The North on Wednesday disagreed with the
National Assembly on the proscription of
two Islamic miltant groups - Boko Haram
and Ansaru-by President Goodluck
Jonathan.
While the North through its two prominent
groups, the Arewa Consultative Forum and
the Northern Elders Forum, faulted the
ban, the National Assembly insisted that
it was a welcome development.
To the ACF and the NEF, the Jonathan
administration has through the ban thrown
a spanner in the works in its efforts to
end bloodletting in the North through
amnesty for Boko Haram and Ansaru
members.
They said they were waiting to see how
the Federal Government would address the
crisis in the North.
In an interview with one of our
correspondents in Kaduna, the ACF's
National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Anthony
Sani, argued that with the ban,
negotiations with Boko Haram would be
difficult.
He asked, "Now that they (government)
have proscribed the sect, can they now
negotiate with a non-existing group?
"Before, the government told us that it
was using a stick and carrot approach;
that is, negotiation and state of
emergency; now that they have proscribed
it (Boko Haram), how will the negotiation
work?
"It is the government that told us that
a stick and carrot approach will work
together. Now that they have gone to
proscribe Boko Haram, let us see how
they will apply the stick and carrot.
We pray that they succeed."
Sani wondered if the government would
negotiate with members of the sect
individually instead of meeting the
group.
He added, "The government said they
needed the emergency in order to reclaim
the seized town taken over by Boko
Haram. This made Nigerians, including
us (ACF) to give them the go-ahead. We
supported the state of emergency to
reclaim seized part of the country.
"But now that they have proscribed the
sect, we don't know how they will apply
the carrot. Now, how can you negotiate
with an illegal entity? The group has
just been proscribed. They have announced
it. They are applying the stick now but
we don't know how they will apply the
carrot."
His counterpart in the NEF, Prof. Ango
Abdullahi, said the proscription
contradicted government's efforts to
negotiate with the sect.
Abdullahi argued that the proscription
of anything should come after the legal
existence of such a thing.
He added, "As far as I can
understand, if there is an
organisation registered with the
Corporate Affairs Commission and is
operating according to the law before it
was registered; and then along the line,
the organisation begins to infringe on
the laws that created it or even against
its laws as registered with the Corporate
Affairs Commission, you can then go ahead
and cancel its registration.
"If its activities are violating the law
of the country, then issues like banning
and proscription come into play.
"But in this case, people say they don't
know what this Boko Haram is, they don't
know the members and they are trying to
get the members to come out for
dialogue .
"If you are looking for dialogue, you
have to expect that there will be people
who will come out under certain
respectable conditions.
"Two things have happened
simultaneously- the declaration of a
state of emergency which connotes the
declaration of martial law. You cannot
expect somebody to come and meet soldiers
under emergency conditions and now you
have the proscription."
Apart from the ACF and NEF, the Northern
Youth Consultative Forum, a former
Lagos State Police Commissioner, Abubakar
Tsav, and the Campaign for Democracy
flayed the ban.
The N Y C F National President, Alhaji
Aminu Mohammed, Tsav and CD President Dr.
Joe Okei-Odumakin, spoke separately with
our correspondents on Wednesday.
Mohammed, who expressed concern about
the planned amnesty for Boko Haram
members, said it was unfortunate that
all along, the Jonathan administration
had been playing politics with the sect.
He said, "We are all intelligent. You
cannot create many things at the same
time: Boko Haram, amnesty committee,
fighting insurgents and proscribing
the group.
"How do we trust the government? Is it
not the government that is messing things
up? Let them tell us who Boko Haram is?
Where are they?"
On his part, Tsav asked, "Is this
ban an Act of National Assembly or a
decree by the President and Commander-in-
Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, Dr
Goodluck Ebele Jonathan?
"Why did the President not include MEND
(Movement for the Emancipation of the
Niger Delta), NDVF (Niger Delta Volunteer
Force), OPC (Odua People's Congress),
Ombatse, etc in the ban since these
organisations also engage in acts of
terrorism?
"Was Boko Haram a legal organisation
before the ban? He(President) just
sleeps, dreams and acts on his dreams
without thinking. Laws are made for all
but GEJ's law is discriminatory and with
ethnic bias.
"This is civilian dictatorship and not
democracy. What is sauce for the goose is
sauce for the gander."
Also, Okei-Odumakin said the ban was
meaningless.
She asked, "What is the use of government
outlawing a group that had already
declared that it was the Federal
Government that should beg it for
amnesty?
"It is meaningless and preposterous. The
Boko Haram would laugh it off as a joke.
What the government needs to do is to
enforce law and order."
Is spite of the knocks from the ACF, NEF,
N Y C F, CD and Tsav, Jonathan got a
strong backing from the National Assembly
which said it would stand behind him in
any action that would end insurgency in
the country.
Senate Spokesman, Enyinnaya Abaribe,
while briefing journalists on Wednesday,
said, "The Senate welcomes the
proscription of Boko Haram and other
terrorist groups in the country. Although
it is coming late, it is good and we will
continue to support the President's
efforts to bring peace to the country."
He clarified that the proclamation would
not affect the amnesty plans, arguing
that amnesty was for those who renounced
their participation in terrorist
activities.
Abaribe said, "Those who are still
continuing with terrorism are not covered
by the amnesty."
Chairman, House Committee on Media and
Public Affairs, Mr. Zakari Mohammed,
said, "The prescription order is a step
in the right direction. As a House, we
will support every proactive measure
taken by the Federal Government to stem
the tide of insecurity in the country.
"Whenever the government makes a
pronouncement that is good, we will
support it as a House."
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