The perils of amnesty

Amnesty, Amnesty, Amnesty... It's one word that Nigerian politicians never get tired of saying. Ever since amnesty was granted to the Niger Delta militant groups years ago, amnesty has become the solution for any terrorist group that arises in Nigeria. Amnesty has now been suggested as a possible solution to solve the Boko Haram menace.

First, what is amnesty? Amnesty is defined as an "official pardon for people who have been convicted of political offenses," or "an undertaking by authorities to take no action against specified offenses or offenders during a fixed period."

Pardon me, but I don't understand how a group like Boko Haram, who have bombed and killed thousands of Nigerians, qualifies for amnesty. Murder doesn't qualify as political offenses. Children have lost parents that were killed for no specified reason other than 'Western education is evil.' Fathers, mothers, children, friends have been lost to a group we still don't know too much about. And yet, our president is welcoming the idea and even pushing the idea that amnesty be granted to Boko Haram. Nonsense.

Some might say: "But, amnesty worked for the Niger Delta militants." That's true. The Niger Delta militants e.g., MEND (Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta) were fighting for goals all of us can agree is an important one; they were fighting for their ability to live. Their lands, water, villages, and way of life were being destroyed by the oil companies that drilled for oil in those areas. MEND and other militants were fighting for their right to live. And, although they kidnapped foreign workers (most of which were freed) and damaged oil pipelines, they did not resort to random bombings. Boko Haram are not fighting for their right to live (come to think of it, what are they fighting for?), and so Boko Haram cannot be treated in the same way as MEND.

Discussing the prospect of amnesty to Boko Haram is one way the Nigerian government is saying that they have given up. They have realized that they cannot control the group or hunt down their members. And so, the government is planning to wave the white flag and sign their letter of defeat called amnesty. But, how do you solve the Boko Haram menace, you ask?

It's all about intelligence. Instead of the government always acting on the defensive, now is the time for the government to create a task force specifically with the aim to establish contacts and a network in the north and even the Niger Delta. Start strategically sending members of the SSS (State Security Service, the Nigerian version of the CIA) to regions in Nigeria with the goal to monitor communities. These agents shouldn't go and start flashing their badges, but blend into the community as new community members. Live with the people, complain with them, and collect information about daily activities. You can think of them as spies. The more years these people embed themselves in communities often prone to violence (i.e, Jos, Kano, the Niger Delta, Borno etc.), the more prepared the government will be when violence does strike. The end goal would not be to make an arrest within months. But, when trouble breaks out in three, five or more years, the ground work that had been done numerous years in advance would pay off. The intelligence that would have been gathered would be so enormous that it would be easier to pinpoint who might be involved, how the group recruits, what communities should be focused on. Even if the perpetrators are not known immediately, the fact that there have been agents on the ground will aid in familiarity of the terrain and eventually how best to conquer any future group like Boko Haram.

Intelligence gathering is the key to solve Nigeria's security problems, and it needs to start now. What people need to realize is that after amnesty is granted to Boko Haram, the resulting peace would be temporary. Until the next group rises up and torments Nigerians again. The rise of another group is an eventuality, and amnesty is NOT the way to treat every Nigerian militant or terrorist group and solve our security issues.

P.S. And I don't want those Boko Haram members walking alongside the people whose lives they have  forever altered. Those who died should not have died in vain.