Negotiating with terrorists is a betrayal of our commonwealth

Recent weeks have offered a glimmer of hope to a nation long under siege. We have witnessed our military display renewed vigour, taking the battle to the enclaves of terror, neutralizing high-profile kingpins, and reclaiming territories that had seemingly become sovereign states for criminals. 

We applaud these recent breakthroughs and commend the gallantry of our troops who put their lives on the line to restore sanity to our forests and highways.

However, amidst these tactical victories, a discordant whisper persists, allegations that the government, or its agents, are simultaneously engaging in back-channel negotiations with these very merchants of death.

If there is even a shred of truth to reports that the state is considering amnesty or financial inducements for bandits, the administration must understand the gravity of such a misstep. While the allure of a quick peace is understandable, history has repeatedly taught us that peace bought with the public purse is transient and dangerous.

To negotiate with bandits is not statecraft, it is capitulation. It sends a disastrous signal that the Nigerian state does not possess the monopoly on violence and that the surest path to government attention and funding is to pick up arms against the innocent.

We must be unequivocal, the collective wealth, resources, and sweat of the law-abiding citizenry is sacred. It is generated to build schools, equip hospitals, pave roads, and secure the future of our children. It is not a slush fund for pampering bad behaviour. Diverting scarce resources to appease criminals creates a perverse incentive structure where banditry becomes the most profitable venture in the land. It transforms crime into a business model where the government becomes the primary client, and the citizens remain the merchandise.

Furthermore, any form of negotiation that involves financial settlement is a grave insult to the memory of the thousands who have been slaughtered, raped, and displaced. It spits on the graves of our fallen heroes in the armed forces who paid the supreme price refusing to bow to these elements. For the government to turn around and shake hands with the architects of this sorrow would be a moral failure of epic proportions. It would suggest that the lives of the victims are merely bargaining chips in a political calculation.

The government must choose a side. It cannot hunt with the hounds and run with the hare. You cannot claim to be crushing the enemy in the morning and dining with them at night. If the government proceeds to reward those who have held this nation by the jugular, they will forfeit the trust and confidence of the people. Such a betrayal of the social contract would not only be ill-advised; it would be unforgivable.

We urge the authorities to sustain the current military momentum and dismiss the temptation of shortcuts. The only language these criminal elements understand is the supremacy of the law and the unyielding force of the state. We must not spend our collective commonwealth financing our own destruction. The path to lasting peace is not through the pockets of bandits, but through justice, accountability, and the total assertion of the state's authority. Anything less is a compromise we cannot afford.