Should President Buhari Negotiate With Boko Haram?

This week's topic is a no-brainer. It has been so ever since I heard that PMB is considering the option of negotiating a deal with Boko Haram to secure the release of the 276  Chibok girls.

My first thought when I saw Wednesday's newspaper headline was 'Great! Let's just get these girls home'. But after further reading I learnt that one of the dastardly sect's terms is that the government releases one their main explosives men - at which point my mind changed completely; for in my view it would be like letting a lion out of its den. 

But as I got ready for work yesterday morning I couldn't help wondering how the parents of those unfortunate girls must be feeling; the pain and torture they experience every second of every single day. After-all, God forbid, but what if that was my daughter?

During one of my routine breakfasts with Sky News before setting off for the office a few weeks ago, the picture of the body of a dead little boy flashed across the screen. He had died during a failed attempt to smuggle him and his family into Europe. As soon as I saw that picture my appetite was lost, and breakfast abruptly over. 

At that very moment the seriousness of the migrants crisis came crashing home. Before that, whilst I had felt sorry for them, I hadn't really given the situation too much thought. But from that moment I've sided with the option of hunting down and severely punishing illegal smugglers, as well as much more stringent immigration policies. 

But what about our teenage girls?

Must we wait for something just as dark and tragic to happen to these girls before we start taking this matter seriously again?

Surely we've been silent on this matter for far too long!

So I asked some of my bbm contacts the following question;

Do you think Buhari should agree to release senior Boko Haram leaders (in this particular case a senior explosives expert), in order for the Chibok girls to be released?

Here's what they had to say;

"Tough one. We all want them home but those guys are bastards. And what else will they do if those leaders come back? Maybe more atrocities.

It's that tricky question of "we don't negotiate with terrorists". We want the girls but we don't want more bad people out there to do more harm."

"No. There should be another way. Releasing the guy will mean more violence. And the act will be abused and taken advantage of. This isn't the 20s....no trade by barter."

"No. I doubt it very much. It makes him look weak.

He'll probably try to cut a deal with some other topic."

"I think he should do a 'trojan'. He should release the senior leaders to get the girls but he should eventually track them down (our intelligence pple should insert a tracker under their skin or something before their release). He won't be doing anything wrong by pulling a trojan agreement because these girls are damaged physically and psychologically...."

"pardon my french but hell no! Unless the army uses the opportunity to flush out the rest of BH, could they employ covert surveillance of some kind. If it was my child I'd be all for the negotiation, no doubt about that. It's easier to think bigger picture when not directly impacted. 

A friend yesterday shared how upset she was about the Syrian migrants and wanted Europeans to do more to help. But when it comes to our own IDPS there was nothing to say."

"If it was our child it wouldn't even be a question. With better military intervention I believe BH can be relatively contained. Bombings however persist and they need to curtail this. What you need to kill are the financiers of BH and not terrorists who can be mass produced once there's funding."

"Nope, that is weakness in leadership, BH have done their worst."

"Hmmmm that's a tough one! That's negotiating with terrorists! I know you're speaking about Nigeria but should we be negotiating with terrorists?"

"Doing that would, not may,take Nigeria to a Israeli-Hamas scenario ; where there would be constant blood, arrests, release, truce and blood again. His negotiations my rather focus on giving them a lifeline to re-integrate into society through the offering of jobs for livelihood, and where there is an incident of an attack those of them living around will be rounded up/arrested until such a time as directed by PMB."

"No."

"What other choice do we have to get the girls back?! We have heard reports that the girls have been married off and if they have, will their husbands release them to us, will the release of these girls not pose another danger to us as some of them may have been radicalized. 

The present government I understand will like to score some political points by securing the release of the girls but at what cost, at the cost of releasing bomb makers and devil incarnates? saying we should just move on will make one sound insensitive and callous in the eyes of the world but again we need to face the harsh reality here."

"Tough one. I asked myself once,do we honestly want those girls back? I don't think so. 

Plus I don't think they still "have" them. Cos theyre not the same girls that were taken."

"I think for humanity sake, he should release them buh looking at it another angle, I'll say he shouldn't cos seriously, is it for them to be released and cause more harm or do we know the present situation the girls are even in by the time they're released. The thing these girls are being used for their own selfish and devilishness and most of them has been turned against humanity itself so really, I dunno buh I just think we need to be careful as a whole when it comes to situations like this. But then the parents need their children alive just as we all need each other."

"He should execute them and still get the girls."

"Of course not. They should have killed them since."

"Well, although I think it sets a very dangerous precedent, I try to put myself in the shoes of the parents whose kids were captured. Would I agree to it if I know that my daughter will be returned home safe? Absolutely. The only sad thing is that I'm not entirely sure if all the girls are still alive and well."

"Yes. The destinies of those girls are very important. The Chibok leaders can be caught again. America does such exchanges often."

"Yeah. Then arrest them after the girls have been released."

"I think he should release them and have them monitored. Don't want to imagine what these poor girls have been through."

"Ummmm.....difficult one. Should not negotiate with terrorists but I really feel with parents of Chibok girls."

"To be honest, no I don't. Government should look for other effective ways to rescue the girls without releasing the menaces back in society."

"Yes. We caught them once, we can catch them again. When it comes to young children hostages one should always negotiate. America / UK say they don't negotiate with terrorists... that's why they have some of the best special forces in the world, they use these elite troops to extract hostages by force. But at a risk sha. US and UK are in the business of killing terrorist "kill list" and that is what we need to invest in in Nigeria. A well equipped and funded intelligence agency coupled with an elite force. With that Boko Haram wouldn't last longer than 4 months; they'd all be dead and those sponsoring them would be exposed."

"Yes he should. It's not ideal but if that's what's required to reunite as many of the girls with their families then should be done. Also gives us a chance to monitor their movements. If we have proper intelligence services then such people can lead the DSS to other sponsors and masterminds"

"1 guy for a over 200 girls. Heck yes. They can hunt him down after. It's been over a year. At this point I'll agree to almost anything if it means that every last one of the chibok girls gets back safe and to the arms of their family."

"Well, it's never safe to negotiate with terrorists, but honestly, I can't stand the thought of those girls staying in that hell!"

"Well for the sake of those girls. Yes I think he should."

"No. Unequivocally, no. That being said, it's not my daughter/sister/cousin/friend who has been captured. There's a reason America does not negotiate with terrorists. They will ALWAYS have something to hold over you. It is an unbelievably tough position. Sometimes an impossible position. But a position I respect nevertheless. One of the reasons why I can never be president."

"No I don't think he should. Since they claim the girls are scattered and can't be gotten back in one piece , then what's the point ? Unless they can show the president they are all intact and well. If not to hell with them , their heinous crimes should not be pardoned."

"This is a hard one. I honestly think those girls have been scattered around Africa. To get them back seems almost impossible. And what are the chances of getting all of them back? If I was one of the parents I'll definitely say give it a shot. If I was Buhari I will take the deal but make sure the girls are complete and they didn't just get random girls. When I release their leaders, I'll get my people to spy on them, find out their hide-out and kill them all."

"Since they claim the girls are scattered and can't be gotten back in one piece , then what's the point ? Unless they can show the president they are all intact and well. If not to hell with them , their heinous crimes should not be pardoned."

"It's s tough question to answer but it appears the answer is yes. People will argue that more lives would be taken or lost upon the release of those chumps but the government can police them more closely and prevent their influence spreading too much. So yes. "

"If I were Buhari, His release will be a decoy. Like probably ambush him or smth. After the girls must have been released ni o."

"From a moral perspective I would say that it's wrong to release people who have inflicted so much pain and misery on so many. From an empathetic point of view though(putting myself in the place of the hapless Chibok parents) I would say that it's the only thing that he can do to alleviate their suffering somewhat. It's also the quickest way to bring the whole thing to a close. The alternative could lead to many more years of guerilla warfare, which does nobody and good"

Me?  My heart says do whatever needs to be done to bring our girls back home.

But my head says Never Ever Negotiate With Terrorists.

What makes us think that negotiation will lead to any kind of sustained peace?

Release an explosives expert so that he can inflict even more pain and death???

Negotiating with this evil sect would send the wrong signals; mainly that we don't have the wherewithal to win the fight, and hence we're throwing in the towel. It would also tell all aspiring terrorists across Africa that terror is the way to go if you want to get something, or simply want to be heard. 

Let's be mindful of the thousands that have died from horrific explosions. 

Let's not forget the thousands of innocent children that have died as a result of the evil that is Boko Haram. 

In order to ensure such ugly incidents cease to occur on our shores we must take a much harder stance and say 'No to Negotiating', and 'Yes' to Pre-emptive and Preventive Measures to wipe out Terrorism once and for all. 

Where there's a will there is always a way.

We need to face the blatant reality that this is not some temporary phase or painful inconvenience, but a new kind of war. As such it must be approached with Meticulous Planning, Collaboration with other African Nations, Significant Financial and Military Investment,  and Ruthless Execution.

By investing in the necessary resources We Can Win The Battle Against Terrorism.