In a recent statement issued by the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), it accused the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) of initiating the Fulani herdsmen controversy to destabilise the government. CAN General Secretary, Reverend Dr Musa Asake, in an interaction with COLLINS NNABUIFE, speaks on the allegation, and other issues relating to herdsmen’s killings.
Last week, the JNI accused CAN of initiating the herdsmen controversy to destabilise governance. How would you react to the allegation?
Inasmuch as we are in a very difficult situation in the country, I wouldn’t want to go into sentiments and people taking sides. If you read that response, it is not really a response, so I’m very disappointed. How can CAN initiate the killings by herdsmen? Are they church members? CAN works with Christians. Herdsmen are not church members; they are Muslims, so JNI should know better than me.
I would have expected JNI to come out and join us in calling on government to stamp out these killer herdsmen, but they are trying to blame. I want them to please unveil CAN; let them not hide anything. Let them unveil CAN the way they feel or with the facts they have to support that CAN initiated this. These are a group of Fulani people; they call themselves herdsmen. They are not Christians. CAN is not made up of killers; we are not murderers. Rather, our people are being killed by those murderers called herdsmen, and we are crying out to the government who is looking the other way. And to have JNI come out and say we are initiating (herdsmen’s attacks), it is disappointing and very unfortunate.
What is your advice to JNI at this time?
I expect JNI to come out clean. Let them be very honest and be Nigerians that would not want to see their fellow brothers killed. Let’s not hide the truth; they can fish out these people, and if they don’t and keep denying their atrocities, we have no choice but to believe that they know exactly what they are doing.
In this country, there is a law that you cannot own a gun, but these herdsmen go about with guns, AK47, in broad daylight, and nobody is arresting them. Sometimes, they claim they have arrested them, yet nothing happens to them. The killings are not stopping; they are only spreading.
I would have loved for JNI to join hands with CAN, and call on government and those in charge of the nation’s security, who have gone to sleep and allowed innocent people to be killed, slaughtered, raped, to do the needful. How can you tell me that the life of a cow is better than a human’s life? Let’s just be very honest with ourselves; that is what I expect from JNI. Not for them to come out and make a very long press release that has no substance.
Recently, you accused security agents of shielding killer herdsmen. Would you shed light on that?
Look at those in charge of security. Tell me, who is a Christian there? Yet, look at those that are being killed. They are Christians, but what efforts have been made to ensure the victims get justice? Nothing. If you talk about foreigners coming into the country, we have the Minister of Interior, under whom immigration is; what is going on?
However, if one herdsman is killed, all of them will move to that area. Didn’t you see what happened in Taraba State the last time? So, it is something that is sectional. Those in charge of security are sectional; Buhari is sectional. He is the head of state, a leader over all – Muslims, Christians, traditionalists. He is our leader, whether you voted for him or not. The fact that he won that election makes him our leader. However, look at the appointments that he is making and he has no remorse. He does not listen to the cry of the people. Every key security position is given to Muslims, Fulani and Hausa-Fulani, and it does not bother him. Look at the rate at which people are being killed, slaughtered, raped, and farmlands are being destroyed, people have been uprooted from their homes, and have now become refugees, and he is sleeping very well; those in charge of security sleep very well. Something is wrong with the system in this country, and that is why we have made up our mind: we are going to speak until we cannot speak any more.
From what you have said about the security situation in Nigeria and the attitude of those charged to ensure security of lives and properties, does it mean that Christians should defend themselves?
Any Christian that does not prepare to defend himself is stupid, unless you are in government and being protected by the government. However, for all the villagers in their farms, you should defend yourselves, your families, your fatherland, your ancestral land. These people are coming to take your land and nobody is going to help you. The government is not helping us; the government is not ready to help us. All these crimes, all these heinous killings are happening under their watch and they are doing nothing.
Take for example, the case where a pregnant woman is killed, her womb forced open, the foetus removed and cut into pieces. What kind of human beings do this? And we have leaders who see these pictures and say nothing? That is wickedness as far as Christians are concerned.
What is your advice to the government in addressing the issue of killer herdsmen?
My advice is let government take every Nigerian as a citizen of this country, a stakeholder. They should treat us equally. When something is going wrong, they should call it wrong, and call right, right. They should not allow things happen and when we talk, they call it hate speech. That is not the way to govern.
However, we have seen enough. We know where we are going and God will help us. He will always protect us, even if the government is not going to protect us. Yes, innocent people have died, innocent people are going to die, but government too must come to an end. So, whatever has a beginning, has an end. This government is not going to be there forever, and as it is rightly put, you reap what you sow. It’s just a matter of time.
If these killings continue, and government is not forthcoming, what will be the next step for CAN?
I can’t answer that question, because I can’t see the future, but what I can say is that we are in gloomy days. Nothing is looking bright; we no longer have hope. We are no longer proud of our country. As for what will happen, only God knows. All I’m saying is when you are pushed to the wall, you will resort to whatever will save you. That’s what I can say.
and then