THE declared intention of the Federal Government as expressed by both the Vice President Namadi Sambo and the Minister of Defence, Dr. Bello Mohammed to dialogue with aggrieved groups in the polity, including, of course, Boko Haram, is most welcome. It is indeed time to engage our aggrieved fellow citizens in honest discussion. The vice presidentis quoted tourge 'the various militant groups to cease fire and come forward for dialogue [as] government is ready to discuss'. On his part, Dr. Mohammed reportedly told the visiting Italian Ambassador to Nigeria that government is 'now working with traditional rulers and official leadership of the country to bring the Boko Haram elements to negotiating table to understand their grudges [and] their demands because it is the duty of the government to attend to the concerns of all Nigerians'' The minister is right, and about time too. Indeed, it is precisely because governments atthe three levels have for too long failed to 'attend to the concerns of all Nigerians' that our society has degeneratedto this abysmallow, prompting persons and groups to take up armsagainstconstituted authority as a means of seeking attention. This represents a classic case of failure of governance. The postulates of former President Olusegun Obasanjo are instructive, to the effect that unemployment, religious intolerance, ethnic rivalry, agitation for resource control and ignorance [about the true teachings of the holy books] are some of the factors fuelling the multiplicity of crises consuming the nation. To this must be added over-ambition, opportunism and chicanery on the part of the political class.The insecurity in the land has deteriorated so fast that highly placed citizens, including Chief Obasanjo, Senate President David Mark and retired Gen. Theophilus Danjuma have, lately, publicly voiced their concerns. And this in itself is a cause for concern: that those who can and should be talking to government in private are going public with their thoughts, hint at something untoward. Pray, what purpose does it serve to address hapless and helpless citizens who can do little about their worry for Nigeria instead speaking to the powers-that-be' Both sides of the divide should act with maturity and for the sake of Nigeria, to bridge the communication gap that may occasion this lapse. Besides, we should think that when Generals begin to voice worry about the state of their nation, the incumbent administration should listen.There appears now a broad agreement firstly, that a number of social, economic, religious, and political factors are at the root of the insecurity crises; secondly that all aggrieved parties be engaged by the authorities to facilitate an appreciation of their respective grouses and thirdly, that everyone in a position to help douse the tension in the land should, nay, must lend a hand. The Governors have resolved to hold brainstorming sessions on it, traditional rulers, by their peculiar position and vantage point of grassroots access will be involved in the process of engagement with aggrieved parties. Nigeria belongs to all in it. Other opinion leaders must come forward to offer their good offices or be invited to bring their respective influences and wisdom to bear on the issue at hand. Needless to say, these include those who have lately been lamenting the unsafe state of the nation.Now that government has publicly declared a desire to talk, we urge most strongly that Boko Haram and other groups seize the opportunity of the moment because, again to quote Vice President Sambo, 'even wars that were fought for decades were concluded through dialogue'.Nigerians do not desire that armed militancy goes on for any longer. The strategy of engagementshouldfocus on the psychologicalintegration of the disenchanted, the disgruntled,the disenfranchised in society and the army of citizens who are effectivelydisconnected from theimmensematerial and other resourcesthatNigeriaoffersbutwhich aredenied themthrough systemic mis-governance. They must be induced and kept in the fold with their own stake in the Nigeria project.Engagement, dialogue, and negotiation are continuous processes that must be managed with an open mind and a genuine intention to achieve equity and justice for all parties. Government on the one hand, and all militant groups on the other, for their own sake and for the sake of Nigeria must come together to address matters of disagreement. It is certainlytime to talk.
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