Midat Joseph
— June 1, 2014
Comrade Shehu Sani is the president of
Civil Rights Congress of Nigeria (CRCN).
The courageous Sani who led former
President Olusegun Obasanjo to Boko
Haram territory in Maiduguri in
September 2011, to broker peace
between the federal government and the
sect, is back at it again. In this interview
with MIDAT JOSEPH, Sani explained why
Obasanjo joined the rescue mission of
the over 200 abducted Chibok girls
Insecurity has continued unabated in the
country especially in the North-east
despite government assurances. What in
your opinion is the missing link?
Well, we need to understand clearly that
insecurity today is not peculiar to our
country, but it is the first in the history
of our country whereby the challenge
before us is to find a solution to it.
There are social, economic factors that
led us to where we are today. And what
we are facing today is the result of
either things we did wrongly in the past
or things we refused to do. As a people,
it is incumbent on us to address the
basic issues that ignited these
insurgencies and this insecurity
nationwide so that we can address it for
good.
First of all, the issues of insecurity been
peculiar to the north are of various
types; we have the sectarian violence
between Muslims and Christians, we
have ethnic violence, we have cattle
herders and farmers violence and then
we have now an insurgency in the
north-eastern part of Nigeria. The
insecurity in the southern part of Nigeria
bothers on kidnapping for ransom and
also issues of remnants of militancy and
bombings in the area. So, each section
of the country must address its issues
based on the realities that are on
ground. Sectarian violence between
Muslims and Christians have been
going on for the past three decades and
it is also very clear that all the remedies
and the solutions that have been
proffered has not been able to address
the issues. And now we have insurgency
which is related to social, economic and
political factors. There is no political or
social factor that will justify the wanton
killings and violence that is going on.
But these are issues that if they are
clearly addressed could reduce the
situation and also help in stemming the
spiral of violence that is going on now.
Any Solutions?
To us, solution to this problem has to
do with addressing the problems of
leadership which we have now an inept
and incompetent one that is in place.
Addressing the economic issues that
create the conducive atmosphere for
such kind of violence. And also, we need
to address political issues that will have
people in the position of power that are
connected to the people, that
understand the problem of the people
and how much they can address it.
How does incompetency in leadership
lead to the insecurity today and how do
we address it?
So far, the President Goodluck
Jonathan-led administration is a typical
example of a leadership that has
woefully failed. He has failed from the
political and economic angle. He has
failed in all factors of leadership. You
have leaders who came in with vision,
mission and with experiences, and also
you have leaders who learn on the job;
Jonathan is neither of the two. He is a
man who happens to be in power by
accident and since that very time, the
whole nation and its people have been
in ambush and it is unfortunate that
such kind of person will lead a country
that is supposed to play a leading role
in the socio-economic and political
transformation of Africa. A nation of
about 164 million people which other
African countries look unto and now we
are looking unto the west. So, I think
this is the lowest in the history of
Nigeria where we have a leader that
does not even know what leadership is.
All his actions have been wrong and has
consistently and gradually been pushing
this country into perdition.
Do you believe that the insurgency in the
North-east has political colouration as
alleged by some Nigerians?
What we need to understand is that the
violence in the North-east has its
immediate causes and remote causes.
The immediate causes have to do with
the fact that a group of people with a
theocratic agenda decided to pick up
arms against the state and in the
pursuance of their goals, they kill, they
bomb, they maim, they destroy lives and
livelihood. And one thing we should
understand is that terrorism is not a
form of violence that is meant to
conquer a state, it is rather a form of
violence that is meant to conquer a
state of mind. Terrorists do not recover
a nation, they terrorise nations; they
unleash a regime of fear on the people
and exercise maximum influence by
deadly activities. There are local factors
that led to these. One is, we have a
generation of leaders that have been in
place for a period of time that have not
taken consideration of the dangers and
the consequences of their inability to
address social and economic issues that
led to where we are today. Joblessness
is a factor that contributes to
insurgency but it is not a good reason
to kill and maim. Social issues are also
contributing factors. So, to address the
problem of the north eastern part of
Nigeria, it has to do with first of all
taking the immediate problem at hand.
And then later on, holding an economic
plan to attract young people.
The amnesty committee which you
declined membership has since finished
its work and submitted its report to the
president, yet we are yet to see its
implementation. What were your fears
and have they been cleared?
When I was appointed by the
government to serve in the amnesty
committee, I declined to serve for two
reasons. One, I was able to make
contact to the insurgents through some
persons to get their state of mind and
opinion whether they would accept and
corporate with the committee. And the
response I got from them was that they
were not going to corporate and work
with the committee. So, I have no
reason to continue with the committee.
Secondly, I initiated some forms of
dialogue with the insurgents in the past
which the government refused to
endorse and even accept the
recommendations. So, it was virtually
impossible for me to keep on been in
the committee without anything coming
out of it. So, the committee that was set
up ended up wasting public resources
and the time of Nigerians. They ended
up misinforming and misleading
Nigerians. They came out and claimed
that there was a dialogue with the
insurgents and the sect denied such.
Nigerians were faced with many lies
from them. The minister for special
duties is one Nigerian that has
consistently misinformed Nigerians over
what his committee was said to have
achieved. To me, that committee has
contributed to the feelings of false sense
of confidence and hope of Nigerians. If
the committee has actually met the sect
and actually reached a cease-fire
agreement with the sect, we could not
have reached this kind of violence. But
since the committee finished their job
with all their claims, the whole violence
and insurgency has gotten worse than
they met it. So, it is a clear vindication
of my position at that very time not to
be part of that circle.
You facilitated a dialogue between
former President Obansanjo and
members of the Boko Haram sometimes
ago and now, another round of dialogue
is said to be on-going between the
former president and the Boko Haram
sect. How true?
Let me tell you, I facilitated the talk
between Obasanjo and the Boko Haram.
The dialogue that was led by Dr Datti
Ahmed was facilitated by Ahmed Sakilda
with me on the background and
knowing what was happening to the
end. Now, I founded the dialogue for
which the meeting was held in
Obasanjo’s House. I was there and I
brought the ideas of what to do and we
are working on it. The idea of the
dialogue was informed by three reasons.
One is, we are opposed by the use of
force to free the girls that have been
abducted by the insurgents. Secondly,
there is a back door negotiation that
happened between Sakilda and some
persons in government which was
sabotaged by some elements in
government. And I was not surprised
because I knew from the beginning to
the end how it happened because I am
the person who recommended Sakilda to
the federal government and for them to
reach to him over the Chibok girls. I
monitored all that happened and it was
the federal government that frustrated
the move. The Chibok girls could have
been freed last week, which was
sabotaged by the federal government.
So, this new initiative we are doing is
such a one that will carry along many
people that stand between the sect and
the federal government. The sect will
nominate their delegation and the
federal government will also nominate
their delegation. The bottom line is for
the two groups to discuss and work out
the process of getting the Chibok girls
released and the same time getting the
federal government release some
members of the sects released and their
families. So, it is still a new formula to
repackage the dialogue process and to
salvage the dialogue process that was
destroyed by the refusal of government
to accept a deal that just happened
recently.
Do you see the president changing his
mind after he shunned the idea of any
form of dialogue with the Boko Haram
sect?
The president has not changed his mind
but we are now going to the stage of
seeking the consent of the government
to dialogue. This is because, the
government must give the go ahead for
the reason that we have an existing law
against terrorism that clearly
criminalises any attempt to
communicate or to interact and to relate
with the insurgents. So, it is only when
you get the consent of the government
and the waiver that you will be able to
start such things. Again, the consent of
the government is very necessary in the
event of any of our members have to
reach out with the insurgents. So, the
technical issues need to be clarified with
the government before we move ahead.
And in the event the government is not
interested in it, there is nothing we can
do because we are non-state actors. All
we can to do is ensure a dialogue
process to bring these girls out.
Who is Ahmed Sakilda and how
protected is he?
Sakilda is a very young man that has
contributed more than enough to the
peace and security of this country. Many
people think he is a member of Boko
Haram which he is not. He is a young
man trying to make a living and his
relationship with the founder of Boko
Haram has to do with the fact that the
Boko Haram founder converted him to
Islam and they have been working
together. He knew the group before they
took up arms. So, in all honesty, he is
someone in which the nation need to
appreciate his contribution and who
they should also use, but it is
unfortunate that his time was
threatened the very time he started the
dialogue process. He was chased out of
Nigeria by people who think that his
efforts will be a seal to how much they
profits to the violence of the insurgents
in the country.
There are insinuations that the federal
government wants to negotiate with the
Boko Haram sect without involving the
Borno State government. Do you think it
would lead to success?
I think it is a wrong thing to do because
the Borno State governor is the chief
executive of the state and there is no
way you can achieve much in Borno
without the state governor’s input.
There is no way we can resolve the
problem without the state government.
This is because they are presiding over
people and the governor represents the
state and without them, the federal
government will only be beating around
the bush. What we should understand is
that the discord between the federal
government and the Borno State
government has not been helpful in the
course of addressing the problems.
The military has been inconsistent
regarding the rescue operation by giving
contradictory reports. Do you think we
are succeeding?
The Nigerian Army is not an institution
that is different from the Nigerian state.
It represents our teeth and our strength;
it represents our protection, our sheath
and our defence. If we mock at our
Nigerian Army and the world mocks, it
is the nation and the people of this
country that are been mocked at
because we don’t have an institution
that protects us than the Army and it is
very wrong to blame the Army if they
don’t provide the necessary tools that
they could use to protect the country.
What we are facing is the situation that
the Nigerian Army is destroyed by an
Army of corrupt politicians who destroy
other institutions and now the Army is
the next. And the danger of destroying
the Army is that, we will all become
vulnerable as we are now. What
Nigerians demand from the Army is for
them to protect the integrity of the
country and the sovereignty of Nigeria.
The misleading reports coming from the
Army dent their image and reputations.
For the Army, their reputation and
integrity is dented until they are able to
rescue the girls and end the insurgency.
The danger of what is happening today
is for African countries to look down on
us and to continue to see us as people
who have lost relevance.
Do you think that the collaborating
foreign Army Can rescue the girls
The United States, UK, France and China
did not send soldiers that would storm
Boko Haram camp and free the girls.
They only sent two experts on
intelligence gathering that would help
with advice on our Army. Secondly, they
sent a team of negotiators. I am
completely opposed to the presence of
foreign forces in my country. I am a
revolutionist and a pan-Africanist who
cherish the defence of my country and
continent. And I fully believe that these
are African issues and could be
addressed the African way. It is
shameful for France to invite the
presidents of Cameroon, Benin-Republic,
Niger and Nigeria to come and sit down
and talk about how to protect a part of
Nigeria. I think we should have a re-
think and should understand that this is
a national issue that requires a resilient
spirit and a determination to fight it.
Any attempts to use force to rescue
these girls will end up in tragedy. And it
is better we do it earlier before the sect
brain-washes the girls.
No comments:
Post a Comment