Before Buhari negotiates with Boko Haram

While it is on record that the last administration of former president Goodluck Jonathan made overtures negotiation with Boko Haram but with no success because of its tactlessness and ideology, the process never saw the light of the day as the government embarrassed itself after it earlier announced a ceasefire on October 17, 2014. But rude shock awaited the nation as the radicalized

sect unleashed coordinated and devastating attacks.

While Nigerians were excited with the prospect of lasting peace that has evaded the nation since Boko Haram launched military operations in 2009 to create an Islamic state. Thousands have been killed, mostly in the north-east of the country with a famous attack at the United Nations headquarters in Abuja. The abduction of the Chibok girls shocked humanity and the heavens as the group kidnapped over 200 school girls. Till date, no success has been made as regards their whereabouts.

More painful was Nigeria's military that said it has agreed a ceasefire with Islamist militants Boko Haram - and that the schoolgirls the group has abducted will be released as part of a supposed negotiation agreement. Nigeria's chief of defence staff, Alex Badeh, announced the truce.  A presidential spokesman of the last administration had also said Boko Haram had announced a unilateral ceasefire and the government had responded.

Then Nigerian government spokesman Mike Omeri said Boko Haram would not be given territory under the ceasefire agreement - and that the government would not reveal what concessions it would make.

It was the leader of the group, Abubakar Shekau, who made the world know it was "419” and that the government was duped. It was obvious the government negotiated with an impostor and to think all the machinery of government was deployed in that project yet they couldn’t detect the sham. The Goodluck Jonathan government was left in a pitiable state as Shekau said in a video of October 31, that his group did not deal with any authorities.  The Nigeria government was duped roundly and nobody was reprimanded for this careless gaffe.

It is this experience of the last administration that informed my writing of this article after presidential spokesman Femi Adesina disclosed in an interview with BBC Africa on Saturday, that Buhari has declared his readiness to negotiate with the dreaded Boko Haram terrorists.

Barely a 100 days in office, the Buhari government is already contemplating and has opened the door for these terrorists. The arguments against negotiating with terrorists are simple: Government must never give in to violence, and terrorists must never be rewarded for using it. Negotiations with Boko Haram give legitimacy to these terrorists and their method. With the French government already planning to sustain its efforts in the fight against Boko Haram, any open discussions by Buhari with Boko Haram can destabilize the country's political landscape, undermine international efforts to outlaw terrorism, and set a dangerous precedent.

While it is obvious that the government might not have a sustained intelligence programme to neutralize the sect, the negotiation ideology seems it’s most viable. The key objective for the Buhari administration contemplating negotiations with Boko Haram is not just to put a stop violence but to ensure in a way that lessen the hazard of setting dangerous precedents and destabilizing the country. Before Buhari finally decides to meet Boko, a number of factors must be in place to even have a chance of success.

First is the identity and originality of the negotiators. Like what the Jonathan government experienced where it was fooled for about two weeks of talking with a supposed key man of the group. Buhari and his intelligence personnel must seriously be serious to ascertain whether the Boko Haram terrorists it faces can make good negotiating partners. Before any formal meetings, the government must be sure of the persons they are dealing with to avoid a similar fate like the last administration. More importantly, the media shouldn’t even be involved until they are sure. Having suffered so much in the hands of these terrorists, our security, intelligence agencies and other experts should have known the aims and ideology of Boko Haram that should be the decisive factor in determining whether they might be willing to compromise. With everything, Boko Haram stands for, do they think the group will be willing to come to the table to negotiate?

Before the government considers negotiating with Bo Haram, a deciding factor is to check the level of internal cohesion of the group. We all know there are many sinister groups that have claimed to speak for Boko Haram, but it has turned to be false following their serial attacks and non-committal to negotiations. Buhari must consider not only whether the Boko Haram leadership will accept the terms of a settlement but also whether it can control its rank and file. Over time, we have seen how Shekau has come out to dismiss groups after groups claiming to have represented it.

While there is no perfect time to negotiate with terrorist groups it is also noteworthy that it is too early in the life the present government to consider negotiating with Boko Haram. If they have pushed them off completely and on the verge of total defeat then a negotiation is understandable. But in the present situation, we haven’t been told of a major break in the rank and file of the group.  Negotiations are best put on the table when a terrorist group has declared a permanent cessation of violence. Am aware Boko Haram hasn’t called for a ceasefire so why the hurry to request for a negotiation. The government should push for a ceasefire before dangling a negotiation deal. What will be the basis for a negotiation if there is no ceasefire? The government should have exerted all its military might to opt for the negotiating table. Our armed forces and joint forces from Chad, Cameroon and Niger Republic are doing quite remarkably but need intelligence and expertise to quell the excesses of Boko Haram.

To be continued…..

Missing Cameroon Olympians say they were threatened

LONDON Five Cameroonian boxers who disappeared at the London Olympics said in an interview broadcast on Monday that they absconded because they had been threatened by officials in their delegation.
   The boxers, who went missing along with two other Cameroonian athletes more than a week ago, said they now wanted to stay in Britain to develop their careers.
   "We left the Olympic Village because we were threatened," boxer Blaise Yepmou Mendouo told BBC television in an interview at a secret location in London.
   Speaking in French, Yepmou Mendouo said officials had tried to confiscate some of his teammates' passports.
   He also claimed that Cameroonian officials had halved the boxers' agreed bonuses.
   "We were not happy with that," he told the broadcaster. "But we decided, the five of us, that as fighters we should fight -- because it's a matter of image."
   The BBC named the other boxers as Thomas Essomba, Christian Donfack Adjoufack, Abdon Mewoli and Serge Ambomo, and their missing teammates as swimmer Paul Ekane Edingue and female footballer Drusille Ngako.
   All seven have visas to stay in Britain until November, British Olympic officials said last week.
   Essomba told the BBC that the boxers were searching for a sponsor to help them become long-term British residents.

Man jailed for threatening airline crew

A transit passenger who threatened an Emirates airline crew mid-flight
after drinking three bottles of wine has been sentenced to three months in jail suspended for three years.

The 35-year-old Frenchman admitted charges of issuing threats and consuming alcohol on board flight EK 74 from Dubai to Paris. He was fined about US$500 for consuming alcohol.

However, an American businessman who was abusive to cabin crew on a British Airways flight to London has been jailed for three months, the BBC reports.

The 32-year-old mortgage consultant pleaded guilty to common assault and being drunk on an aircraft.

The incident took place on August 20 on a flight from Phoenix to London.

The court heard that the man swore at staff and was abusive after he was refused more alcohol.

He had made offensive remarks to a female member of the crew and later became aggressive towards a male steward when he was refused more alcohol.

He was handed a written warning about his behaviour but threw it away. He was arrested when the plane landed at Heathrow.

Museveni apologises to Goodluck on stone throwing mobs

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni in a statement published in the state-owned New Vision newspaper has apologised to Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan, whose vehicle was hit by a stone by mobs during last week's presidential inauguration in Kampala.

Museveni said the car carrying Congolese leader, Joseph Kabila, was almost hit. He apologised to the foreign leaders for

the "hooliganism and irresponsibility".

Meanwhile Museveni has branded foreign media as "enemies" especially the BBC because of their coverage of recent anti-government protests.

In a statement Museveni said,"The media houses, both local and international, such as al-Jazeera, BBC, NTV, The Daily Monitor, etc, that cheer on these irresponsible people, are enemies of Uganda's recovery and they will have to be treated as such. Why do they not also report the negative acts of these elements?"

Uganda has seen sharp spikes in food and fuel prices the last several months, making car or bus travel unaffordable for many. Anger over the increases has fuelled Besigye’s protests, and security forces have clashed with protesters around the country. Human Rights Watch says government forces have shot and killed nine people during crackdowns on protests.

Museveni, an ex-rebel commander who seized power at the head of a guerrilla army in 1986, once criticized African rulers who clung to power. In 2001 he promised to retire from politics despite lifting a two-term limit on the presidency so he could run again in 2006. But now Museveni says he is fostering peace, stability and growth.