Nigerian government has over the last two years worked on different methods of seeking an end to the bloody insurgency in Northern Nigeria, which has resulted in the massacre by armed Islamic terrorists Boko Haram of over 12,000 Nigerians.

But there is a cacophony of opinions from a cross segment of the Nigerian society that the heightened situation of further attacks by these armed marauders has demonstrated that the methods employed by the Nigerian government is either not working or is too slow to show positive results. One of those ways that the current government has made up its mind to seek a resolution of these insurgencies is through what it calls ‘carrot and stick’ approach, meaning that both force and constructive dialogue are on the card.

Although these methods have been applauded by very prominent Nigerians, including the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, His Grace John Cardinal Onaiyekan and the National President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritshejafor, but in the last couple of days, southern Kaduna State has witnessed two severe attacks by suspected armed Fulani herdsmen against some ethnic people of that area that is dominated by Christians, in what is however seen not as a religious unrest but as rising tensions over landed assets between the indigenous people and the Fulani settlers.

Most Nigerians have already condemned the spate of attacks in the last few days resulting in the killing of over 100 persons, who were murdered by suspected Fulani herdsmen in their sleep. At the weekend, five churches were attacked by armed insurgents and several dozens of worshippers killed in Chibok, Borno State for their faith.

As someone who has vast knowledge of the diverse geopolitical regions of Nigeria by virtue of my cosmopolitan experiences over the last three decades and still counting, what affects one region of Nigeria will surely have repercussions across board, since Nigeria is one huge home for all, meaning that there s hardly any part of this country that you cannot find both the indigenous people and the so-called settlers in their huge numbers. For instance, in Maiduguri, Borno State and other parts of the North-East, I am sure of the fact that from my little village alone in Imo State, we have a significant percentage of our people that have stayed and have indeed embraced the North-eastern region of Nigeria as their home and only return to the village from time to time, especially for festivities.

Therefore, it is safe to state without any fear of contradiction that it is in the self enlightened interest of all Nigerians that the ongoing bloody civil unrests are quickly brought to a stop by all legitimate means possible.

In the last couple of months, we at the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) have watched with trepidation the rash of attacks targeted against innocent Nigerians both in cities and the villages, including Abuja, and we have decided to rationally articulate our views on how the Nigerian government and people can work collectively under a united platform to defeat the ongoing attacks by terrorists. It is our belief that what Nigeria needs now is not baseless criticism directed against the person of the President of Nigeria but we need to come together to resolve these killings by all means possible including, but not limited to, military force and, of course, constructive dialogue.

It is the opinion of most Nigerians that the infighting among the political class of all divides, on which region should produce the next President in 2015, is not good enough reason for these ongoing meaningless killings by the insurgents and a coterie of murderous gangs rampaging all across all segments of the Nigerian society. It was in this mood that I directed a lawyer working for our group as a volunteer, Miss Sylvia Nwankwo, to investigate and arrive at the possibility of employing disarmament and demobilisation to end the upsurge in violent killings.

We earlier identified the use of ‘carrot and stick’ approach as one major formula being adopted by the central government to work towards bringing to an end these killings that have rattled even the consciences of the international community to such an extent that world leaders and influential leaders of international organisations to pay close attention to happenings in Nigeria, which ranks as the largest black nation all over the world. We learnt recently that the #BringBackOurGirls campaign, which started over 80 days ago when over 250 school girls were kidnapped by the armed insurgents, has so far attracted over 2 million signatories worldwide. This is an uncommon feat that a campaign waged in Nigeria could attract this high profile international focus, and this demonstrates how severe the terrorists’ strikes in Nigeria have become.

Now that we are well aware of the unprecedented interest that these killings by terrorists have generated even among international community, our attention will be shifted to the best way out to resolve these spate of attacks, which by and large affect every segment of the Nigerian society, and has to a very damaging extent crippled the economy of the north, which hitherto was the food basket of the nation. The implication is that sooner than we realise it, the problem of national hunger and starvation could set in, if the mechanisms put in place to bring all the interested parties in these conflicts to the dialogue table collapses and if we fail to bring about social justice to the hundreds of thousands of the victims of the killings, then we have only succeeded in instituting a temporary peace of the grave yard.

We have also found out that a major component of dialogue is the successful and comprehensive demobilisation of the combatants and the resettlement of the victims. These measures have worked, especially on the African continent whereby civil wars have ravaged the people for several years. But even in Asia and parts f Eastern Europe, this method has also worked and therefore it is possible that it could bring to an end the killings going on in Nigeria, if all parties will be sincere and accept to end these killings which offend our Creator.

In the course of research, we encountered a piece which expertly defined the very important term of demobilisation of combatants as: “The single most important factor determining the success of peace operations, and that without demobilisation, civil wars cannot be brought to an end and other critical goals – such as democratisation, justice and development – have little chance for success.”

The above is derived from the report of the high-level panel on “Threats, challenges and change, UN2004.”

The proliferation of UN Peace-keeping operations, according to international observers, did actually coincide with an increase in UN-led programmes to disarm and disband warring parties, as well as re-integrate ex-combatants into civilian life.

“Disarmament, Demobilisation and Re-integration or DDR programmes, as they are known to practitioners, have features in post-conflict reconstruction from Afghanistan to Haiti. But the bulk of DDR interventions – 24 since 1992 – have occurred in Africa.

The 19 DDR programmes are situated in various continents. Two in America (Colombia, within Haiti), three in Asia (Afghanistan, Aceh, Indonesia), Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Eritrea, Liberia, Niger, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa Republic, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, and Uganda.

In Columbia, we found out that after more than 40 years of armed conflict and several negotiation attempts, in 2003 the Colombian government had taken designed, dubbed the “Democratic Security and Defence Policy (2003); the main objective of this policy was to strengthen the rule of law in Colombia and as part of this security policy, the government offered the possibility of combatants to demobilise individually and collectively and then reintegrate into civilian life. Currently, the illegal armed groups comprise approximately 22,000 guerrilla members, and 600 paramilitary members (Gonzales, 2003).

The programmes for the individual demobilisation was that the Colombian Government’s aim was to reduce the power of armed groups, leaving them with a negotiable solution as the only alternative (Bernal, 1996).

The demobilisation, disarmament and re-integration programme has successfully reduced the personnel of the illegal armed groups. In addition, it has provided the Colombian government with important information to stop terrorist attacks, and helped rescue kidnapped civilians. From a military perspective, the process is a successful policy, however, the DR programme offers the combatants alternative possibilities to war.

Afghanistan is one nation reputed for being the international headquarters of terrorism, but this country is also experimenting with this method. Although there are many technical issues to be addressed in the discussion about disarmament, demobilisation and Re-integration in Afghanistan, there is no doubt that it was a political process from beginning to end.

Conversely, these methods in application in Afghanistan are essential parts of a wider programme of security reform, including the ministries of defence, interior and justice, but also because of the way it was conceived and implemented.

While using the instrumentality of the principle of rule of law in line with section 6 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), to bring the most serious offenders, masterminds and sponsors of these killings to justice, it would be important if other constructive methods that don't involve the use of force are employed to positively seek to bring to an end this regime of mass murder in Nigeria. Time is indeed running out for every one of us, because if these killings are not brought to an end quickly the majority of Nigerians will either become internally displaced and or most people with the finance and capability may leave the country in droves and those unable to leave will resort to self-help, such as arming themselves to preserve their lives, since self-preservation is the first law of nature.

•RIGHTSVIEW appears twice a week on Wednesday and Saturdays, in addition to special appearances. The Columnist, popular activist Emmanuel Onwubiko, is a former Federal Commissioner of Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission and presently National Coordinator of Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria (HURIWA).

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