Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, has cleared the air on the state pardon granted by the Federal Government to former Bayelsa State Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha and eight other Nigerians who had been convicted of various crimes but have since served out their punishment.

Alamieyeseigha’s pardon, in particular, has generated negative reactions as it is believed to be influenced by President Goodluck Jonathan, who once served as Deputy Governor under him. But that is not true, according to Okupe. In a statement issued yesterday in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, the presidential spokesman explained that the pardon was not a unilateral action of Dr. Jonathan but a decision considered and approved by the Council of States which is constitutionally empowered by the 1999 constitution to do so.

Okupe noted that the Council of States comprises the President, Vice-President, all former presidents, former chief justices of the Federation, the leadership of the National Assembly and all state governors who do not take decisions on impulse but rather after due considerations of vital issues connected with taking such decisions.

He explained that the eight Nigerians who were granted pardon were approved after thorough deliberations by the statesmen and that there were many other names that were not approved by the Council of states during its meeting. The presidential spokesman cautioned that the state pardon should not be unduly politicised.

The very idea of a pardon, according to Okupe, shows that it was meant not for the innocent but for those who might have been found guilty of some offences and have either finished serving their sentences or in the process of serving those sentences.

He added that the framers of the Nigerian constitution envisaged the need for some ex-convicts to be re integrated back into society especially if they have shown penitence and willingness to contribute positively to societal growth.

Okupe also reacted to the criticisms leveled against President Jonathan by the opposition over the President’s last week’s visit to Yobe and Borno states and the non-granting of amnesty to members of the Boko Haram sect. He described the allegations as cheap, ill-informed and ill motivated. Okupe’s words:

“It may be apt at this juncture for the purpose of comparison to recall when in 1980, during the Maitatsine insurgency in Kano, over 6,000 residents of Kano were killed in broad daylight but President Shehu Shagari who was the President of Nigeria at that time did not rush to Kano. President Shagari as a matter of fact did not go there for a very long time until the security situation in Kano had been brought to a situation where a President could visit and there was no hue or cry as at that time.”

The presidential spokesman argued that the visit allowed the President to actually show honest and true leadership by engaging in very frank talks with community leaders and leaders of thought in those two states.

“The President was not angry. The President felt it was time for us to look ourselves into the face; eyeballs to eyeballs, and speak the truth to ourselves and if you cannot speak the truth, we cannot get justice and we will not find solutions to our problem,” Okupe added

He said it was important for Nigerians to understand the nature and ideology of the Boko Haram insurgents for whom some people have been asking for amnesty. He noted that their demands include things like setting aside the Nigerian constitution and its replacement with laws based on the Sharia legal system, conversion of President Goodluck Jonathan from his Christian faith to the Islamic religion, unconditional release of all its members arrested in connection with bombings, arson and violent killings in different parts of Nigeria and scrapping of all institutions of modern educational training.

Okupe’s argument: “It is obvious from these stated demands that the Boko Haram sect is founded on an extreme faith-based ideology which seek to coerce other citizens of this Nation to accept its own ways of life. This ideology is certainly inconsistent with the secular nature of the Nigerian Nation and the dreams of our founding Fathers. The activities of the Boko Haram group are alien to civility as they have consistently murdered hundreds of thousands of women, children, the elderly and other defenseless citizens regardless of whether they are Christians or Muslims.

“It is therefore inconceivable that some people have continued to liken this religious terror group to the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) to whom government offered an amnesty in 2010.

“Even though the methods adopted by MEND were like-wise condemnable, their demands were mainly socio-economic in nature and spelt out as crusade for better deal for its people whose farmlands and waters have been degraded by pollution emanating from the activities of oil firms operating in the region, crusade for a greater share of funds accruing to oil producing states from the Federation Accounts. massive development of the Niger Delta region though provision of infrastructure like pipe borne water, electricity, hospitals and good roads.

“Despite the economic nature of these demands, leaders of the MEND were not anonymous. They came out to dialogue with government and it was on the basis of the dialogue that an amnesty was eventually granted by the Federal Government.

“The position of the federal government is that those who seek amnesty must come out in the open to renounce violence and drop their arms. That is the way it is done in all parts of the world and Nigeria cannot be an exception.”

Okupe faulted the claim by some that President Jonathan slighted the Sultan of Sokoto by refusing to heed to his request to grant amnesty to Boko Haram members. His words: “The President holds the Sultan of Sokoto in high esteem and does consult him from time to time on various national issues. The request by the Sultan for amnesty for the Boko Haram is quite understandable in view of his eminent position as the leader of the entire Muslim community in Nigeria and the pre-eminent traditional ruler in the North.

“However, the President has a responsibility to the whole nation and his judgment must be based on facts and information that are available to him and that will be in the best interest of the Nigerian people. The President cannot afford the luxury of sentimental consideration under the present situation where government has to contend with and find a lasting solution to the menacing issue of Boko Haram insurgency.”

•Photo: Presidential spokesman, Dr. Doyin Okupe.