By Hassan Gimba
This article was first published on April 11th, 2022. Last week, we revisited the first part because its message remains as relevant today as it was when it was published. Only that it is now: “No one is safe”, not only “nowhere”, with generals being killed on the roads (read General Alkali), abducted from their fortified homes (read General Tsafe), or whisked away on highways (read General Rabe), and killed in the bushes, not while on active service or as Prisoners of War (POWs), but as shackled captives.
I believe Nigerians should no longer accept being fooled by those who use their sentiments to get into office. We must not forget yesterday if we want to correct our today for our tomorrow to be great.
On 26 March 2018, when we warned on this page under the screaming headline, ‘Mr President, Nigeria is at War!’, some powerful figures had since told us they had given money to (or empowered the) enemies of Nigeria “to stop banditry”!
But it is on record that we said: “Nigeria is in a state of war, but it looks as if we are taking things lightly…We have been at war for quite a long time but it became even more apparent with the return of the Dapchi girls. There was a real ceasefire when the girls were returned, the type we see in areas that are in a state of war, like Syria, Colombia with the FARC rebels, and in parts of Congo and Uganda, where the Lord’s Resistance Army operates.
“But the president was quoted as ordering his service chiefs not to allow the abductions of schoolgirls again. A citizen, in the first place, would expect the president to tell his service chiefs not to allow the abduction of any citizen, not only schoolgirls (forget that many schoolgirls from various schools have since been abducted – some ‘married’ off by their abductors). All citizens want to feel equal before the law or in the eyes of their president.
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“Farmers and voiceless Nigerians are being abducted by those who have declared war on Nigeria, but we have allowed them to play the music while we dance to the tunes.
“And it is this thinking by governments that makes the militants strong. The ordinary citizen sees them as strong and comes to see that their government cannot protect them. It makes the citizen lose confidence in the country. Little wonder some abducted Nigerians have switched allegiance or hail the terrorists (as happened in Dapchi) as ‘saviours’ because the people of Dapchi and elsewhere saw the power that should lie with their government being exercised by enemies of the state.” Yet they did not heed, and now nowhere is safe.
Nigerians should note that on 7 December 2020, under the topic ‘Mr President, Let’s Call In The Chadians!’, we said: “Pride, lies, sentiments, emotions, burying our heads in the sand like the proverbial ostrich will not take us anywhere. If we continue this way, we may end up with nowhere to hide. Boko Haram remains a menace, bandits and kidnappers now prowl our streets, and armed robbers rob at will. Already, travelling by road is at significant risk.
“We should come down from our high horse if we do not want our sovereignty taken away by brigands. We should contract Chad to come in and help while we form a wall to stop them (Boko Haram) from escaping into the country. Or else we call in the mercenaries.”
Those who should have supported this view didn’t, but now, since they want cheap votes, they are cashing in on our fears and calling for foreign mercenaries to fight the monsters they strengthened, after giving them the financial muscle to become this powerful.
They kept paying money to the bandits – their confessions – even sending messages to them in the Niger Republic and Mali. When they became strong, they teamed up with Boko Haram and started this spate of kidnappings, and now, nowhere is safe.
When the Kankara boys were kidnapped, I wrote, in December 2020, under ‘Kankara And The Postponed Dawn’: “I have always insisted that Boko Haram and the North-West pillagers are the same but wearing different togas…we need to take back our once beautiful, safe and hospitable country, for the sake of our children.”
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What were those just “realising”, after giving them lots of money, that the bandits are Boko Haram doing? Let us pray our mumu don do, and we will tell them that now we know them.
But move on, we must. Proffering solutions should be our concern. Previous writings, however, show that all along, we have been offering solutions for free. We may want to read my write-ups: Boko Haram’s Resurgence and Jonathan’s Magic Wand 1 and 2.
In January this year, writing with the title ‘Banditry and our Quest for Leadership’, we said: “One solution is for the government to organise a people’s militia that will flush out all those marauders. That strategy proved successful in both Iraq and Syria. Here in Nigeria, some communities have stood eyeball to eyeball with bandits and insurgents and, as a result, found themselves some peace. Biu, in Borno State and Azare, in Bauchi State, readily come to mind.
“It can encourage each local government to muster at least 5,000 of its youth to be trained to confront the bandits. The Nigerian government should transform the war against the bandits into a people’s war for self-defence.
“We must take the battle to every inch of space occupied by bandits. Possibly, all settlements in the bush should be cleared and moved to the main roads.” We said this before populist politicians started talking about bombing bushes, now that they will start seeking votes.
Still writing under ‘Kankara and The Postponed Dawn’, we presented a quote from Confucius as another viable solution: ‘Excessive wealth creates haughtiness (arrogance). Excessive poverty leads to envy. Envy leads to robbery. Haughtiness leads to lawlessness. This is the nature of the mass of the people. Therefore, the wise rulers institute humane government so that the rich are restrained and do not become too greedy, and the poor will then have enough sustenance and not worry about their daily food. In this way, there is a balance between the poor and the rich. Therefore, it is easy to govern and maintain order.”
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Again, writing under the title, ‘Mandela and the parable of the Fulani’, we said: “But there is also something wrong with the North. It lacks a leader, lacks focus, and lacks vision. Most of the Fulani terrorising Nigeria now could have long been engineers, medical doctors, professors, etc. The regime of General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida started what it christened nomadic education. Under it, there were many things involved that could change the way the Fulani lived. But because most of our leaders are short-sighted and prioritise lining their pockets, they never took that programme seriously. Now, with all the money they have sliced for themselves, those who should have been professionals today will not allow them to enjoy it.” And, therefore, now, nowhere is safe.
“For God’s sake,” we went on, “what will it take to create ranches to settle the Fulani herders and provide every facility that would add value to their lives and livelihoods? Why should someone move cattle from Mali to Osogbo or Obudu and, worse of all, leave cries of woes behind him? Apart from being fair to them as human beings, the cattle will have more quality when bred in one place than when subjected to the stress of trekking hundreds of kilometres and feeding on just anything. And there is the assurance of minimising crime.
“Such persons cannot realise that being proactive is the only way to help the Fulani. Through proper management of cattle colonies, a cow can bring three to four times its value when transported live to the South. A well-managed ranch can produce and process hide and skin, milk, butter, gum, fertiliser, animal feed, etc., and this will give them greater bargaining power and more money.
