Northern Elites Pressuring President Tinubu To Succumb To Ransom – Report
Report gathered by Dailytab24 correspondents.
The kidnapping of school children in northern Nigeria happens anytime there is a southern President – especially a southern President the North didn’t endorse. It could be coincidence or fate of Southern Presidents, but the act often turns to a scandal for the administration. Luckily for President Tinubu, the First Lady of United States is not Michelle Obama, she had raised a placard by now calling for the safe return of those kidnapped school children. Under international pressure, President Tinubu would collapse, and his government would be blackmailed.
Banditry is a booming business in the North, Northerners barely call for military intervention to arrest the situation, but instead call for handsome reward each time the bandits strike. On the lead is Ahmad Gumi the spiritual leader of the bandits, who also doubles as their negotiator. He rewards bandits with support and plays the intermediary role of ensuring force is not used against the bandits.
There is notable call from Islamic clerics supporting the bandits, they argue that Islam supports the act of banditry, yet, they call for action when their darling bandits strike. Why call for ransom or rewards for banditry when it is something worth supporting. There is Gumi telling Nigerian government to negotiate, and there is another Gumi telling bandits to move on.
Reports gathered by our correspondents indicate northern politicians and elites are pushing remarkably to coerce the federal government into paying ransom. The coercion is founded on blackmail; with northern top figures planning to push the narrative of the kidnap to a height where more attention can be focused on the kidnap globally.
“They are using the media, but the media aspect is not working as they had hoped. Within the media, the kidnap is not getting priority attention. They attribute it to range of issues happening at the same time in the country and around the world. They are not satisfied with the way social media reacted to the kidnap”
“From sources we spoke with, they expected a reaction like the time of Jonathan. The world took notice of the kidnap and social media was agog, which made the ground fertile for the purpose of the kidnap. But President Bola Amed is absorbing the fuel poured on him, there is no fire burning, and it’s a huge disappointment for them” our correspondents that embarked on the issue stated.
The federal government of Nigeria has turned down any chance of ransom for the kidnapped school children, despite the bandits threatening to kill all the hostages should federal government fail to pay them ransom within a stipulated time.
“They are threatening the federal government, and from indication, they are not being taken serious and that could force them to act. We don’t see them killing all of them, but we foresee a situation some will be killed, even engage in propaganda. The possibility of releasing videos are there; all to coerce the federal government to act” the team said.
Recently, northern politicians in the opposition and right-wing conservatives have tried to make headlines with the kidnap. There have been fake reports of the federal government agreeing to ransom and others calling for negotiation.
“The coercion doesn’t look like it would yield any result because the pressure they expected is not there on the federal government. The people have learned from Goodluck Jonathan’s treatment, and slightly see the kidnap as a northern political game. When there is no pressure on President Bola Tinubu, we don’t see the possibility of desperate reaction” the team opined.
Instead, the Federal Government has indicated they would embark on a military campaign against the bandits. The decision continues to raise dust among northern elites and religious leaders, with Gumi saying military campaign would worsen the situation.
Military campaign will not yield result due to the nature of the situation. Where there is a hostage case, military action could endanger the lives of the hostages. There is no definite decision yet, with the federal government still listening to ideas.
“The federal government is still anchoring on dialogue while making it clear no dime will be paid for ransom. They want the school children, but conscious of the fact that rewarding kidnappers would give room for more kidnappers to join the bandwagon”
Will the federal government succumb to ransom payment is a question begging for time, but reports point to the direction- no chance for ransom payment.
