“The Federal Government has stated that it will not bow to terrorists even in the face of general insecurity in the country.” – Nigerian News Desk.

Can someone insert some laughter here, please?

Some days, I wonder if the entire Nigerian populace suffers from a severe case of selective amnesia, or if we’re expected to accept statements made by our government as truth, just because it’s what we’re told.

The Boko Haram have been a source of pain, terror, grief (feel free to continue this), and more for Nigerians everywhere. Their wicked actions have cost hundreds of Nigerians their lives, and have left many women as widows and many children as orphans. Many states in the Northern parts of Nigeria have become inhospitable, for Northerners and non-Northerners alike. Bomb blasts in Niger State, Plateau State, Nassarawa State… people live in terror of other Nigerians, in places where they once called home… in places where they once knew peace.

And for years, the Federal Government did next to nothing about the Boko Haram.

How did we get to this point, you ask? Here’s how:

“On June 26, 2009, the Nigerian Government announced that it would grant Amnesty and an unconditional pardon to Militants in the Niger Delta which would last for 60 days beginning on 6 August 2009 and ending 4 October 2009. President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua signed the amnesty after consultation with the National Council of State. During the 60 day period armed youths are required to surrender their weapons to the Government in return for training and rehabilitation by the government.” – BBC News (2009)

And this was where Nigeria lost the fight against terrorism.

The Niger Delta Militants were no different from Boko Haram; a group of individuals who believed that their rights had been robbed, and decided that the best way to get what they wanted was to burn everything down around them. For years, and even till date, Nigerians in the Niger Delta lived in fear of violence or of being kidnapped. They committed crimes against humanity that should have been intolerable.

On June 26, 2009, our Federal Government basically said: “It’s okay. Stop making noise and we’ll give you what you want”, thus setting the precedence for other groups after them.

Fast forward to 2011; Boko Haram was responsible for the deaths of at least 450 people in Nigeria. In 2012, that number was even higher. But our memory fails us. Nigerians know how to simply forget and move on to other things. On April 5, 2013, our dear President Goodluck Jonathan set up an “amnesty panel” for Boko Haram.

Yet, the government says it will not bow to terrorists? Who the f**k are we kidding?

Via Greenlight [http://greenlight.com.ng/2013/04/08/goodluck-jonathan-the-forgiver-of-sins-toys-with-granting-amnesty-to-boko-haram/]