With gallows humour the despicable Boko Haram terrorists are now demanding negotiation with the federal government over the release of our girls from Chibok. We urge the government to be steadfast and reject it outright.
For the Jonathan administration, to be fair, it is a question of damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Nevertheless, we have to be steadfast as a nation! For the contemporary history of swapping hostages for terrorists is fraught with grave dangers. Remember that the extortionist always comes back to ask for more.
In this case, Boko Haram has already committed a crime against humanity. Our girls are not combatants. There are clear rules of engagement which Boko Haram has now fragrantly violated. Their impunity must be checkmated.
For once a precedent is set, the floodgates become open. There is no evidence that an exchange of our girls for the terrorists will end there. On the contrary, Boko Haram will become emboldened. It is not clear how our already stretched armed forces will cope with continuous raids from a reinvigorated Boko Haram savouring an undeserved ‘victory’ and anticipating more outrageous prisoner exchanges.
Asking for negotiations now is belated as the terrorists have already spurned previous offers. Mercifully, the matter of the Chibok kidnapping is now an international issue. Every international assistance offered in good faith must be accepted in this regard. Furthermore, we are rest assured that the United Nations Security Council is now firmly behind Nigeria.
A burden has been put on the resolve of our government. The government must rise to the occasion. The Chibok girls are not prisoners-of-war; this is why they cannot be used as bargaining chips.
Our hearts go out to the parents of the girls who are now being used as human shield and may suffer collateral damage. Heroically, some of the parents have also dismissed the notion of succumbing to the demands of the Boko Haram.
In this difficult time, we must stand firm. On its part, the government must streamline its responses in order to avoid contradictory statements which might be misconstrued as the official position. Difficult as it is, there must be no trade-off with the barbarians. The only acceptable proposition that can be considered is some form of amnesty if the girls are first unconditionally released. Apart from this, loud and clear- no deal!