The attention of the Guild of Public Affairs Analysts of Nigeria (GPAAN) has been drawn to a bill recently presented to the Senate by a former governor of Yobe State, Senator Ibrahim Geidam, representing Yobe East under the APC. The bill titled: ‘National Agency for the Education, Rehabilitation, De-radicalization and Integration of Repentant Insurgents in Nigeria’, is aimed among other things, to rehabilitate, de-radicalize, educate, reconcile and reintegrate purported repentant Boko Haram terrorists into the Nigerian society.
He added that the envisaged repentant insurgents would acquire skills, literacy and Islamic Religious Knowledge via the Agency. Senator Geidam said the bill if passed into law would also promote national unity as information will be elicited from the repentant insurgents that would help to combat insecurity.
The entire members of GPAAN under the leadership of Comrade Ayo Oyoze Baje are vehemently opposed to this obnoxious and vexatious bill and hereby declare that the Senate should stop further debate on it.
It is difficult to define repentance as there is no instrument to determine the heart of man. This raises some pertinent questions: What if the purported repentant Boko Haram insurgents were sent by their leaders as spies but pretend to have repented? Will they not be more deadly if they are allowed to infiltrate the masses freely?
Furthermore, why should the focus be on the so called repentant terrorists while the victims of their senseless killings, including widows of the soldiers killed and orphans are left to rot away at the Internally Displaced Persons’ Camps(IDPs)? Many of the female victims have been reportedly raped, some have died on account of debilitating diseases, while most are suffering from harrowing hunger!
If the energy and time spent in preparing this contentious bill were directed at giving succor to the displaced people in the various camps, they will have a sense of belonging and be grateful for it. Let it be stated therefore, that this proposed bill is trampling on the graves of their victims; with total disrespect for the innocent Nigerians that have been murdered in cold blood by the blood- thirsty Boko Haram terrorists.
Besides, providing them succour instead of punishment would lure many young citizens with similar evil intentions to take up arms against the state, hoping to be forgiven. In fact, Nigeria should learn from Chad Republic that recently executed 10 members of the misguided militant group. This will serve as a form of deterrence to others.
Considering the aforestated, we hereby, reiterate our earlier position that this provocative bill be killed; it must not be passed into law. We salute the courage and patriotism of the Senators that have already spoken against the bill. They must not succumb to pressures from some party members with hidden agenda, who have scarce regards for the sanctity of human life.