Proposed amnesty for Boko Haram and declaration of emergency rule – Oyo citizens express divergent views.

[FMINigeria]

                        As the Federal Government continues to roll out measures to stem the tide of insecurity in some states in northern Nigeria, citizens of Oyo State have appraised the situation and expressed divergent views.   While some agreed that the steps taken by Government are in the right direction, others see them as unnecessary; while few say, stricter enforcement and total clampdown on the insurgency are the answer.

Alhaji Yakubu Diekola, a pharmacist at Basorun area of Ibadan was of the opinion that declaring a state of emergency on one hand and release of detained members of Boko Haram, are a bundle of contradiction.  "Those released will surreptitiously go back to the camp, where more terror could be unleashed on the people and society."  He therefore, wanted the Federal Government to prosecute the arrested and allow the rule of law to prevail.

In his own reaction, Haleem Akiyode, a Senior Civil Servant in Ibadan queried the rationale behind what he termed a "policy somersault" of the Federal Government.  How can you declare a state of emergency on one hand, and declare a state pardon and amnesty on the other?   If pardon is the case, what is going to be the lot of those who lost their lives and properties in the terrorism visited on the land by the dreaded Islamic group?"   He appealed to the Federal Government to deal decisively with this radical Islamic group by further declaring state of emergency in Kano and Kaduna States to show that it meant business.   He noted that the insecurity brought into the land by the terrorist Islamic sect has in no small way brought economic hardship to majority of residents in the North Eastern states of Nigeria and thus call on the Federal Government to take stock of those who have lost their means of livelihood and provide lifeline for them while identified sponsors of the sect are duly prosecuted.

A cattle dealer in Sabo, Ibadan, Alhaji Bala Ahmed said the Government has over-reacted to the issue by its declaration of state of emergency in the affected States of Borno and Yobe.   He alluded that the emergency declared would not bring an end to the insurgency because the sect would relocate to other States or mellow for a while before re-surfacing in the two States.  He queried the rationale for extending the emergency rule to Adamawa State which had no serious presence of the insurgent group.  While Alhaji Bala Ahmed agreed that Boko Haram activities was against national interest, he said that Government would have allowed the Northern Political leaders who have the capacity and hearts to mingle with the insurgent sect to interact long enough with them so that they can come out boldly to accept the amnesty proposal from the Federal Government.  "Emergency rule", he said, "will cause loss of many lives of innocent citizens while amnesty will work like it did with the Niger Delta militants".

Meanwhile, a veteran journalist, in Ibadan, Mr. Agboola Sanni has backed the Federal Government on steps taken so far to stem the ugly trend of insecurity in the Northern part of Nigeria.   Mr. Agboola who spoke with our roving officer at the NUJ Press Centre, Iyaganku, Ibadan, noted with happiness that the emergency imposed in the three States did not affect elected politicians like Governors and States' Assemblymen.  He stressed that Nigerians should not play into the hands of some power drunken military officers who might take the advantage of the insecurity situation to take over the government.  He called on the media to support the Federal Government to fight insurgency in Nigeria.

Via: Federal Ministry of Information (FMI) Nigeria