Governor Shettima of Borno state and a good number of the northern elite have consistently insisted on amnesty for Boko Haram. This has understandably turned out to be a highly divisive issue in the polity. It is on record that these same regional governors and their acolytes have been roundly condemned for partly fostering the Boko Haram insurgency by abandoning their primary responsibilities and duty of care for their citizens. Is it not strange or even suspect then for them to be seen spearheading the call for amnesty?
Yes, I can actually visualise an amnesty program for members of Boko Haram only on one premise. It has to be based on equity. It is quite conceivable bribing Boko Haram members who renounce violence, from the proceeds of their involvement in economic activities in the North or North-East. At the very least the quid pro quo should be for undertaking to desist from disrupting such activities. They cannot continue to run amock up north while expecting revenue derived from "peaceful" exploitation of petroleum in the Niger Delta, or VAT and alcohol consumption taxes, etc in Lagos and environs to be expropriated and sent up north all in the name of amnesty and peace. All the technocrats from the region should borrow a page from our former Minister of Agriculture, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, abandon Abuja for a while and head back home. They are sorely needed there. They must run the risk.
I envision a situation where ALL development projects in the far north is executed solely by northerners. Due to shortage of technical and executive capacity, these projects would take a lot longer to deliver. That should be a bonus since the erstwhile Boko Haram activists would be busily engaged for a much longer time.
The natives of the violent North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria should realistically expect no competition for jobs from the marauding southerners. There would then be enough jobs to go round if and only if they want to work to develop their own backyard. I cannot imagine me, a son or a daughter of mine leading ANY project in the north-east now when the natives indicate absolutely no interest. Especially with some group shooting at me. Any effort that I may make to indicate that I love the citizens of the North-East more than they love themselves (do they?) Is bound to be futile.
It is on record that the largest private employer of labour in Nigeria, The Dangote Group, has little to no presence in the North and essentially zero in the North-East. It is not because Alhaji Dangote loves his own people any less. Even Gov Shettima who is reputed to be a major investor in neighbouring Chad Republic has shown no faith in his own region. Peace is the ingredient missing.
One do-gooder doomsday analyst, writing in the US journal Foreign Affairs, foolishly distilled the North's economic and infrastructural underdevelopment thus: Southern businessmen have refused to invest in the North-East. Really? I have been wondering if actually this pseudo-analyst has ever read about Nigeria. Anyway, punditry is cheap and a free-for-all activity. He must have spent too much time on the Washington DC cocktail circuit, where every other diplomat claims to be an expert on Nigeria.
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