Northern Elders Seek Amnesty For Boko Haram Members

NORTHERN elders yesterday rose from a three-day summit in Kano Government House with far-reaching decisions, including a call on the Federal Government to grant amnesty to Boko Haram sect members.

They urged the government to initiate a restoration, reformation and rehabilitation programme that would reintegrate demilitarised Boko Haram sect members into the society.

According to them, the type of amnesty that ended militants’ unrest in the Niger Delta region would be suitable in the North. The elders also identified widespread insecurity, breakdown of the educational system, massive illiteracy and leadership failure as part of the problems of the North.

Specifically, they urged President Goodluck Jonathan to dialogue with the sect and grant its members amnesty just as it was done for restive youths in the oil-rich Niger Delta region.

As far as the elders were concerned, President Jonathan, his deputy Namadi Sambo and the 10 Northern governors have not shown enough sympathy for the states under the Boko Haram siege. The positions of the elders were contained in a communiqué issued after a three-day summit organised by Northern Development Focus Initiative (NDFI) at the Kano Government House. The curtain dropped yesterday on the summit.

They also advocated death penalty or life imprisonment for indicted corrupt officials in both public and private sectors, recommending that all stolen assets be forfeited to government. Indicted public officials should be suspended from office pending the outcome of investigation, they said.

Signed by Alhaji Usman Farouk, a former governor of Northwestern State and Dr. Sadiq Umar Abubakar, chairman and secretary of the NDFI respectively, the communiqué reads: “Education has collapsed to the extent that over 70 per cent of children of school-going age are not attending school.”

The elders regretted the lack of avenues for gainful employment for teeming youths and noted the concerns and fears of youths for the survival of the region and that of the country. They blamed rising insecurity and ethno-religious crises on government’s failure to rise to the challenge.

According to the communiqué, attitudes of northern elite and leaders, lack of synergy due to failure of elected representatives to interface with the executive to develop new policies have been parts of the problems bedeviling the North.

It reads: “Northern states and the Federal Government should institute compulsory and free education at the primary and secondary school levels for all school-age children and introduce a free pupils feeding programme like Kano State. Governors of the North should increase budgetary allocation to the educational sector to 30 per cent.

“Since security is the responsibility of the Federal Government as enshrined in the Constitution of the Nigeria 1999, all the states affected by security crises in the North should compute all monies expended by them for re-imbursement by the Federal Government.

“A judicial commission of inquiry should be set-up to establish the remote and immediate causes of ethno-religious conflicts and prevalent insurgency.

“All persons identified to be involved in sponsoring, benefitting or involved in all forms of terrorism and insurgency should be prosecuted.

“The Federal Government should set-up a Northern Nigeria Restoration, Reformation and Rehabilitation programme to involve repentant Boko Haram insurgents unconditionally and a special committee of respected northerners should immediately embark on a sympathy and solidarity tour of all states affected by insecurity in the North.”

They also called for a master plan for agricultural revival for the North so as to boost agriculture, create wealth, employment opportunities and develop agro-allied industry.

The summit, which had “Development, peace and unity, as a tool for enhancing socio-economic and political reform in Northern Nigeria”, as its theme, drew political actors in the North ranging from council officials to federal legislators.

The resource persons included former the former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the presidential candidate of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the 2011 election, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, Sen. Victor Lar, former Director, of Defence Military Intelligence (DMI), Maj-Gen. Muhammadu Sambo and public affairs analyst, Dr. Tilde.

In attendance were: Niger State Governor and Chairman of the Northern Governors’ Forum Babangida Aliyu, Gombe House of Assembly Speaker and Chairman of the Northern Speakers’ Congress, former Borno State Governor Muhammadu Goni, Senator Bukar Abba Ibrahim, Senator Danjuma Goje and Senator Bukola Saraki.

All the states in the North were also representated.