Ωhairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Bashir Dalhatu, has said that a combination of negotiation and military action has proven effective in addressing security challenges, citing the Niger Delta amnesty programme as a model that could be applied to northern Nigeria.
Dalhatu, in an interview with ARISE News on Friday, said many bandits have never enjoyed the opportunities of city life, urging the government to extend a hand of friendship while making clear that criminal acts must still be punished.
Dalhatu said:“As I understand it, there is a very fierce debate in the north now between those who believe that you do not win this kind of problem with only military approach, and those that believe that you can win by talking, by negotiating, by consultation. The debate is still there, it’s out there, the jury is still out. But I understand a mixture of the two has been used successfully in quite a number of places already.”
He referenced the Niger Delta amnesty programme as a precedent:
“I remember very well when there was an amnesty programme in the Niger Delta during those chaotic times. And it has worked perfectly. They were given amnesty, they were sent to school, came back and became integrated in the system and they are usable products and citizens of Nigeria. That also aspect can be looked at in terms of the North.”
Dalhatu emphasised that such engagement must not excuse criminality:
“Most of these bandits have not had the opportunity to go to school, have not had the opportunity to actually enjoy what we ordinarily do in the cities. And it’s just for government to probably, while extending hands of friendship, but also making it quite clear that what they are doing is illegal and criminal, and those that are caught in the process are punished.”
He acknowledged that negotiations often occur alongside military action:
“I understand that sometimes negotiations take place. And I understand obviously a lot of times they are fought and they are pushed back and government use military might. So it has already been on the ground that they talk to them and they also fight them. And I think that has been going on.
“That’s the choice of those in authority. And I believe it has been working. And recently with the resurgence of government determination, and also people’s support for government to continue to do that, we will be able to record a lot of successes.”
Dalhatu was categorical about the criminality of kidnapping and violence, responding to controversial claims by some clerics:
“In Islam and in our own Arewa Consultative Forum, killing of anybody—Christian or Muslim—is highly condemnable. It’s not tolerated. It’s condemned. Our position is that the life of a Christian is as good as the life of a Muslim.
“We do not look at people from the religious perspective. We see them as Nigerians. We see them as innocent people who are being killed. And we see that government and people together must come together and associate and fight this evil together.”
Addressing the notion that kidnapping is a “lesser evil,” Dalhatu said:
“I think killing is a higher grade than kidnapping. If you give me a choice whether I should be kidnapped or killed, I will tell you to kidnap me and not to kill me. But both are condemnable and must be fought in one way or the other.”
He also defended the legitimacy of public debate on approaches to insecurity:
“Everybody’s voice is valid. Because we are all Nigerians, we have different opinions, and the constitution allows us to express our views. But that doesn’t mean that my view or yours is the correct one or the right one to follow.
“In the end, government position and government use is to aggregate views, aggregate its own circumstance, and follow the route that it feels is best going to serve the interests of Nigerians as a whole. But you cannot stop any individual from expressing his view. That is guaranteed by the constitution.”
Rejecting allegations that northern elites shield criminal groups, Dalhatu said:
“If anybody would suggest that anyone, any sensible person in northern Nigeria should or would assist, collaborate or tolerate these killings and kidnappings, we are totally condemning it. People have been suffering. There are those who get killed every day.
“There are those who lose limbs by the minute. There are those who lose their means of livelihood by not being able to go to their farms. Nobody in his right senses would know a killer or a kidnapper and still tolerate such a situation,”he concluded.
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