Dr. Shiekh Ahmed Lemu was the chairman of the 2011 postelection violence panel. The 84-year-old renown Islamic scholar, who is a History graduate of the University of London, is a trustee and president of the Islamic Education Trust. In this interview Lemu speaks on the Boko Haram insurgency and why the sect should be granted amnesty.
How do you feel about the state of the nation with the insurgence in the North and kidnapping in the South?
The state of insecurity is very bad for Nigeria. I feel sad for any part of Nigeria to be in crisis because people are suffering. The Boko Haram thing is not a Northern problem but that of Nigeria. Even when the Niger Delta problem was going on, I felt terribly bad, because of the negative image about Nigeria. Previously, it was South-South, now it is North, who knows when it will stop. I feel for Nigeria.
Do you think the Islamic sects, Boko Haram and Ansaru, are really fighting the cause of Islam?
Good. Now I have a Quaran here with me. I will show you what God said in the Holy Quaran even on cases like the Boko Haram.
Now, you read the English translation for yourself. Read Quaran Chapter 5, verses 33-34: ‘The punishment of those who run around and spread mischief about Allah and His Messenger is this: they should be put to death or crucified or should be bound or their feet should be cut off or be banished from the land. And this is the ignominy for them in this world. And there in store harsher torment in the here after except you repent. For you should know that Allah is forgiving and compassionate.’ The Quaran does not condone all they are doing. The perpetrators should come forward and seek forgiveness. We don’t like what they are doing. Severe punishment is there, but if before you get hold of them (Boko Haram), they offer themselves, saying they are repenting, they want dialogue, God will forgive them.
What government should do is to find out the root causes of this act of violence, insurgency that is spreading. What are the causes, and some of the root causes were exposed during the commission of inquiry. My panel exposed the causes and the remedies as well. The ball is now in the court of the Federal Government. The unfortunate thing is that the government is not truly committed to implementing the recommendations; not only ours, but several others before ours.
And we mentioned it in our presentation speech. We gave a list of recommendations and it’s left for the government to see what is recommended; we mentioned them. It was not secret; the ball is in the court of the government and like the case of Boko Haram and so forth. You heard what God said. They should be treated very seriously. Now, if the president is saying no amnesty to Boko Haram, he is the most informed single individual in this country because of his sources of information. Nobody has those kind of access as much as he has. Is it the State Security Service (SSS), the Police, the Military Intelligence, name them all, they have access to him and to inform him. So, he is the most informed, but not necessarily the best informed in quality of information that comes to him.
And not necessarily the best advised. So, I pity him. As a religious teacher and preacher, my opinion is what the Quaran said. Deal with the culprits very severely, but before you get hold of them, if they ask for forgiveness and want to dialogue, give them a chance, forgive them.
I read what a certain professor said in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, in front of the president and I read the remark by the representative of the elders, saying that the professor has spoken their minds that what they wrote they will not need to read it again. I read about the President’s response to them. So, if you ask for my opinion, I am in support of what God has said. Deal severely with the culprits, but if before you get hold of them, they repent, offer them amnesty but monitor them very closely.
The President hinged his refusal to grant amnesty to Boko Haram members on the strength that they are faceless.
These people are not faceless as such. Now, let me tell you, the Nigerian security officers, the SSS, the Police, the Military Intelligence and so forth know how to get them. The Boko Haram members have where they train and where they get their weapons from.
And mind you, they are becoming stronger and stronger as they are getting arms and ammunition day by day. We saw what was reported in the papers about the fight between the Boko Haram and the Joint Task Force (JTF), after the visit of the President, especially the arms and ammunition, including those that can bring down an aircraft. These people are getting more dangerous. These people are getting more and more sophisticated; though their number may be diminishing, still they are becoming more and more dangerous. They are not stupid to unveil themselves; they don’t trust the government.
Are you saying the major reason why they refused to come out publicly is as a result of lack of trust in the Federal Government?
Yes. The belief is that they can come out and then the security forces can arrest them and expose their faces. Therefore, the few that come out, deal with them in whatever manner and through them, government can get to their big bosses, but government is saying, no ‘we want to see their faces’, they are not stupid. The government cannot trust them, they too can’t trust government. To me, if one side of the terrorists step forward or offer willingness to put down or surrenders their arms, allow them instead of saying you don’t trust them. So, you have to think of the right way, the right approach out of the problem.
If you were in the shoes of Mr. President, what course of action would you take as a way out of the problem the nation is currently facing over the Boko Haram issue?
Honestly, I will go by what God said in the Quaran. If they agree to lay down their arms, I will forgive but if government gets hold of them before that, they should be dealt with.
Should they be granted amnesty?
Yes. That is the way of the Quaran. If they see the willingness on the part of government that it is ready to offer amnesty, when this condition is there, they will come to the stage, where they will come face to face and government will know who it is dealing with. But, when the way to reach that stage is dismissed, they will not come out.
There was a report that Northerners control 83 per cent of oil blocks in the country. What is your comment on this?
I don’t want to discuss the issue because they are all politics. People who own the oil will continue to demand more and more allocation at the expense of the whole country. And the rest of the country will demand more and more allocation. So, it’s all a circle of demand, everybody is demanding and I am not a politician.
How do you feel about the crises among the political parties?
I told you, it’s all politics. Sincerely, I am not interested in politics because politicians are not straightforward; politicians are selfish and they are after power Personally, I am not interested in their politics. I don’t trust any of them.
Let them continue to play their do-ordie politics; they are the ones to die. Every one of them scrambling for political office, yet when they get there they don’t do anything for the people. The whole nation knows that because of their recklessness, things are not working. All they are after is money; they want money and power. The space is wide open for all to play. They should go and continue to play their politics and as far as I am concerned, I will continue to pray to Allah to save us.
How do you feel about the allegation that President Jonathan signed a one- term agreement with PDP governors?
To me, it’s all politics. But one thing I wish for Nigeria and I wrote it in the report to Mr. President is to encourage God-fearing people in politics. Even, if the present group of politicians behave like lost sheep as far I am concerned, if you initiate the programme of ethical reform, the future politicians will have God-fearing members among them. And when any of them comes to power, you will see changes. That is if an ethical reform programme can be initiated at all levels and this is what I am personally working on.
And we have started work on it and I am not talking about ethical reform among Muslims. Within that reform, there is a provision for dialogue, for dissemination of information, for mutual understanding between Christians and Muslims, and even the atheist.
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