A member of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) and former minister, Honourable Solomon Dalung. In this interview with ISAAC SHOBAYO, speaks on the wave of insecurity across the country and possible way out. Excerpts:
What is your assessment of the security situation in Nigeria?
The security situation in the country is scary, alarming and so unfortunate. It has affected our cohesion as a nation, it has also divided us more than before. Parts of the northern axis, especially the North-West, has been overwhelmed by what is referred to in the public parlance as kidnapping, sometimes unknown gunmen. These criminals operate with different nomenclatures across the country. So, the country is at the edge of the precipice and the early we recognised this as a people, the better for us as a country. I see a situation where the criminal gang has played the trump card of succession and religion to divide the country.
Are you satisfied with the government posture towards fighting insecurity in the country?
The only assessment that can satisfy a reasonable mind is the ability of the security to deal with the situation but as it is now much has not been done by the Nigerian security agencies to tackle the situation.
Nigeria security is known globally for its gallantry and efficiency when it comes to peacekeeping. They have proved that anywhere they went. They restored peace to war-torn Liberia and Sierra Leone. They performed wonderfully well in Somalia. In the Dafur region, the records of their performance are there. The same military that had performed well outside the country is failing in an environment they are familiar with; our military has not lived up to expectations. Whatever might be their challenges we may not know as an outsider, but I think they have not done well enough to secure the country. They need to scale up their operations.
There was an attack on the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna recently, where military officers were abducted and one killed by suspected gunmen….
It is an institution training those who will secure the county. The attack was carried out in a well-coordinated manner. With this, there’s the justification for the fear being expressed by Nigerians. I still want to believe that the Nigerian military can still do it. I want to align myself with the recent statement by a military general who explained that the army in Afghanistan was not willing to fight because they were abandoned by the American, coupled with no political will. Political will is very important and a factor in any military operation. I am yet to be convinced how bandits could organise themselves in such a manner and infiltrated the elite Military Academy like the NDA and they did it successfully. Does it mean our intelligence has failed us? Is it that bad? I can’t comprehend this. This goes to show that something needs to be done fast to rescue this nation; our government must listen to the voice of reasoning.
Some Nigerians are attributing the spate of insecurity to what they refer to as an ethnic agenda.
I don’t have evidence to support this but others may have. However, let me respond to you practically. Why many are saying this is because those carrying arms to attack people, destroying their farms, kidnapping their women have a common identity, they have been identified as Fulani. This is common in all the areas, right from Zamfara, Katsina, Sokoto, Kaduna down to Benue and Plateau. In Zamfara, these same Fulani people are attacking people robbing them of their cattle, kidnapping their women, taking them to the bush. If you are talking of Fulanization, why are these people (Fulani) being kidnapped; are they not Fulani? The same in Katsina, Niger and other places in the North. In Plateau State, the systemic attack by these people carrying arms has another nomenclature, even the Plateau government refers to them as unknown gunmen. Some people have been arrested and the state government is still peddling the narrative of unknown gunmen. The position of the government not coming out clean to project these people as terrorists is what is making Nigerians suspect their sincerity in dealing with the situation because if people have been arrested, anybody who carries arms and kill people massively, attacks people massively, is a terrorist. So, why are the government and the media using the narration of unknown gunmen, bandits and kidnappers? It is this singular act of government refusing to recognise people living in the forest with arms, killing people at a genocidal scale to deal with them as terrorists that is making many people suspect that there’s more to it than meets the ordinary eye.
The government since 2015 enunciated various policies in its an attempt to address the clashes associated with herdsmen: cattle colony, ranching, Ruga, National livestock Transformational Plan and now, the government is trying to resuscitate cattle routes and grazing reserves. To what extent can it address the problem of insecurity?
We are a federation. Under the 199 Constitution (as amended), there’s the Land Use Act. Under this, the land belongs to the state, not the Federal Government. The Federal Government does not have land, so if it does not have land, it cannot recover any land because no one gives what he does not have. The policy of the Federal Government that it is going to recover cattle routes and grazing reserves that were created under the Constitution Order of 1963 under the First Republic, the constitutional order was overthrown by the military in 1966 and another legal order was introduced thereby changing from the Westminster to the presidential system. Therefore, reclaiming cattle routes and grazing reserves is not feasible. If they have lawyers, they need to revisit the Law School for reorientation and an update of ideas about the constitution. It is out of place for the government to recover what it doesn’t have. If the government wants to do this, it has to employ lobby; it has to lobby states to key into the idea. The Federal Government does not have the power to impose; it should be a bargain. The Federal Government should drop the idea of using force; it will not work. We need to deal with the issue of open grazing once and for all. It is not the best; open grazing is already out-fashioned. Our population can no longer accommodate it anymore.
After many years of respite, Plateau State especially Jos, the state capital, is in the news again for wrong reasons as a result of the recent killings, the latest being the killing of 35 people in Yelwa-Zangam. What is the way out of such carnage?
The peace we have in Plateau State is the peace of the graveyard. You have to understand the dynamic of the situation, especially the crisis in the state before you say anything. Initially, the crisis was within the metropolis and in 2007, it went down to the southern zone and ranged for three years before a state of emergency was declared. And from 2007, there has been killings in villages and along the line, there was a calm and in 2015, there was some calmness before it began to rear its head in villages. Killings have been going on in villages in Riyom, BarkinLadi, Bassa and Jos South but because it was happening in the rural areas, the incidents did not catch the attention of the media. It was a non-challant altitude of the government in responding to the killings in Bassa that led to the killings of travelers. Of course, that was very bad and I have been condemning it. I never like the idea that when a person is attacked in villages, you come to the highway for revenge. But then, what the Federal Government proved to us was that they can deal with the situation because a helicopter was deployed along with security men after the Rukuba incident. Less than three days, more than 30 people were arrested, I was happy that the government was on top of the situation. But while the governor was briefing the president, celebrating that normalcy had returned to the affected area, there was YelwaZangam, where 35 people were killed callously; some were trapped in their houses and set ablaze. I have been expecting the same helicopter and security men to be deployed to also fish out the perpetrators. As at the time of talking to you, I have not heard the sound of a helicopter. Why is the same helicopter not sent to Zamfara; why is the government not swift in its reaction or response to the killing and adoption of school children in Katsina, Niger and other states? All these led to the suspicion of what is called selective justice and this is one of the major banes of the security challenges we are facing today in the country.
What is the way out of the crisis in Plateau, especially in Jos North?
The governor should stop travelling in the name of being the chairman of the Northern Governors Forum and concentrate on his job as the governor of Plateau State. He should embark on a robust engagement with critical stakeholders to fashion out solutions to the security challenges facing the state. All the suspects arrested should be prosecuted. He should mobilise elders from Plateau to go to Abuja to see President Buhari on what is happening in the state. I disagree with the idea of Governor Lalong going alone to brief the president and coming back to tell us he had briefed the president, we cannot trust his briefing with the president.
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