If the essence of government is the protection of life and properties of citizens, our successive governments, since 1999 should be held responsible for the travails of people of Plateau State. Beyond occasional skirmishes between herders and subsistence farmers, people of Mangu had lived in relative peace with their Fulani settlers until the institutionalisation of reign of impunity by President Olusegun Obasanjo at the onset of the 4th Republic and later by President Muhammadu Buhari and his loyal gatekeepers.
Those indicted by a probe into causes of social dislocations between the two groups during Obasanjo’s presidency were left off the hook, an oversight that was to later lead to reprisal attacks. And while Buhari played the ostrich, those hiding under his government to serve other tendencies went to work. With the pacification of the north-central, MACBAN presented their demand if peace must reign in the country.
In a statement jointly signed by Salisu Ahmadu, national president and Umar Shehu , national secretary of the body, they perceived the federal government as being unwilling to protect the interest of Fulani in Nigeria, Fulani in West Africa have been invited to raise funds and prepare for war. MACBAN’s northeast Chairman, Alhaji Mafindi Danburam insisted “Open grazing is our culture and you cannot wake up one day and stop me from practicing my culture”. Finally Fulani are prepared for war except the anti-grazing laws by various states are abrogated and replaced with federal government cattle colony policy with Fulani allowed to settle anywhere they desire in line with their culture.
Nigerian stakeholders, the United Nations and Britain appealed in vain that Buhari applied the big stick. Despite the mindless killings of harmless farmers and confiscation of their farmlands while survivors languished in IDP camps, few people if any, were arrested let alone prosecuted. The impression was that the attackers were invincible.
The president’s visit to Plateau to commiserate with the people brought little relief as his appeal to victims to be good hosts appeared to have only emboldened the attackers.
Nigerians did not get to know the identity of their assailants until Sheikh Gumi’s visit to the killers’ den deep inside Niger’s Tegina forest and Birnin Gwari forest in Kaduna State. It was from him we learnt the bandits were invited by our own aggrieved vengeance-seeking Fulani compatriots. It was from governors Bala Mohammed of Bauchi, Nasir El Rufai of Kaduna and Aminu Masari of Katsina and Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano that we learnt that the killer herdsmen are mostly Fulani criminals from neighbouring countries who found ‘Kidnapping for ransom’ more rewarding than grazing of cows.
With the over a score recently killed at Farin Kasa and Sabon Gari communities in Mangu Local Council of Plateau State, fatality figure in the last two months has climbed up to 231. The figure for the last three months was put at 346 killed and 18,751 displaced according to Dr. Gideon Para-Mallam of Peace Foundation. Of the figure, about 200 came from Mangu. He also spoke of 2,081 widows, 6,066 orphans inside IDP camps of the affected areas.
In fact, Istifanus Gyang of Barkin Ladi Riyon Constituency at the National Assembly has just confirmed that “over four villages have been added to the 45 that have already been over-run and are under forceful occupation and with thousands of survivals marooned in IDP camps”.
This perhaps explains why Dachung Bagos, the member representing Jos South and Jos East Constituency in the House of Representatives, is now urging residents to defend themselves. Although under section 14(2) (b) of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution, the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government. But “in the face of this kind of breakdown in the will and capacity of the government to protect the people and their communities, law-abiding citizens”, he says, “must organize to protect themselves.” In any case, “section 17(2) (b) of the constitution, recognizes “the sanctity of the human person” reinforced by section 33(2) (a) which makes self-defence lawful when undertaken in “defence of any person from unlawful violence or for the defence of property”.
Little relief came from the president’s men. President Buhari’s first minister of defence, Mansur Dan Ali, to reduce tension wanted states to suspend the implementation of their Anti-Open Grazing Laws. His successor Maj. Gen. Bashir Magashi (rtd. ), speaking against the backdrop of the abduction of 42 people, including pupils, from the Government Science College, Kagara, Niger State wanted Nigerians to defend themselves against bandits and killer herdsmen, perhaps with their bare hands.
Buhari’s government continued to play the ostrich even as experts and students of federalism recommended state police as one way to finding solution to all Nigeria security challenges, given the acquaintance with the people and the terrain. Northern governors’ initial opposition was initially led by Kano’s Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso who declared “All of us in the Northern Governors’ Forum, probably the 19 of us with the exception of one or two, are bitterly against the issue of state police”.
But even when governors of Adamawa, Taraba, Bauchi, Gombe, Yobe and Borno, whose states were under siege settled for the establishment of state police at the 4th meeting of the Northeast Governors Forum on March 5, 2021, President Buhari who ‘knew what the people wanted without asking them’ shut it down just as he did when the 19 northern governors changed their position.
The only tepid response to the menace of killer herdsmen regarded as the fourth most deadly violent group in the world came from the National Assembly through Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso’s ‘National Grazing Reserves Bill’ (seeking grazing routes and reserves), which the Southern Nigeria People’s Assembly (SNPA) described as “an unfortunate elevation of what ought to be private commercial ventures into a national or government business”. It was dead on arrival as many southern legislators who believed it violated principles of federalism and in breach of the Land Use Act insisted ranching remains the best global practice in animal husbandry.
If President Tinubu engaged in misplaced priority of trying to help Nigeriens fight for democracy and the unambitious National Assembly planning to spend N40b on toys called bullet-proof SUVs did not know about the plight of our fellow Nigerians languishing in IDP camps where they sleep on bare floor without mattress or blanket, without access to drugs and with many eating only once a day and sometimes going to bed without food, they can call for two television documentaries that vividly brought their plight to Nigerians last Sunday.
If the president’s new security chiefs cannot clear out those who forcibly ejected our compatriots from their homes and farms to allow them return to normal life, begging as a strategy is allowed. He has at his service, Sanusi Lamido (MACBAN patron), Dr Sheik Gumi who enjoys the confidence of criminal herdsmen and of course the Muslim clerics that secured for him a face-saving victory from Nigerien military adventurers last week.
As for our unambitious lawmakers, I am sure after watching the documentary, they cannot but see their lusting over SUV toys by the name of bullet proof cars as infantile behaviour. They might remind their public service counterparts in USA travel by public transport, share flat or sleep in their offices in Washington DC.
Finally if the president and the lawmakers understand our challenges of insecurity, they will know they are running behind schedule in initiating a constitutional amendment to allow for state police.