Boko Haram: Why Federal Government is holding Talks with Islamist Sect

The Federal Government on Wednesday said it accepted to hold dialogue with the violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram, in order to arrest insecurity in the country as soon as possible.

“We have accepted dialogue as a way of bringing the (insecurity) situation to an end as quickly as possible. We have always called on those engaging in violence to stop because violence can’t solve any problem. So we welcome the decision to dialogue,” Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, told journalists in Abuja.

The Christian Association of Nigeria has, however, warned that the government should not hold dialogue with the sect on its own terms.

Though CAN said it was ready to support any step aimed at curbing the sect’s insurgency, it opposed the government-Boko Haram talks if they centred on the condition to Islamise of the country.

The sect’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, was reportedly quoted to have said in a video footage that President Goodluck Jonathan should convert to Islam or resign from office.

Jonathan in a statement by his spokesman, Reuben Abati, had rebuffed the condition, saying he had the legitimate mandate of the people, both Christians and Muslims, hence he could not resign.

The Voice of America had reported on Tuesday that a purported spokesman for Boko Haram, one Habu Mohammed, said the group had the Fedral Governement in direct talks on ways to end violence in the North.

According to the VOA, Mohammed, who claims to be a deputy to Boko Haram leader Sheikh Abubakar Shekau, said in a statement that the group decided to initiate the peace moves in response to numerous public appeals for peace in the country.

The VOA said a senior Nigerian official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed the talks to VOA.

Maku, while not denying that talks with the violent sect had commenced, claimed that the government also heard Mohammed’s claim on the radio.

Our correspondent reports that the minister might have refrained from confirming the talks in order not to stall its progress. Recent talks between government and the sect had broken down after they were reported. Northern clerics who facilitated these meetings had accused government of breaching an understanding reached by both parties that the talks should be kept secret.

He said, “We have heard about the news. The position of government from the beginning has been that we are prepared to negotiate and hold dialogue with members of this group because we believe they are Nigerians and they are our children.

“It is a known fact that violence has disrupted social and economic activities in some parts of Northern Nigeria.

“We have accepted dialogue as a way of bringing the situation to an end as quickly as possible.

“We have always called on those engaging in violence to stop because violence can’t solve any problem. So we welcome the decision to hold dialogue.”

Meanwhile, the Coalition of Northern Leaders, Academics, Professionals and Businessmen has said there are proofs that government officials are benefiting from the Boko Haram crisis.

The leader of the group, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, told one of our correspondents in a telephone interview on Wednesday that the inability of the government to hold dialogue with members of the sect in the past was because the unnamed government officials were afraid that they might stop making money from the crisis if the discussion had succeeded.

He said this was the reason the first talks between government and members of the sect did not yield any positive result.

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