As I sat to write the concluding part of this essay, I couldn’t help but think about events in the Middle East. For instance, the Palestinians are no closer to independence today than they were a decade-and-half ago. With the passing of every month – and with Benjamin Netanyahu as the Prime Minister of Israel, the chances of a free and independent Palestine get grimmer and grimmer. I doubt if statehood can be achieved this decade. And I wonder what’s going through the mind of the President of the State of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas.
And I wonder if anyone anticipated the quick rise and supremacy of the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS). The group is shaping out to be more vicious and violent than al-Qaeda. What’s going on in the Middle East; and what’s going to happen to Syria, Iraq and a few other countries as we know them today? For several decades, the expectation was that the world would be a peaceful place once the Cold War ended. Sadly, two-plus decades later, the world seems to be more dangerous and unstable.
One more thing: We mourn the passing of one of the truly great minds and scholars of this or any other generation, Prof. Fouad Ajami. According to the Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa, Ajami was “born in southern Lebanon and raised in Beirut. He authored several books including Beirut: City of Regrets; The Vanished Imam; The Arab Predicament; The Dream Palace of the Arabs; and The Foreigner’s Gift: The Americans, the Arabs, and the Iraqis in Iraq.” As with Edward Wadie Said before him, the world will miss his beautiful prose and verbal eloquence. He was truly a brilliant man.
Now, back to where I stopped last week: Immediately after the guns and ammunition were surrendered, and the dotted lines of the Presidential amnesty documents were signed and or thumb-printed, the Presidency, along with the multinational oil corporations began to pop Champagne and feast on caviar. The low intensity conflict was over. Promises were made. Inducements were given. And many of the major actors packed their bags and, figuratively, left the creeks.
Today, many of the major players swim in money; and a good number have unrestricted access to the Presidency and the various governors of the Niger Delta. For such militants and insurgents, the Niger Delta crisis is history. They speak about it only if there is profit to be made, otherwise, they boast about it in drunken moments. The sad part is that many of these moneyed militants cannot tell you, in logical or coherent language, why they fought the government and the oil companies.
And frankly, I doubt if the government remembers. Sadder is the fact that a majority of Nigerians have moved on. Our very short collective memory enables us to move from one crisis to another without ever taking the time to find durable solutions to our challenges. Everyone is today focused on the audacity and cruelty of Boko Haram and on President Goodluck Jonathan’s political ambition. You need not be an accurate reader of tea leaves to know that (a) barring extra-legalities, Jonathan will contest and win the 2015 presidential election; and (b) that Boko Haram is just warming up (unless its backers have a change of mind).
In spite of the much heralded amnesty programme by the Yar’Adua administration – which emphasised ceasefire, surrendering of arms and ammunition, and overseas training – there really was nothing concrete in terms of addressing the factors that gave rise to the conflict; and indeed, there was nothing in terms of peacemaking and peacekeeping. Those who genuinely confronted the government and pointed out its duplicity are either dead, politically and economically incapacitated or locked up.
Dead, incapacitated or locked up, one can still hear the occasional sound of artilleries, the occasional destruction of oil-related infrastructure; and the occasional skirmishes between the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta and the Nigerian Armed Forces. But, as I told you last week, MEND has decided on an armistice. And I say this authoritatively: the leadership of MEND has agreed to the President’s call for a dialogue. This is a good and commendable move on the part of Jonathan and MEND.
When the President said, “Our doors remain open to them, (aggrieved armed groups) for dialogue and reconciliation if they renounce terrorism (armed struggle) and embrace peace,” he certainly wasn’t extending the olive branch to Boko Haram alone. And when the National Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party, Adamu Mu’azu, encouraged members of Boko Haram to accept amnesty, he surely wasn’t limiting it to Boko Haram alone. But if he was, I would suggest that he also look favourably to MEND and its affiliates.
Other than Mu’azu, John Cardinal Onaiyekan also supports granting amnesty to all such non-state actors. Indeed, many traditional and religious leaders from the northern and southern parts of the country all supported the idea of amnesty for the leaders of Boko Haram and other such groups – MEND inclusive! The group looks forward to a continued and meaningful contact with the Jonathan administration through its trusted and well-respected representative, Kingsley Kuku.
To this end, therefore, we call for and encourage Jonathan to promptly release Charles Okah, Edmund Ebiware, and Henry Okah. They have suffered enough and suffered needlessly and for a crime they swore not to have committed. No irrefutable evidence points to the contrary. And even if the government is arguing that they committed the said offences, the time for political settlement is now. Every single life that is lost is far too many as every human life is precious. No one should ever condone the loss of innocent lives. Never! But, how many lives were lost as a result of MEND’s activities – compared to that of Boko Haram?
The supplication to Jonathan is simple: Since MEND has signalled its willingness to engage in constructive dialogue, the President should so engage them. But before or during the talks, he should grant Charles, Ebiware, and Henry a full presidential pardon. The case of Henry is a bit complicated simply because he is in a South African jail. His release can and should be effected through political settlement with the South African government. This can be done.
Written by SABELLA ABIDDE
Copyright PUNCH.
