“Every time you negotiate with terrorists, you become their accomplice” – VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS, VBQ, p 244

The story in the Weekend Trust of January 4-5, 2025, titled, ‘Inside Kaduna’s peace deal with bandits’, was the sort of thing to make one tremble for this country. The Governor of Kaduna State was reported to be involved in negotiations with some of the bandits operating in the state. As the story went, the heinous criminals, having received the attentive ears of the State’s Chief Security Officer, SCSO, were asking for the release of their gang members in custody and rehabilitation of those who choose to surrender, among other demands. Here are parts of the reports; before my comments.

“Our correspondent accompanied government officials to various enclaves and observed the interactions between the bandits, mostly armed with AK-47 rifles and representatives of government.” Hitherto, I have commended the Governor, who was managing a totally broken state, which he inherited from El-Rufai, with dexterity. He has not allowed a huge debt burden to weigh down government’s programmes. And, he has been doing his best to mend the cracks in ethnic relationships which characterized Kaduna State for eight years.

I still stand by those comments. That is why the story in the Weekend Trust came as a shock to me. Without mincing words, nothing about it makes sense; and aspects of it might be treasonable. But, first let me remind Governor Uba Sani that he is SCSO of Kaduna State, not National Chief Security Officer. While unknown numbers of the crimes – including kidnapping, extortion, sexual and physical assault and murder – were committed in Kaduna State, a lot of them occurred on Federal Highways; Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano.

That is not Kaduna State. Furthermore, the plight of one of my friends from Sokoto, now residing in Abuja, should serve as caution to Governor Sani. His daughter was among travellers in a bus going to Sokoto; when they were abducted near Jere. Two, out of the fourteen passengers, were shot by the bandits for not moving fast enough. The rest paid various sums as ransom before being released. They had no business with Kaduna except that the roads linking Abuja with Sokoto passed through the state. All the crimes were committed on Federal Road.

I find it difficult to understand how the Governor of Kaduna, or any other state for that matter, can be negotiating with the criminals on behalf of the victims and the FG which has responsibility for the highway on which they were assaulted. The bandits, even when primarily based in Kaduna, have become a national security threat; not a state’s menace. At any rate, the fact that state government officials met with the bandits in four different locations; and the names of their leaders are known, is positive proof of what many people have been suspecting all along. Some top level politicians are collaborating with these hoodlums. The most obvious questions are: who initiated the meetings?

The long story was not very clear on that. If the government, how were they able to locate the bandits who had been elusive from federal troops? If the bandits made the first move, how were they so certain that the government would keep their location secret? Most important of all, was the FG aware of the meetings? The most unfortunate aspect of the secret meetings was the fact that it has been tried before and it failed in Zamfara State. Former Governor Matawelle tried it in Zamfara State. He publicly announced that he personally carried N900 million to bandits in 300 forests in the state.

I recall my challenge to him; asking him to obtain a plane and get journalists from eight media houses to fly over the state and confirm if there are indeed 300 forests in the state. I know the geography of the state so well, there was no doubt in my mind that that the Governor was lying. Eventually, Matawelle admitted that he had been duped by the bandits he was trying to appease. He was not alone. Ex-Governor Masari of Katsina State also tried appeasement. It didn’t work; and he was honest enough to admit the failure of negotiations. El-Rufai set Kaduna on the road to hell when he again admittedly ran after violent herdsmen with state funds to compensate them for loss of their livestock, while farmers were left to suffer their own losses.

The truth is, bandits interpret it as a sign of weakness each and every time the authorities offer the olive branch. What would have happened to Israel if, after the attack by Hamas, the Israelis have called for negotiations to get the hostages released? Instead of appeasement Israel has ensured that Hamas and their supporters paid a heavy price. Rest assured, it will take more than 50 years, if not longer, before anybody in the Middle East dares Israel again. Appeasement never works.

That is why the FG should step in now and stop Governor Sani from continuing with this ill-advised approach to solving the problem. If, indeed, some of the bandits are tired of life on the run, they know what to do. They should go and surrender to the nearest military commander and face the consequences of their actions. They cannot dictate the terms of cessation of the hostilities which they started. Nobody should expect that he can abduct, torture, sexually assault and murder fellow Nigerians for money and expect to retire into peaceful life. That is unacceptable injustice to the victims and totally callous. As far as I am concerned, the only good bandit is a dead one.

ARE YOU WRITING A BOOK OR MANAGING AN ADVERT AGENCY?

 “Never be afraid or ashamed to ask for help.” That was one rule of success which has featured in every write-up I have read on the habits of successful people. Invariably, they also make it very clear that being wealthy is not the only sign of success. As a matter of fact, there are individuals who have been famous for long periods without being rich. Great scientists, political leaders, writers have lived longer in peoples’ memories than the richest men in their era. Mohammed Ali was just comfortable but not immensely rich by the time he died. Yet, he is remembered by more people than the richest man of his period.

Oglivy, advertising guru, remains top of the mind recall among advertising practitioners than all the rich people of his generation. Certainly, Achebe and Soyinka will live for longer in our minds than the billionaires we now hail. So, be prepared to reach for glory in your own chosen field of endeavour; but never be afraid to ask for help. Book-writing is a difficult task which most of us undertake alone. It shouldn’t be. My first two books took longer time than necessary because, I worked on them alone. I have learnt my lessons. Now, every book undertaken is done with assistance from other people.

My advice to writers is to get help in editing, research, fact-finding, indexing, even title selection. Given the right help, you will invariably be happy you did. The same is true of advertising agency management. One of the challenges facing those starting a new advertising agency is staffing problem. You find that you cannot afford to hire all the people you need to work full time. The best option is to out-source some of the functions to freelance workers who are paid per job assignment. Copy writers fall more readily into this category. Wordsmiths can help provide the words which would elevate the artwork to create a stunning advertisement. I once did this kind of work for advert agencies but gave it up in order to face writing books full time. ICT has shortened the time required to turn out books now; and reduced social activities have added to the time available to help writers and advertising agencies to turn out body copy.

ADVERTORIALS ALSO

“A lawyer, who has himself for a lawyer, has a fool for a lawyer.” The statement applies to anyone who is arguing his own case in the public domain. As a matter of personal policy, I never reply a rejoinder to an article published irrespective of how foul the language used against me – because it is very easy to get emotional in self-defence and lose track of the facts you want to present. Individuals and organisations sometimes find themselves publishing advertorials – especially when they feel offended or defamed.

Most of the time, the advertorial is packed full with insults and maledictions against the other party. Most people reading the advertorial stop reading before they reach the facts being presented. The “aggrieved party” loses the readers on account of excessive emotionalism. Under the circumstances, if you feel strongly enough to respond, my advice is this: state your case to a third party who can write well and let him/her produce the draft. You will be amazed at the result. If you need help, please call 0703-777-2952. You will be glad you did.

 NORTHERN BANDITRY ON THE RISE, WHY?

“Terrorists kill 4 at Kebbi immigration facility.”

“9 dead, many injured in Nasarawa attack,”

“Air strike kills 15 in Zamfara.”

“Gun men kill Benue after N5.4m ransom payment.”

As we are approaching the end of Tinubu’s second year, Nigeria is experiencing a wave of terrorist attacks similar to what occurred during Jonathan’s administration. That provided the political weapon for Buhari and the North to oust Jonathan who was labeled incompetent. Never mind that things got worse under Buhari; he still got second term and left “a peculiar mess” – apologies to the late Chief Adegoke Adelabu. Is Tinubu receiving the same treatment?