of Obasanjo, YarAdua established a federal ministry for the region called The Niger Delta Ministry. These efforts didn’t appear to really address developmental issues in the region as those efforts appeared to have only serviced the greed of politicians appointed to man both the NDDC and the Niger Delta Ministry. Poverty continued to roam naked in the region and fuelled further agitations and more militant groups even with sophisticated weapons emerged.
President YarAdua embarked on other strategic missions to bring lasting peace in the Niger Delta including the setting up of a committee which provided the Niger Delta Master Plan and recommended the offer of amnesty to militants in the region as well as a well-funded presidential program to rehabilitate and empower those that will accept the amnesty offer. Before the declaration of the amnesty program, President YarAdua took another bold step by inviting key Leaders of the militant groups including Tompolo to the Presidential Villa for a crucial meeting. After the meeting, a presidential amnesty was declared and it’s still ongoing till date.

Prior to these steps by YarAdua, his predecessor had acted against the militants and instead prioritized measures to develop the region as against recognizing and rewarding the “evil” that the militants were into in the Delta. Specifically, Obasanjo had arrested and detained one of the top militants, Asari Tokubo for months until he was begged by key leaders of the region to release him. Apart from the declaration of amnesty, President YarAdua also released Henry Okah who was earlier arrested as another top militant from the region.
The amnesty program continued all through the Jonathan Presidency and the Niger Delta region experienced relative peace then perhaps due to the fact that one of its sons for the first time was the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. While the Niger Delta was happy, it appeared that the North was angry perhaps at the sudden death of President YarAdua which perfected the miracle of the Jonathan Presidency. Like a gradual wave, the Jonathan’s Presidency was confronted with another huge security challenge. This time more dreaded from an Islamic sect called, Boko Haram. The sect became more powerful and almost captured the entire northern part of the country.

In a bid to solve the ever increasing security crisis in the northern region due to the terror by Boko Haram, the Jonathan Presidency at various times made efforts to negotiate with the Leader of the Boko Haram Sect if He could come out and dialogue with the government. This was an extreme step that was condemned by some Nigerians. But what was important to President Jonathan at that point was restoring peace to the troubled northern region. Of course the ideologies and demands of the Boko Haram sect glaringly became such that would be practically impossible for any patriotic leader to meet and the rest has become part of our history.

Sooner after the defeat of President Jonathan by a northerner, Muhammadu Buhari in the 2015 General Elections amidst the security challenges still in the North-East, another security challenge emerged. This time from the South-East and from a secessionist group known as the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) led by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu who started operations from the United Kingdom through His secessionist radio station, Radio Biafra.

Although many felt that the emergence of Muhammadu Buhari would bring the Boko Haram activities to an end, the sect has refused to end its heinous crimes. While President Buhari is still trying to destroy Boko Haram finally in the North, the IPOB started its own agitation which has now metamorphosed into a national security threat. Some Nigerians believe that the creation of IPOB was strategically perfected by the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP after its defeat to crumble the Buhari government. An obvious fact however is that General Buhari during the Jonathan Presidency had always taken a Pro-Boko Haram stand, same thing the PDP and her key leaders are doing to the activities and agitations of IPOB; all against national interest.

With the arrest and ongoing prosecution of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu and the increased tension that the declaration and commencement of Operation Python Dance 11 have created in the South-Eastern part of the country, I am wondering if adopting the YarAdua approach can end the agitations in the South-East and perhaps bring lasting peace to the region. Can or should President Buhari like YarAdua, invite the IPOB Leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu to the presidential villa for dialogue so as to address the grievances of His group? Wouldn’t this option be better than a declaration of war on the group or South-East region after tagging them as terrorists?