Theophilus Danjuma’s warning

RECENTLY, a former Chief of Defence Staff, Lt-General Theophilus Danjuma (retd), reiterated his warning to Nigerians to find means of defending themselves in the face of attacks by terrorists, many of them non-Nigerians. Speaking  at the coronation and presentation of the staff of office to the 25th Aku Uka of Wukari, the paramount ruler of the Kwararafa kingdom in Wukari town of Wukari Local Government Area of Taraba State, the retired ex-Chief of Army Staff and elder statesman lamented that innocent Nigerians were being killed by bandits with the collusion of the military. He said: “When some few years ago I warned that the armed forces were either not capable or were unwilling to protect us and that we must defend ourselves, the first denial of what I said came from the Ministry of Defence. They said I was lying and they set up a kangaroo board of inquiry to investigate the truth or otherwise of what I said. They invited me to come and testify but I did not go. They wrote their report which stated that I was only speculating and that there was no evidence. But now there is evidence.

“The whole country now is being overrun and one very clear thing that is happening now is that these foreign invaders are destroying everything and our government allowed them to come into the country. I thank God today that the evidence is very clear to all Nigerians now. All Nigerian communities are now being sacked by the same bandits I accused, and all of these bandits are foreigners. As a soldier, I must say the best way to defend is to attack; I will not buy arms for you. Find out how those attacking you acquired them, acquire them and attack back to defend yourself and your territory.” This statement is apparently a reinforcement of the position previously taken by the General. In March 2018, speaking at the maiden convocation of the Taraba State University, he had accused the armed forces of collusion with bandits, saying: “They facilitate their movements, they cover them. If you depend on the armed forces to stop the killings, you will all die one by one. The ethnic cleansing must stop in Taraba State, and in all the states of Nigeria. I ask every one of you to be alert and defend your territory, your state.”

The elder statesman had warned that if the killings perpetrated by the terrorists across the country did not stop, “Somalia will be a child’s play.” At the time, his position had been dismissed by the Nigerian military, which claimed that the General spoke without evidence.  As a matter of fact, Texas Chukwu, the spokesman of the Nigerian Army, had not only denied Danjuma’s allegation but claimed that criticisms of the military operations in Taraba State were due to “the army’s stance to remain absolutely neutral in the herdsmen-farmers crisis.” Events since that time have confirmed Danjuma’s fears about the genocidal activities of nomadic herders around the country.

It is significant that Danjuma, who is obviously no anarchist, is making his admonition again after previously telling Nigerians the same thing with respect to the onslaught of killer and marauding herdsmen in the past. This simply means that he has not seen any improvement in the readiness and capacity of the government to address insecurity in the land. And this is very unfortunate indeed. It is the height of resignation and total lack of confidence in government to believe that citizens need to engage in self-help to defend themselves. It shows the appalling ineffectiveness of the government and its inability to live up to its responsibilities in the area of security. Like Danjuma, many eminent Nigerians, including traditional rulers, have deplored the failure of the Federal Government to rein in the merchants of blood.

We believe that it is still not too late for the government to have a change of tactics and assure Nigerians that it is able to douse the flame of insecurity in the land. This requires putting in place a working arrangement with state governments, especially through state police, to ensure that the government is in full control of the security situation in the country. In any case, even when things are on the exclusive list, it does not mean that the central government has to do everything alone. The truth is that if you are not addressing insecurity and preventing people from helping themselves, then you must really want the current state of affairs. Continuing with the current trend of insecurity would give much credence to Danjuma’s vote of no confidence in the government.