Garba Shehu, the spokesman of President Muhammadu Buhari, has described the amnesty the president granted to Boko Haram members as a “win-win situation.” Giving amnesty to Boko Haram insurgents would stop the bloodshed in the country and save massive resources, says the Presidency.
While receiving the freed Dapchi schoolgirls on March 23, Buhari had said the federal government was willing to accept the unconditional laying down of arms by repentant insurgents.
Speaking at an interactive session with state house correspondents during the weekend, Shehu said the amnesty would help the insurgents to “be useful to the nation.”
According to The Cable, Garba Shehu also said the measure would help the government save cost by channelling funds used in the war against insurgency to other areas.
“It is proverbially said all wars end up in the boardroom. You can defeat people technically on the field but at the end, you must come to the conference room to resolve all issues ” he said.
“So, if Boko Haram would lay down their arms and stop fighting and stop preaching their negative ideology, the country should be able to embrace them; welcome all of them so that they continue to live normal lives and be useful to the nation.
“What that means is that we will be saving cost, saving lives that are being lost through bombing, killing of service personnel and we will be saving money that we are using to procure weapons so that such money can go into services and infrastructure and welfare of the citizens of this country. It is a win-win situation.”
The presidential spokesman described as unfair, allegations that the president is shielding herdsmen accused of killings.
