Malam Yerima Sani, the former governor of Zamfara State, made the request that President Bola Tinubu negotiate with terrorists and bandits in the nation and grant them amnesty similar to what the late Umaru Yar’Adua’s administration did for militants in the Niger Delta.
Northern leaders have rejected the request.
According to their respective points of view, negotiations will continue to be unsuccessful because the bandits lack a centralized leadership structure and have a history of breaking their agreements with some of the northern states and communities.
There is no way President Bola Tinubu’s administration will negotiate with bandits and terrorists, according to Chief Iorbee Ihagh, President General of Mzough U Tiv, MUT, worldwide and Chairman of the three sociocultural/ethnic groups in Benue state. These were individuals who were transported to this nation from regions of West Africa to oversee elections for a few people in 2015. They turned to banditry and terrorism after winning the elections because they broke the deal they made with the criminals, and as a result, they tormented the North. They know themselves, as do those who brought them here. They ought to be ordered to clean up the messes they made for Nigerians.
“I am pleased that President Tinubu has appointed individuals who can address the nation’s security issues as opposed to the previous administration, which was tainted by nepotism. They had intended to make Nigeria a Fulani state, but God saved us as a people. Therefore, there won’t be any haggling, and President Tinubu shouldn’t ever agree to that. We are commending him for his strong start, but if he continues in that direction, no one will be in his corner once more. Criminals should come forward and turn themselves in instead of going to the government and pleading for them. The millions of internally displaced people, or IDPs, dispersed throughout our state and other areas should be forced to return to their ancestral homes, and armed herdsmen should be forced to return to their respective locations. ”.
The State Vice Chairman of the APC Benue South District, Bishop Pinot Ogbaji, commented on the matter, saying: “I was shocked to learn that the former governor of the state of Zamfara had advised President Tinubu to negotiate with terrorists and bandits. Although negotiation and dialogue are a part of everything, it also means that we should support that mindset and personality. Once you reach a settlement with a dangerous group in the North, another group would probably emerge in a different region of the country looking for a settlement. Permit me to ask: What manner and kind of negotiation is he referring to, and is it for them to receive amnesty or true repentance? Even though we don’t know their demands, we don’t even know how far the negotiations will go. Negotiation is not at all problematic for me. Amnesty, which is not negotiation, is a possibility, of course. A person must voluntarily confess their sins before being returned to normal society and given new direction.
Additionally, Dr. Bitrus Pogu, the National President of the Middle Belt Forum, stated: “Unless he is one of them and he is trying to protect them, otherwise who negotiates with terrorists. It’s a northern problem that we’ve been having. Banditry and Boko Haram were seen as games by people from the North. Despite the fact that his election is still in question, we do have someone in that position, and it is clear that they will not stand by while others serve their own narrow interests at the expense of Nigeria as a whole. And I think Tinubu is working toward that. Negotiating with terrorists entails endorsing criminal behavior and motivating non-state actors to rise up and start something new in the future. The best course of action is to eliminate them and crush them.
Deal with them in a way that anyone who wants to rise in the future will now pause before acting for whatever reason. Since Nigerians have already endured enough suffering, it should even go further. Anyone making such a call should be investigated and dealt with harshly. If you recall, Yerima was the one who spearheaded the implementation of Sharia law under President Obasanjo at the time. Any advice from him should not be taken seriously because, in my opinion, he is suspect. ”.
Ishaq Usman Kasai, the chairman of the Birnin-Gwari Emirate Progressives Union (BEPU), argued that Yerima’s call demonstrated a lack of knowledge of the organizational structure and conflicting objectives of the armed bandits operating in their forests and responsible for the country’s widespread destruction, fatalities, and destabilization. “To successfully put an end to the armed banditry business in Nigeria, all bandits’ camps in our various forests must be dislodged as anything less will only be a showpiece that will not bring about a long-lasting solution,” he argued. Negotiations with armed bandits won’t ever result in anything meaningfully positive, as history has shown that criminal elements like armed bandits frequently use negotiations to buy time, regroup, and strengthen their positions.
They see negotiations as a sign of the government’s weakness, which gives them more confidence to carry out their violent actions. In the past, numerous state, local, and local governments as well as various communities in the nation’s northwest have engaged in numerous such negotiations with bandits. Past experiences from regions where this kind of negotiation was practiced demonstrate that the bandits only used the opportunity to receive more money, easily trafficked illegal drugs, acquired more arms, and raped women, including married and teenage girls. In actuality, every community and government that engaged in such negotiations with the bandits later regretted it.
Negotiating with the bandits will also send a dangerous message to Nigerians, especially rural residents, indicating the government’s weakness, incapacity, and official recognition of parallel governments within the Nigerian State. Given that the armed bandits in Nigeria lack a centralized leadership structure, making it difficult to ensure adherence to negotiated terms, our question to those who advocate for negotiation is: Which bandits’ group or leadership is the Federal Government going to negotiate with or have a dialogue with? Are those bandits groups’ leaderships in Zamfara, Katsina, Sokoto, Niger, Plateau, Benue, Nasarawa or Kebbi State? We could recall that the said strategy was attempted in the North West region by the states of Zamfara and Katsina, as well as by a number of local governments and individual communities.
The Zamfara State Government at the time, led by Abdulaziz Yari, concurred that in order for the peace agreement to be fully implemented, the bandits had to give up their weapons and never again invade or attack any individuals or communities. We are aware that five solar boreholes with artificial ponds for feeding livestock were built by the government for the Fulanis in the Shinkafi Local Government Area’s Subulu, Fakai, Maniya, Gangara, and Manawa villages. This was done to demonstrate the bandits’ sincerity of purpose and the government’s commitment to upholding the terms of the agreement.
Huge sums of money were also allegedly given to persuade the bandits to lay down their weapons and accept peace agreements. Following that, the Zamfara State Government also proposed the creation of Ruga communities for Nomads within the state, with the first Ruga project located at Maradun Local Government Area and nearly finished. There have been numerous resources devoted to that.
However, the bandits disregarded the agreement because they believed they were doing the people and the government a favor. We want the President to be aware that even in Zamfara State, where the negotiation was attempted in 2016, it was unsuccessful. Some of the bandit leaders who surrendered their weapons used the money they received from the government to buy more weapons. Because the armed bandits in Nigeria lack a centralized command and leadership structure and a common objective, negotiations with them will continue to fail.
Getting them to the same negotiating table will be challenging, and any agreements reached with one group might not apply to the others.
Dr. As the governor of Zamfara State and a prominent academic from the north, Mikailu Barau made fun of Yarima for his role in the crisis’ escalation. But he added, “The subject is really debatable. Negotiating with the bandits is the last thing a typical Zamfara resident would want to hear. But based on what we have seen thus far, all efforts to use force against them have failed because they are now seeking support outside of Nigeria. The problem would be resolved if you could find a sincere leader who would mediate between the warring factions and make sure that the bandits upheld their end of the bargain. The previous governments in Zamfara, for instance, were not sincere in their approach because they would stop keeping an eye on the bandits after reaching an agreement with them, thinking that they had put down their weapons.
No conflict can be resolved with the use of force. At some point or another, individuals must negotiate over a round table while seated.
