Simon Kolawole Live!: Email: simon.kolawole@thisdaylive.com
History, dare I say, has perfected a way of repeating itself. It’s either we don’t pay attention to it or our memories are pretty too brief. In 2009, when President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua offered amnesty to Niger Delta militants, the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) flatly rejected it. They wrote an open letter to Yar’Adua which partly read: “The civilised world expected your apology to the hundreds of the displaced and relatives of dead civilians caused by the indiscriminate aerial bombing targeted at innocent impoverished communities from cowardly armed forces meant to instil fear.” A few days later, MEND bombed Agip and Chevron facilities to drive home their point. Nevertheless, Yar’Adua went with his convictions. The rest, as they say, is history.
Cue 2013. President Goodluck Jonathan is exploring the possibility of amnesty for Boko Haram militants who have been unleashing terror on Nigerians in unprecedented proportions. Although Jonathan’s amnesty offer is not yet on the table, the group has rejected it in advance. Its leader, Abubakar Shekau, said: “The Nigerian government is talking about granting us amnesty. What wrong have we done? On the contrary, it is we that should grant you pardon.” He said it was the government that had been committing atrocities against Muslims, in what clearly stands the fact on its head. In my records, Boko Haram has killed uncountable number of Muslims – in addition to their soft target, Christians.
