When news broke of the kidnapping of schoolchildren and others in Kagara, Niger State, I felt my chest tighten. I later thought it strange, as one would think after Chibok, Buni Yadi, Dapchi and Kankara, a sort of jadedness would have set in. But that’s the thing about heartbreaking, avoidable tragedy: You never get used to it. Not after five times. Not after ten, twenty or even a hundred times. Not after you read about things that have been done – or haven’t been done – by the authorities that should have, and certainly not after hearing individual stories of affected people.
Like, for instance, the story of Sa’eed Isa, a parent whose six children were kidnapped by the armed bandits who stormed Government Science College in Kagara. Or that of the student who managed to escape, after witnessing a close friend being gunned down by the murderous criminals. I could go on, but there’s enough tragedy on our national menu right now as it is, and I don’t want to be the one to offer desserts.
Even the crisis management – assuming we can call it that – has degenerated to Tower of Babel-levels, where it is clear that few to none are working in tandem. Kind of like a chicken without a head. The barrage of news that followed had the Niger State government taking a bold stance of not negotiating with criminals. It held, but only for a bit. Then public outcry and some other reactions from the government later, Sheikh Ahmed Gumi – more on him in a bit – swung into action, and it does appear that negotiations are indeed ongoing. With bandits, gunmen, criminals, or whatever you want to call them. Just don’t call them terrorists, because no-one will know what the heck you’re talking about. It’s not lack of concern or empathy, or even stupidity, no. It’s just another form of that classic head-in-the-sand stance ostriches – and Nigerians – are known for. Apologies to ostriches.
Back to Sheikh Gumi: Now, I’ve commended his efforts in the past, and will still continue to do so, as I am quite sure his intentions are pure. His credentials as a cleric, as well as his impeccable background and sterling name are responsible for the respect given him by the kidnappers. But I’m also a staunch believer in negotiations not being entered into with criminals, especially those of the murderous variety.
While I understand the good sheikh’s involvement, and why it works on the bandits, I cannot simply pretend that they haven’t kidnapped, raped, and even killed many innocents. They have worn military uniforms, and have carried some crazy-looking arms, firing same at our soldiers – and killing many of them – for doing their own constitutional job of protecting us. Can you see how problematic any calls for any kind of ‘amnesty’ for these characters can be?
I know the Niger Delta will come to mind, as some people on social media have been quick to point out. But in my opinion, even that amnesty wasn’t kosher, to be honest. All it gave rise to was more militancy for more ‘dividends’, corruption, and calls for amnesty even for monsters as heinous and devious as Boko Haram insurgents, and now the almost cool-sounding ‘bandits’.
How did we get here? I mean, a society that is willing to ignore injustice, one wherein a Minister of Defence would actually address Nigerians after a failure of security, and tell ordinary citizens to stop being cowards and face armed criminals. There are even more questions, but unfortunately I don’t have answers. And can you blame me? Those who should are busy engaging in buck-passing of epic levels, or showcasing apathy quotient which even a heartless Pharaoh would wince at.
Niger State, like a number of states in the North, has been dogged by armed groups for some years now, engaging in small to large-scale acts of terrorism, mostly dished out on poor, rural dwellers not in close proximity to good or even passable security. While some experts say the ‘bandits’ or armed groups have no religious ideology, others are of the opinion that they may have more connections to ISWAP or Boko Haram than many would imagine. Can you see more reasons there, why ‘amnesty’ might prove to be very problematic?
I’ve mentioned the existence of an endless list of casualties before, yes. However, one that seems to escape consideration a lot of the time, is the damage that such black-hearted shenanigans of criminals is doing to our already staggering – some would even say ‘dead’ – education system, especially in the North. Not to be petty at a time like this, but you need not go further than all the poverty-porn photos of the school itself in Kagara to show you just how serious we are about our children and their education in this nation. What a tragedy, and what a shame.
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