Amnesty and the State of Emergency

William Ewart Gladstone, the 17th Century British statesman, in a speech at Plumstead, London, said, “National injustice is the surest road to national downfall.”      

The Obasanjo administration declared a state of emergency in Plateau State in 2004, yet the crisis in the state lingers.  A partial state of emergency was declared in parts of Borno and Yobe by the federal government last year. It yielded no results. You cannot keep banging your head against a brick wall and expect a different outcome.

We repeatedly apply a fire brigade approach whenever a disaster is upon us, we run around like headless chickens, without researching what has caused the problem in the first place or refusing to, as it will affect our deep selfish pockets. Are we ignorant or is this deliberate? When the water corporation stops supplying water, we sink a borehole and a thriving new business is born. Has the reason for the short supply been addressed or are the water corporation bosses making money from water tanker delivery business?

Terrorism is not a new phenomenon in this country. It is the speed at which it is spreading and the increasing violence that is alarming.  When there is a leak in a water pipe, we can only plug it temporarily. We have to find a lasting solution to the leak quickly, otherwise the leak will get worse and a catastrophe will occur.

Why do we have insurgency? Why do local communities not trust their leaders and their security agencies? How have terrorist organizations been able to infiltrate our local communities? What ideologies are they extolling that have allowed for our youth to feel fraternity with them. What has caused people to challenge the security forces that were set up to protect them? Who is arming them, who is playing the ethnic and religious card? How do we rehabilitate these youth, what opportunities exist for them in their communities, how do we change the perception of our leadership from oppressors to protectors and benefactors. North, south, east and west, our youth is our youth, so it is sad to hear of South-South Leaders’ Forum, Northern Elders’ Forum, etc., in this day and age when we are a global village and they all support Barcelona, Arsenal or Manchester Utd. That is really how ridiculous the ethnic card is. We have fought an ethnic civil war in this country and have seen the aftermath of the Kurdish situation, Bosnia, Kosovo and, closer to home, Rwanda. This is a lethal game. We should all shun ethno-religious conflicts.

It is amazing that a former colonial master in France, who colonized Mali, pillaged their resources and trafficked their subjects as slaves, can reinvent themselves and come back to Mali in 2013 as liberators and have Malians lining the streets, welcoming them. Here in Nigeria, you know the story of the JTF.  

 Now, we give amnesty.  “Amnesty is a legal term that describes the complete abolition of an offense by the state.  It is usually granted to the losing side after the end of a war or revolution in an attempt to bring about reconciliation…” This definition does not suggest inducing offenders with outrageous allowances, foreign trips and juicy contracts.  What message are we sending to the law-abiding citizens or in fact the offenders? Why were they not complying with the law in the first place? I am not in anyway excusing their actions but are they wallowing in poverty and isolation, whilst they see the squandering of riches and oppression by the very people who are meant to provide them with protection, jobs, health and education? Is this a cry against the national injustice that we refer to? If so then we should all be afraid because amnesty or a state of emergency does not address the issues.                              

For us to be able to renegotiate a new understanding, trust must be regained. When every government action is premised on what we stand to gain, then we will gradually rebuild belief in our leaders. Instead of a state of emergency or amnesty, funds should be freed into massive developmental projects, job creation, education and health.  But first, we have to make peace with ourselves.