The statement by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Senator Ahmed Makarfi condemning the negotiation and the prisoner swap that resulted in the release of 82 of the girls abducted from a girls secondary school in Chibok, Borno State by Boko Haram terrorists beggars belief.
It is even more shocking that the statement is coming from the faction led by a man who has been the executive governor and chief security officer of a state for eight years and who is widely acclaimed to have brought relative peace to his state of Kaduna during his tenure.
The comment of the PDP at a time when the whole world was congratulating the federal government for leading the initiative that saved the lives of 82 innocent young girls, brought joy to their homes and rekindled the hope of the citizenry on an effective government which can go all length to secure the lives of its citizens comes as a situation grape especially given the role the PDP played in frustrating the release of the Chibok girls which further emboldened the terrorist to inflict more harm on the territorial integrity of the country.
The statement by a faction of a fractured party can only be excused on the basis that the stress of its prolonged engagement to claim authenticity of the PDP has begun to affect the psyche of its leadership and whether the statement is not a subtle extension of the cold war between the Makarfi faction and Ali Modu Sheriff which it had in the past accused of sponsoring the terrorist group.
Hiding under the claim of an international best practice, the Makarfi faction said the negotiations that led to the release of the girls violate international best practices of not negotiating with terrorists but they tend to forget that even in the US, the lead figure in the fight against terrorism has never closed the path towards negotiation when it’s interest is at stake and has many times entered into negotiations with terrorists groups and exchanged prisoners with the underlying aim of securing the lives of hostages first before any other thing.
The Makarfi faction seems to have forgotten that at the end of every strategy or engagement, it is the result it produces that matters and that best practices are not statutes but strategies hence cannot be violated but replaced when the matter demands a different approach.
The faction also claimed the release of the girls through this process will exert pressure on the parents of the remaining girls who they say will begin to wonder why their own children were not among the lucky ones released.
Again, the PDP faction seems to have forgotten that this is not the first time the girls would return in batches. Even on the night that they were abducted, some of them jumped down from the truck and made their way home. After that more and more girls have been released and on each occasion, the reunion has kindled the hope of their families that given the right approach, their children would also find their home.
The release of the 82 girls, the largest number so far, rather than sadden the parents of those that are yet to return, has followed a similar pattern by igniting the hope of the parents of those yet to see their children that it remains a matter of time for them to be equally lucky and has erased the despondency created by the PDP government which kept making statements about its helplessness on the situation whilst it held sway at the Centre.
We hope by the statement, Makarfi and his faction are not saying that no girl should be brought home until the entire 200 are found because that type of reasoning does not belong in the realm of rationality.
The current release of the 82 girls needs to be stressed has only restored hope in the whole of Chibok , Borno State and Nigeria and also globally that not only are these girls alive and well but with the application of efficient strategies like the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has done that the remaining girls would be found and rescued.
The Makarfi faction also said the proposed swap will embolden the terrorist to go back to their trenches to continue with their activities.
We wonder where Makarfi and his cohorts have been all this while when the current administration has recorded success in the fight against the insurgents by clearing the dreaded Sambisa Forest which became a no go area in the PDP era , securing the release of kidnapped victims, preventing the terrorists from holding any territory under the federal republic of Nigeria and degrading the terrorists to a stage where they can only attack soft targets.
One cannot see how the release of a few prisoners in exchange for the lives of innocent girls captured in their school would amount to re-arming the group as the personnel, weaponry and strategy of the Nigerian military which has led to the current success is not only intact but being honed for better results.
If anything, the acceptance by the insurgents of a prisoner swap agreement can be seen as a sign of surrender since they realised that they cannot attack security facilities to free their members as they were doing in the days of the PDP.
But it must be made clear to Makarfi and his co-travellers that the current administration places high premium on the sanctity of human lives and respect for human rights which has been the hallmark of the current military in all their operations.
It’s only a strategy of war that hostages are not allowed to be consumed by military might.
We advise Makarfi not to allow his frustration with Modu Sheriff rob him on his integrity and wisdom for he is one of the most respected among the tribe of former governors in Nigeria. Issuing this kinds of statements would definitely harm his head earned reputation.
