The North on Wednesday disagreed with the National Assembly on the proscription of two Islamic miltant groups – Boko Haram and Ansaru–by President Goodluck Jonathan.
While the North through its two
prominent groups, the Arewa Consultative Forum and the Northern Elders
Forum, faulted the ban, the National Assembly insisted that it was a
welcome development.
To the ACF and the NEF, the Jonathan
administration has through the ban thrown a spanner in the works in its
efforts to end bloodletting in the North through amnesty for Boko
Haram and Ansaru members.
They said they were waiting to see how the Federal Government would address the crisis in the North.
In an interview with one of our
correspondents in Kaduna, the ACF’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr.
Anthony Sani, argued that with the ban, negotiations with Boko Haram
would be difficult.
He asked, “Now that they (government) have proscribed the sect, can they now negotiate with a non-existing group?
“Before, the government told us that
it was using a stick and carrot approach; that is, negotiation and
state of emergency; now that they have proscribed it (Boko Haram), how
will the negotiation work?
“It is the government that told us that
a stick and carrot approach will work together. Now that they have gone
to proscribe Boko Haram, let us see how they will apply the stick
and carrot. We pray that they succeed.”
Sani wondered if the government would negotiate with members of the sect individually instead of meeting the group.
He added, “The government said they
needed the emergency in order to reclaim the seized town taken over by
Boko Haram. This made Nigerians, including us (ACF) to give them the
go-ahead. We supported the state of emergency to reclaim seized part
of the country.
“But now that they have proscribed the
sect, we don’t know how they will apply the carrot. Now, how can you
negotiate with an illegal entity? The group has just been proscribed.
They have announced it. They are applying the stick now but we don’t
know how they will apply the carrot.”
His counterpart in the NEF, Prof. Ango
Abdullahi, said the proscription contradicted government’s efforts to
negotiate with the sect.
Abdullahi argued that the proscription of anything should come after the legal existence of such a thing.
He added, “As far as I can
understand, if there is an organisation registered with the Corporate
Affairs Commission and is operating according to the law before it was
registered; and then along the line, the organisation begins to infringe
on the laws that created it or even against its laws as registered with
the Corporate Affairs Commission, you can then go ahead and cancel its
registration.
“If its activities are violating the law of the country, then issues like banning and proscription come into play.
“But in this case, people say they don’t
know what this Boko Haram is, they don’t know the members and they are
trying to get the members to come out for dialogue .
“If you are looking for dialogue, you
have to expect that there will be people who will come out under certain
respectable conditions.
“Two things have happened
simultaneously- the declaration of a state of emergency which connotes
the declaration of martial law. You cannot expect somebody to come and
meet soldiers under emergency conditions and now you have the
proscription.”
Apart from the ACF and NEF, the
Northern Youth Consultative Forum, a former Lagos State Police
Commissioner, Abubakar Tsav, and the Campaign for Democracy flayed the
ban.
The N Y C F National President, Alhaji
Aminu Mohammed, Tsav and CD President Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, spoke
separately with our correspondents on Wednesday.
Mohammed, who expressed concern about
the planned amnesty for Boko Haram members, said it was unfortunate
that all along, the Jonathan administration had been playing politics
with the sect.
He said, “We are all intelligent. You
cannot create many things at the same time: Boko Haram, amnesty
committee, fighting insurgents and proscribing the group.
“How do we trust the government? Is it
not the government that is messing things up? Let them tell us who Boko
Haram is? Where are they?”
On his part, Tsav asked, “Is this
ban an Act of National Assembly or a decree by the President and
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, Dr Goodluck Ebele
Jonathan?
“Why did the President not include
MEND(Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta), NDVF (Niger
Delta Volunteer Force), OPC (Odua People’s Congress), Ombatse, etc in
the ban since these organisations also engage in acts of terrorism?
“Was Boko Haram a legal organisation
before the ban? He(President) just sleeps, dreams and acts on his
dreams without thinking. Laws are made for all but GEJ’s law is
discriminatory and with ethnic bias.
“This is civilian dictatorship and not democracy. What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.”
Also, Okei-Odumakin said the ban was meaningless.
She asked, “What is the use of
government outlawing a group that had already declared that it was the
Federal Government that should beg it for amnesty?
“It is meaningless and preposterous. The
Boko Haram would laugh it off as a joke. What the government needs to
do is to enforce law and order.”
Is spite of the knocks from the ACF,
NEF, N Y C F, CD and Tsav, Jonathan got a strong backing from the
National Assembly which said it would stand behind him in any action
that would end insurgency in the country.
Senate Spokesman, Enyinnaya Abaribe,
while briefing journalists on Wednesday, said, “The Senate welcomes the
proscription of Boko Haram and other terrorist groups in the country.
Although it is coming late, it is good and we will continue to support
the President’s efforts to bring peace to the country.”
He clarified that the proclamation would
not affect the amnesty plans, arguing that amnesty was for those who
renounced their participation in terrorist activities.
Abaribe said, “Those who are still continuing with terrorism are not covered by the amnesty.”
Chairman, House Committee on Media and
Public Affairs, Mr. Zakari Mohammed, said, “The prescription order is a
step in the right direction. As a House, we will support every proactive
measure taken by the Federal Government to stem the tide of insecurity
in the country.
“Whenever the government makes a pronouncement that is good, we will support it as a House.”
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ACF, NEF, NYCF, CD and Tsav you are all mad people. Now we are seeing the sponsors and sympathizers of boko haram.
ReplyDelete. . . I regret to say that this is a senseless and futile decision made by Jona and backed up by NASS. At this point, i want 2 ask the competency of all the professors used by the president as his advisers. This is stick and iron approach.
ReplyDeletelord twin u are mad n need pschologist to exmine u. Killing people in cold blood for 2 yrs n u've mouth to condome GEJ n NASS.Any organisstn in d north dt condenms dis ban shld also be ban bc dey are supports of evil. How many times av dey come to d villa frm d north since 2yrs to find solution ti dis problem,yet dey cldn't do anytime. President pls direct d military to kill on site anyone found with gun n ammunition in any part of dis country except our security men. Killing of innicent people must stop in dis country. God bless Nigeria!
Deletethese sympathizers are jesters. things are turning into a season film which unfortunately involves a prof
ReplyDeleteNorthern leaders are now vampires senslessly preying on their own subjects, children and women! what a hypocricy? what a caustic wickedness while their own children are sent outside the shores of this country for safety. but one thing is certain, they 'll be hunted by the blood of the innocent which they have shed on the altar of politics! they 'll meet the same fate.
ReplyDeleteNorthern Mumu's
ReplyDeleteLord, u don't have head at all to think!
ReplyDeleteLord twin,God go punish u and ur stupid hand wey u take type d message u sent,how on earth can u say dis? Am sure u are a boko supporter,na ogun go kill u
ReplyDeleteIt is now cristal clear who the supporters and financier of boko haram are: by their comment you shall know them.
ReplyDeleteIts now clear and obvious on who the real bokaharamist are.by the words of their mouth u shall know them.the ACf, NEF,and NYCF ar the progeny of Bokoharam hence the ccorrelation is clear.more than 3000 inocent souls has been killed, churches burnt,propertis destroyed,wat effort has they made?instead they are happy of christians being killed, churches burrned and d country ungovernable for MR president. Now dat the president is taking an expidit and expedient steps in quelling the terrolist they now bigot and daunts his effort.As a matter of exigency, the leaders of ACf,NEf, NYCF and stav( fools, inconsequentials and terrolist) should all b arrested and indict under the terrolist act for making such a nauseat.
ReplyDeleteTo hell with the North. After all who is this North? What makes them more superior than the rest of the country. What are their contributions to the ECONOMY of this country? What political landmark contributions have they made to the building and development of this country. Who are the North that they tend to drag us backwards each time we want to move forward. Mr. President please extend the proscription and ban to all the organizations and associations fronting for the BOKO HARAM.
ReplyDeleteLord Iwin, you are approaching this issue with ethnic sentiments. International bodies and foreign countries are even aware of the threat posed by this set. Now $7m reward awaits any person that reveals the where about of Shekau, an international terrorist. Did any foreign country or body labelled Dokubo and other leaders of Niger Delta, ODUA and MASSOB international terrorists? Were rewards placed on their heads? Were they in hiding during their operations? Did they target civilian populations intentionally? This is a clear indication that their manner of operation which is globally accepted is different from Boko Haram. The best treatment to Boko Haram is death penalty. It seemed that Northern leaders sponsored them to cause confusion in the country. Now they are confused. Let's see whether they will declare another civil war.
ReplyDeleteHe who kills by the sword shall die by the Sword. BH can't get away with their atrocities in the name of Amnesty. U destroyed houses of God and Killed his children n now u want Carrot n u will all get Iron n Rod. Wat is happening is not Jonathan Plan, in case u all don't know, it's God at work. Pls every reader should start their comments with God at work so pple stop blaming Joe
ReplyDeletewhat pains me is this stand and look attitude...imagine ACF saying "lets see if it would work for Jonathan" when he set up amnesty committee, NEF said same thing, even when he also declare emergency rule... ACF and NEF, to your disappointments, these tactics are working well...Nigeria has won!
ReplyDeleteNigeriaEye, you don't allow people from the north to comment, simply because the bridge of hate has been built between us through ignorance.
ReplyDeleteThen move to Mali and join your brothers
DeleteObviously some people have no cares for the poor defenless men women and children being daily slaughtered by this evil and senseless people as if the defenceless poor are the cause of their problems. These people who are daily made widows, widowers, fatherless, motherless, childless and orpans and who daily live in utmost fear and trepidation are more than glad about the Presidents firm intervention which is late in coming. Prof and his like who are ethnic jingoists have no consideration for such people but are fixated on forcing the president to pet and plead with what are simply terrorist organisations who have all the resources the poor and defenseless people they kill daily don't have. May God help us!
ReplyDeleteI am calling on all well meaning and well educated Northern youth to raise against this Northern Children's Forum (NEF)
ReplyDeleteThis forum threaten this nation that it will be ungovernable before the second raise of this NEF Boko haram. Before the state of emergency boko haram was still killing innocent people even after amnesty has been given to them which they rejected.
They know that they are just creating problems,,, But let them know that any attempt on the life of the president will tear this nation down and it will never be united again.
If the govt take action they will criticize, if not, they will criticize. come out with far reaching sugestion that will end the evil of BKH killing, they won't. One thing is dure and that is, since the military onslaught, there has not been bombing of churched and moto park bombing, the reason why we now believe the action this action is long overdue. If this is what obtained about 2 yrs ago, probably, may that have been sent to their untimely death would have been avoided. But the delay by the govt was not that they couldn,t but to make the bokoharamites come to themselves and to prove GEJ has not come to divide the country. So GEJ, go ahead. Let the Bokoharamites repent and give their lives to Jesus and they will know thay are wallowing in darkness. All those who were behind the scene sponsoring BKH are now showing up because their political tools are being rendered impotent.
ReplyDeleteMost people write before they think thereby betraying their bigotry and hatred for the north.
ReplyDeleteIf GEJ and US are not fighting Islam and Muslims in disguise, what stop them from banning MEND, OPC, Ombatse, MOSSOB, etc that forment trouble and led to the death of many innocent citizens including security operatives. is it b/c they are not from the North or owned by muslims. God will fight whoever fights his religion and people.
ReplyDeleteOnly a retard will compare them to boko haram
Deleteso all this while they were in support of boko haram and the others because they wanted to make money out of it. ALL THOSE WHO ARE CONNECTED TO THE KILLING OF INNOCENT PEOPLE WILL ALL DIE. BEGINNING WITH Buhari their leader. Stick and carrot my foot. so taking peoples life is now a game right.
ReplyDeleteD southerners only goes to school, bt de are mayopic in their tinkin. was BH a legal organisation? Ur sentiment wl never tek u anywhere, u better shine ur eyes. Many of u nw wl say am Bh sopota abi? Samson Bauchi.
ReplyDeleteIf we can read northern leaders correctly, it looks like the north wants an army of its own, starting with Boko Haram. Looks like they would soon declare total war against all of Nigeria? They love Boko Haram, it's their baby.
ReplyDeleteThis is now clear that northern leaders are the cause of the killing and terrorism in the north today. Gej,ride on with your good work please.We the good Nigerians are supporting you.
ReplyDeleteWe are all problem of ourselves. Before now, we were our brothers' keeper,but this days,things have completely gone different.WHY? Everyone is full of pride,power, and indeed everybody want to be in the game.Our creator has abundantly blessed us and infact still blessing us. why suddenly have we forgotten all this? First stanza of the national anthem,line 4 reads 'with love and strength and faith' line 7 reads 'To serve with heart and might' while line 8 and 9 reads respectively 'one nation bound in freedom & peace and unity' where are our spoken words?are they real? All Nigerians should check their inner mind,if they really portray these said words.Have we also forgotten the second stanza of the same anthem in line 4, which reads 'in love and honesty to grow' so where is the love? line 5 reads 'And living just and true' where are these words? consequently, line 7 and 8 reads respectively ' To build a nation where peace & justice shall reign.....NIGERIANS' these are great words. lets give peace a chance......
ReplyDeleteWHY IS MY COMMENT NOT PUBLISHED
ReplyDeleteMikhail Gorbachev of the defund Soviet Union allowed the USSR to split into six countries. Now just because a northerner is not the president ACF, NEF, NYCF, CD and Tsav are secretly sponsoring BH and making the country ungovernable. Mr President, emulate Mikhail Gorbachev and you will see that all these nonsenses will come to a stop. Let the North be ruled by a BH member for us to watch. But if we are to have the so called united Nigeria, then after Jonathan, we have an Igbo as the leader for the next 8 years and then a Yourba man for another 8 years before we see if a northerner will be considered. Let heaven fall. This is our game plan. Recruit more people into BH or burn down the north and it will not make any change. The southerners are even more resolute now than ever. To your tents oh Nigeria!.
ReplyDeleteEmeka (Enugu)
The burden on this nation that is the north elite is unbearable now. The era of monkey dey work baboon dey chop is over. A liability is a liability. Rid the nation of parasites and backward people
ReplyDeleteI am astonished sometimes the way some guys reason. Is it not petinent for
ReplyDeletepeople to understand that MEND, OPC etc are just like ACF, NEF, NYCF
ETC? These are not terroris groups, unlike B'haram. We all know the
members of these groups unlike the ghost B'haram. So how on earth do you
draw comparism between B'haram and these groups. if the northerners
talk of ban of MEND, OPC, etc they should also talk of ban on ACF, NEF,
etc. here we are concerned with murderers in the name of religious sect.
Is it by force to be a moslem? My dear GEJ, if you haven't done
anything good for Nigeria, this unarguably one big relief, carry on
joor.
Sylvester Oko
I knew these people will cry foul, they are sheep in wolves clothdy, oh i pledge to Nigeria my country loyal and honest, to be faithful and truth. where are the true Nigerians from the North? what a pity but one thing is sure if you people break the country the regret is yours better think fast and amend your selfish and tribalism ways and let the glory and the purpose God created Nigeria for come to manifest. Anyway, you cannot stop the hand of God from moving...... he will do that which he has plan to do no matter the storm, Nigeria will surely scale through.
ReplyDelete