By Emmanuel Onwubiko
“Government is not a trade which
any man or body of men have right to set up and exercise for his own emolument,
but is altogether a trust, in the right of those by whom that trust is
delegated and by it is always resumable. It has of itself no rights; they are
altogether duties.” -Thomas Paine.
The decision by the current central government to keep
releasing hundreds of terrorists arrested and detained by the military in the
ten year-old counter terror war is such that lacks rationality, sound reasoning
and is in no way pragmatic and remains existentially unhelpful to the aims and
objectives of running a constitutional democracy in which the people of Nigeria
are the owners of the sovereignty. The policy turns logic on its head and has
set tongues wagging on the commitments of the current to defeat these armed
Islamists who as i write are said to still control some territories of North
East of Nigeria.
The beginning assertions find logical reasoning in the
universal fact that the people and their general wellbeing should have dictated
to the politicians who exercise democratic authority derived from the
legitimacy donated by the people that it is futile and evil to focus
government’s counter terror war around the meaningless idea of servicing the
interests of the terrorists who have for ten years taken up arms to wage war
against the state and the people of Nigeria. These atrocious acts of terrorism
have made Nigeria to become the third most dangerous place on the globe at the
moment going by the statistical computation done by a conflicts observatory
platform.
Reading through the whole gamut of the policies captured
in section 14 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is all
about promoting the security and welfare of the citizens of Nigeria. Without
security and welfare of the greatest number of Nigerians, then the central
place of government is lost in transit, so to say. Thomas Paine made this point
clear in the beginning quotation I included in this piece.
The idea of investing substantially in the meaningless
project of the so-called rehabilitation and reintegration of terrorists into
the society even when millions of the civilian victims of terrorism are
languishing in unwarranted existential pains and in very intolerable
excruciating conditions is a total negation of the provisions enshrined in
section 14 of the 1999 constitution.
Specifically, section 14 of the grund norm states as
follows:” (1) The Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be a State based on the
principles of democracy and social justice. (2) It is hereby, accordingly,
declared that: (a) sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria from whom
government through this Constitution derives all its powers and authority; (b)
the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of
government: and (c) the participation by the people in their government shall
be ensured in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution. (3) The
composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the
conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the
federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also
to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no
predominance of persons from a few State or from a few ethnic or other
sectional groups in that Government or in any of its agencies. (4) The
composition of the Government of a State, a local government council, or any of
the agencies of such Government or council, and the conduct of the affairs of
the Government or council or such agencies shall be carried out in such manner
as to recognize the diversity of the people within its area of authority and
the need to promote a sense of belonging and loyalty among all the people of
the Federation."
To therefore continue to witness the bad policy of
neglecting victims of terrorism whilst investing in the resettlement of
terrorists is nothing more than a constitutional aberration which seems to have
drawn the motivation from the absolutely unlawful and totally weird way
of viewing or explaining the exercise of sovereign power as promoted by the
philosopher Jean Bodin (1529-1596).
In his ridiculous work titled: “Sovereignty is the
absolute and perpetual power of a commonwealth,” this philosopher made it
appear like the ruler can simply exercise power in breach of the normative and
legal provisions that centralized the interests of the people as the aim and
objective of government in the twenty first century World.
The politics Book has indeed offered us a bird’s eye
view of this outrageous piece of opinion by Jean Bodin.
“In his treatise Six Books of Republic, Bodin argued
that sovereignty had to be absolute and perpetual to be effective. Absolute
sovereignty would create a stronger central authority over its territory. To
avoid conflict, the sovereign should not be bound by laws, obligations, or
conditions, either from outside factions or from his own subjects.
Bodin’s insistence on the need for absolute sovereignty
says the compilers of the Politics book, formed an intellectual pillar
supporting the rise of absolute monarchy in Europe.
He (Jean Bodin) also argued that sovereignty needed to
be perpetual. Power could neither be granted to the sovereign by others nor be
limited in time, as this would contradict the principle of absolutism.
Bodin used the Latin terms res publica (“republique” in
French, or “commonwealth” in English) for matters of public law, and believed
that any political society must have a sovereign who is free to make and break
the law for the commonwealth to prosper.”(The Politics Book). This Jean Bodin's
wild and weird reasoning may be the 'fountain of wisdom' from where President
Muhammadu Buhari may have drawn inspiration in carrying out this wholly
inexplicable and unacceptable policy of prioritizing the interests of the
so-called terrorists over and above that of the people of Nigeria and the laws
which mandates government to enforce relevant laws against terrorists and mass
murderers. After all section 33(1) of the Nigerian Constitution gives Nigerians
the RIGHT TO LIFE which the armed terrorists deprive them wantonly.
However, the insistence of President Muhammadu Buhari to
go on releasing the erstwhile terrorists at a time of dangerous resurgence of
terrorism and attacks by terrorists including public executions of dozens of
Christian hostages by these deadly terrorists goes to demonstrate the
insensitivity and irresponsibility of those clothed with the executive power to
govern the country.
Since the last five years, there have been spikes in the
number of violent attacks in the North East of armed Islamists even as this
period has witnessed the unprecedented releases back unto the public of those
who had waged war against the nation and the citizens of Nigeria. How does
government expect mass murderers to co-habit with their victims of terrorism?
This is incredible.
How the central government carries on with this
primitive and wicked policy of releasing of terrorists in the guise of
deradicalization whereas the country stands to gain nothing from this
unconstitutional practice has remained one of the wonders of the earth and
indeed is a signal that Nigeria is a failing state.
Indeed, it is only in a banana republic will those who
were sworn in with the solemn pledge to comply with the constitution now go on
violating all the relevant criminal laws that demands that those who carry out
mass killings must face the full weight of the law because Nigeria should be a
nation governed by law.
This is why the respected statesman and Bishop of Sokoto
Dr. Matthew Hassan Kukah rightly stated that Nigeria is the only country in the
world whereby the greatest numbers of killers move freely in the society
without being made to face the wrath of the law.
This expanding frontier of impunity and reckless
lawlessness by the Federal government is an absolute negation of the role of
government as propounded by fathers of politics and philosophy of law. From the
media we can find dozens of report that hundreds of terrorists are being freed
back into the society even when violent attacks targeting basically Christians
are on the increase.
Around January 18th 2020, The Guardian reports that the
military authority says no fewer than 608 repentant Boko Haram insurgents are
currently undergoing De-radicalisation, Rehabilitation and Reintegration (DRR)
Programme by Operation Safe Corridor (OSC) at Malam-Sidi, Gombe State.
Brig: - Gen. Musa Ibrahim, Commandant DRR Camp OSC made
this known when the Managing Director, North East Development Commission
(NEDC), Mr. Mohammed Alkali visited the camp.
He said 14 of the repentant insurgents were foreigners
from Cameroon, Chad and Niger Republic.
Ibrahim said: “From inception, we received 893 out of
which 286 graduated and were returned to their respective states and countries
for reintegration’’.
He said the personnel in the camp were working
diligently with the mandate of OSC in conformity with international best
practices.
According to him, the success of the programme will go a
long way in restoring peace and security to the North East in particular and
the country as a whole.
Ibrahim said the programme was in need of five Hilux
vans, additional vocational center, accommodation for camp staff and clients,
and prompt release of funds to run the power generator among others.
In his remarks, Alkali said the purpose of his visit was
to have an on the spot appreciation of how the programme has been run.
He said NEDC would do everything possible to ensure that
the programme succeeded by providing them with facilities needed.
Mr. President established this organization and the NEDC
with the mandate to make sure peace came back to the region as it was before in
terms of development’’, he said.
He, therefore, urged unrepentant insurgents who were
still in the bushes causing mayhem to come and embrace peace and live a normal
life.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Alkali also
interacted with the repentant insurgents and inspected the camp facilities.
NAN reports that a cross-section of the clients
expressed delight in the Federal Government intervention to rehabilitate them
even after collateral damages they had caused the country.
The Nigerian Army on Monday released over 150
“repentant” Boko Haram members to the Borno State Government.
The exercise was part of the ‘Operation Safe Corridor’
in the North-East.
The former militants were released to reunite with
society after they had undergone rehabilitation in Gombe State at a centre
established for the purpose.
The deradicalised and repentant terrorists were released
to the Borno State Deputy Governor, Usman Kahdafur, in Maiduguri.
The Coordinator, “Operation Safe Corridor,” Maj. Gen.
Bamidele Shafa, said the deradicalisation and the subsequent acceptance of the
returnees back into society would encourage other insurgents still in the bush
to lay down their arms.
Shafa said the returnees had been trained in various
skills during the 52-week training before their graduation in November last
year in Gombe State.
He said they were held for another eight months after
their graduation because of the resurgence of Boko Haram activities.
“The government is magnanimous in receiving them as we
have witnessed. So we keep telling them to embrace peace. They cannot continue
to remain in the bush. Let them come out and be rehabilitated.
“A lot of sensitization has been done through the
traditional rulers before their return. We have 151 of them comprising 19
teenagers and 132 adults,” Shafa said.
He lamented that they were about 152 as of Friday last
week, but one of them died after battling health complications at the Gombe
Federal Medical Centre.
In his remarks, the deputy governor, on behalf of the
Borno State Government, expressed gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari for
initiating the ‘Operation Safe Corridor’ for the deradicalisation of repentant
Boko Haram terrorists.
Punch of last July 3rd reports that the Nigerian Army
had just handed over 151 repentant Boko Haram insurgents to Borno Government
for rehabilitation and reintegration into the society.
Maj.-Gen. Bamidele Shafa, the Coordinator, Operation
Safe Corridor, made the disclosure during the handing over of the repentant
insurgents at the Bulunkutu Rehabilitation Center, Maiduguri.
Shafa disclosed that the 151 male repentant insurgents
comprised 132 adult and 19 minors, who completed 52 weeks of de-radicalization
process at its center in Gombe.
He said that the clients were exposed to formal literacy
classes, skills acquisition and Islamic Religious Knowledge (IRK) as well as
drug and psycho-therapists during their training.
Shafa explained that the Operation Safe Corridor was
designed to encourage Boko Haram insurgents to surrender, provide
de-radicalization and rehabilitation programme, to enable them rejoin the
society.
“The clients confessed their past misdeeds; denounced
membership of Boko Haram group, asked for forgiveness and took oath of
allegiance to Nigeria. I believe they are now good citizens to rejoin the
society,” he said.
Shafa lauded the state government over its support and
efforts to assist the repentant insurgents to reintegrate into the society.
Also, Alhaji Umar Kadafur, the state Deputy Governor,
commended the Federal Government over the implementation of Operation Safe
Corridor to rehabilitate and reintegrate repentant insurgents into the society.
Kadafur said that the state government had adopted
effective measures to accept the insurgents willing to voluntarily surrender
and to create an enabling environment for them to rejoin the society.
He said that the state government had also directed
community leaders to sensitize their people on the need to accept the
rehabilitated insurgents, and warned against infringement on their rights.
The deputy governor added that the state government
would support rehabilitated insurgents to set up their business, to enable them
to engage in productive activities and contribute to the development of the
society.
Tela Dandija and Kyari Buguma, some of the repentant
insurgents, thanked the Federal Government for the amnesty granted to them and
called on the insurgents still in the bush to surrender.
They also called for support to enable them to set up
their businesses in their respective communities.
Now, compare the reckless releases of terrorists by the
Federal government currently and the lackluster display of executive rascality
of going to the media with the military strategies against armed hoodlums and
bandits who have killed thousands of Nigerians and destroyed many communities,
the thinking would be that this government lacks tact and is largely
garrulous. How can the commander in chief go to the media to announce a
yet to be carried out bombing campaigns against bandits and you think the
bandits will then relax and wait to die rather than run away? What is the
policy guidelines of this government in both the counter terror war and the
protection of national security and maintaining the sanctity of Nigeria's
territorial integrity? For the benefit of those who are not aware, I will
proceed to reproduce the public announcer telling the World that the military
has been ordered to bomb armed bandits in Niger state.
In the release, President Muhammadu Buhari reportedly
ordered air strikes against bandits, kidnappers and cattle rustlers that have
been attacking remote communities around Dogon Gona forest in Niger State.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and
Publicity, Garba Shehu, in a statement said, Buhari gave the order after he
received assurances that with the harmattan dust gradually easing its hold on
the skies, the strike would happen this week.
Buhari, who described the repeated attacks leading to
the losses of several lives in the communities “as a disaster for the nation,”
had authorized the deployment of air power to support troops and policemen
deployed to the “difficult terrain,” to counter the menace of the attackers
operating in the forest area bordering Kaduna, Niger and Zamfara states.
The statement read: “In line with this directive, the
Nigerian Air Force is setting up refueling facilities at Minna, Niger State to
support the aircraft operations, giving assurances that given the improved
weather conditions, a major exercise to ‘visually acquire targets’ and launch
attacks will soon follow.
“The Police Command in Niger has equally given
assurances that the planned dedicated air raids to complement the police
helicopter gunship operations remain the best approach given the lack of
motorized roads in the areas constantly under attack.”
President Buhari commiserated with the government and
people of Niger State following the attacks and the loss of lives that
followed, and assures that victim communities in the state will not be
abandoned by the rest of the country.
Niger Governor, Abukar Sani Bello, also said that the
deployment would be backed with 24 hours air surveillance across the three
LGA’s currently under siege by bandits.
In a statement issued in Minna yesterday, by Chief Press
Secretary to the governor, Mrs. Mary Noel Berje, Bello, condemned the “inhuman
activities” of the bandits and said that air and land surveillance would help a
great deal to fish and flush out the bandits.
The statement is coming barely 24 hours after bandits
numbering about 50, overran no fewer than five communities in Shiroro LGA of
the state, killing 11 people and rustled over 300 cattle, in the early hours of
Saturday. The bandits who invaded the communities at about 6am ransacked the
entire communities as they moved from one house to another without any
resistance for hours.
Communities that were affected in the latest attacks
are: Kudodo, Galapai, Dnakpala Makera and Dnalgwa.
Bello expressed regret over the continued loss of lives
and property daily, pointing out that the criminals were taking advantage of
the vastness of the terrain to unleash terror on innocent people. He said that
the State government would fully support the joint security task force to chase
the bandits out of the state.
This policy of informing terrorists and bandits of the
yet to be carried out military campaigns reminds me of what a scholar wrote
about how most government officials have turned governance into something
primitive, sinister and wicked.
The scholar said that most people accept the institution
of government because it has always been there; they have always assumed it was
essential. People do not question its existence, much less its right to exist.
Government the author says sponsors untold waste,
criminality and inequality in every sphere of life it touches, giving little or
nothing in return.
"Its contributions to the commonwealth are wars,
pogroms, confiscations, persecutions, taxation, regulation and inflation. And
it's not just some governments of which that's true, although some are clearly
much worse than others. It's an inherent characteristic of all
government".
The essence of something the author says is what makes
the thing what it is. But surprisingly little study of government has been done
by ontologists (who study the first principles of things) or epistemologists
(who study the nature of human knowledge). The study of government almost never
concerns itself with whether government should be, but only with how and what
it should be. The existence of government is accepted without question.
The writer being quoted continued thus: "What is
the essence of government? After you cut through all the rhetoric, the
doublethink and the smokescreen of altruism that surround the subject, you find
that the essence of government is force. And the belief it has the right to
initiate the use of force whenever expedient".
The author says: "Government is an organization
with a monopoly, albeit with some fringe competition, on the use of force
within a given territory. As Mao Zedong said, "The power of government
comes out of the barrel of a gun." There is no voluntarism about obeying
laws. The consent of a majority of the governed may help a government put a
nice face on things, but it is not essential and is, in fact, given with any
enthusiasm". (https://www.lewrockwell.com/
However, the Nigerian Constitution states that "The
primary duty of government is to provide security and welfare to the
people." Any policy which is not to the interest of the greatest number of
Nigerians is evil. The constant releases of terrorists undermines the Nigerian
Constitution and is an ABSOLUTE EVIL. This must stop forthwith.
*Emmanuel Onwubiko is the Head of the Human Rights
Writers Association of Nigeria and blogs@www.huriwanigeria.com;
www.emmanuelonwubikocom; www.thenigerianinsidernews.com
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