Being wronged, particularly by someone who is supposed to be your brother or at least have your best interests at heart, causes hurt reflected by justifiable anger, sadness, and resentment. Nigerians are increasingly being wronged and being hurt through banditry, insurgency, corruption, and administrative incompetence in governance. To add insult to injury, the perpetrators of these wrongdoings routinely get away with it.
The media has been trending with news that Sheik Gumi, in his self-appointed task of negotiating with domestic terrorists supposedly on behalf of Nigerians, says that bandits should be “settled” and granted “amnesty”. He bizarrely claims that these criminals are on a “revenge” mission without explaining what exactly the kidnapped school children or their parents ever did to them that they are revenging! Apparently, banditry has evolved from being a crime, into being a Nigerian business supported by the likes of Sheik Gumi.
Quite preposterously, he said that the language and tone used to address bandits should be “moderated” to avoid offending them! He said nothing about the fact that their victims, the majority of which are Northerners, are justifiably enraged and increasingly irate to say the least. The Sheik further made the most outrageous allegation that the enemies of the bandits were “Christian soldiers” killing Muslims. Quite deplorably this has not been vehemently debunked by military authorities. The inescapable truth is the real “enemies” of the bandits are not their fellow citizens but rather their governors, lawmakers and presidency who combine to keep them shackled to poverty and ignorance.
They lack future prospects because funds meant to secure their destinies were stolen in order to feather private nests. Their spokespersons lament that they were used as the military wing of a political party and dumped after election, so they have taken matters into their own hands turning the North into an aptly described “boiling cauldron of disillusionment, disaffection and discontent”. They have been reduced to expressing their resentment against everybody else with sociopathic ferocity. Assuming that Sheik Gumi means well, even though his detractors claim otherwise, he must be aware that his religious pronouncements together with his defence of banditry can only serve to incite and condone violence and lack of religious tolerance.
To be fair, he isn’t the only Northerner who speaks on the violence while refusing to acknowledge the real motives, causes and solutions, but at least none of them has ventured to say that government should forgive bandits. It’s not government’s place to forgive on behalf of others. Psychologists define forgiveness as a conscious, deliberate decision to release feelings of resentment or vengeance towards a person or group who has harmed you. Forgiveness doesn’t mean forgetting, nor does it mean condoning or excusing offences. The important thing about forgiveness is that it is an individual voluntary choice.
Medical practitioners claim that retaining a forgiving disposition has physiological benefits such as peace of mind, lower blood pressure and improved heart heath. Some religions even regard forgiveness as being essential for spiritual growth and “inner peace”. Despite this, the majority of Nigerians are not predisposed towards forgiving those who have offended them. They cannot be faulted for demanding justice and accountability and even retribution, especially in circumstances where victims are still suffering.
Forgiveness is a personal matter and political office holders are not constitutionally empowered to forgive anybody on behalf of those they inflicted harm upon. With forgiveness off the table, one option open to government would have been to grant bandits “pardon” which is in effect “forgiveness” by political authorities which allows people to be relived of some or all of the legal consequences of criminal convictions. However, pardon is not applicable in this case because it is granted to people who were either wrongfully convicted, have shown sufficient remorse, or have demonstrated that they have paid their debt to society.
None of these can be said to be true of bandits. Another major problem with pardon is that it can be regarded as a slap in the face of the victims because they effectively condone wrongdoing by granting effective immunity. There really is no basis for pardoning the bandits, and indeed it would set dangerous precedence. Sheik Gumi’s suggestion of amnesty would on the surface appear to be a viable option. However, amnesty is not applicable because it is used for political crimes against the state such as treason, sedition or rebellion.
Banditry is a criminal offence which does not fall in to any of these categories. Attempts to equate the actions of bandits with those of Niger Delta militants, IPOB or even Boko Haram are fallacious because these groups engage in sedition whether peaceful or otherwise. None of the three is into general criminal activities and all are working towards their known political goal of creating a separate state. Amnesty is, therefore, an appropriate manner in which to deal with their sedition. Bandits on the other hand are solely engaged in criminal activities for personal benefit so forgiveness, pardon and amnesty are off the table.
The only remaining option is to grant clemency which can be used to reduce the penalty for the crime without clearing the criminal record. Clemency is synonymous with charity, grace, leniency and mercy and is the only righteous appeal which can be made on behalf of the bandits. Clemency is a personal matter and not applicable to all. For it to take effect, a person must first be convicted and sentenced, after which the sentence can be reduced or negated. The advantage of bandits appealing for, and being granted clemency, is that it would reflect not only an admission of the person’s guilt and wrongdoing, but also acceptance by government that the person is also a victim of maladministration and frustrated aspirations. In addition, government would seize the moral high-ground by showing characteristics of compassion, leniency and mercy which bandits themselves never exhibit towards their victims.
While those calling for negotiation with bandits may see their interventions as providing solution to immediate problems, it should be quite clear that accepting such interventions would be a total admission of failure on the part of government whose first duty is to enforce law and order. The continuous operations by bandits have destroyed the myth of President Buhari’s zero tolerance for indiscipline and ability to maintain law and order as a retired General. Nowadays, armed bandits are invited to hold meetings with senior government officials while unarmed law-abiding protestors are brutalised, locked up or even killed by security agents! Indeed the role of security agents is questionable.
Questions are rightly being asked as to why the Sheik hasn’t led security personnel to the bandits’ various meeting points where he is well received? Furthermore, an explanation is also required as to why anyone driving over 100km in the South comes across at least 10 police or army checkpoints, while in the North, bandits can drive 300km with hundreds of kidnapped children without coming across a single checkpoint. Even if restitution is ever made to their victims, which is doubtful, justice is not only for the victims but also for the perpetrator. Bandits, just like all others who break the law, must be made to pay some kind of penalty for their wrongdoings.
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