Nigeria: Enough Of Blood-Letting!

By Gbemiga Olakunle

And God sent an Angel into Jerusalem to destroy it, and as he was destroying the LORD beheld and He repented Him of the evil, and said to the Angel that destroyed, it is enough, stay now thine hand. Chron. 21:15, KJV.

There is no doubt that violence has become the order of the day in Nigeria since the advent of Boko Haram in the Northeast and the increased militancy with some elements of criminality in the Southsouth. The situation has already been compounded and is getting worse by the day with the unprovoked attacks that are being unleashed on the citizens of this country by some rampaging herdsmen.

In Nigeria today, to know the real value of a cow, what a farmer needs to do is to kill just one for destroying his farmland. And he will be lucky if his whole community members are not compelled to pay dearly for such effrontery/audacity with their lives in form of reprisal attacks from the herdsmen.

Anybody who is still in doubt should please read the pathetic accounts of the Southern-Kaduna killings where nothing less than 808 people have been killed with several others injured and property worth of millions of naira destroyed. The affected communities were reportedly paying for the sins that their fathers allegedly committed against the cows of some herdsmen who were caught up in the riots that erupted in the aftermath of the 2011 Presidential Elections.

While the authorities, especially the Kaduna State Government are claiming that these assailants are foreigners, these merchants of death have continued to spread their unprovoked attacks to other parts of the country until the Governor of Ekiti State, Peter Ayodele Fayose, checkmated them in his own Area of Jurisdiction (AOR) and put a final halt to it through decisive actions including a legislation. On its own part in addressing the issue, the Nigerian Army has announced that it would send some of its personnel to Argentina to learn Animal husbandry with a view to acquiring suitable acres of land throughout the federation for the purpose of establishing ranches to raise cattle – a move that many have suspected to be another way of introducing the contentious Land Grazing Reserves Policy through the back door and riding on the back of the military.

Grazing Reserves And Southern Kaduna Massacre

By Gbemiga Olakunle

We are watching with breathtaking amazement the level of destruction of lives and property reportedly going on in Southern Kaduna. The conflict in the area has claimed about 808 lives, while about 57 persons suffered life threatening injuries in the hands of suspected Fulani herdsmen. The body language of The Presidency on this situation is troubling. President Muhammadu Buhari has not uttered any word of condemnation on the reported mass killing that can be likened to genocide.

However, the Sultan of Sokoto has reportedly frowned at the wanton destruction of lives and property in the area. The respected traditional ruler and head of the Muslim community in Nigeria, Alhaji Mohammed Sa’ad Abubakar III, has even advised President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Nasir El-Rufai to put an end to the crisis in the area. In his condemnation of the killings, the Sultan declared that fundamental Islamic law forbids the unlawful destruction of lives and property, except for a just cause. While defending his principal, the presidential spokesperson, Femi Adesina, was also quoted as saying that there is no need for the President to speak on the killings since the Kaduna State Governor, El-Rufai, is on top of the matter as the Chief Security Officer (CSO) of the State.

Rev. Father Paul Jatau has, however, accused the governor of being complacent in his handling of the contentious matter. In fact, the Rev. Father went ahead to allege that it was the refusal of the Southern Kaduna residents to turn their lands into grazing reserves for the Fulani herdsmen that formed the bedrock of the crisis. About 808 human lives are reportedly lost in a particular section of a Federating Unit within the Federal Republic of Nigeria and yet the Presidency has not deemed it fit to utter a single word or condemnation whether it means it or not!

We are talking of human lives here and not those of chickens. Even if such lives belong to other animals, what does it cost the authorities concerned to condemn  such unwarranted destruction in unmistaken terms before going ahead to investigate the matter with a view to getting to its root and stopping it? Since the Sultan of Sokoto and the President of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) has strongly condemned the destruction and advised both the President and the Governor of the affected State on what to do, there is no need to further over-flog the matter.

Clearly, Buhari Belongs To Somebody

By Gbemiga Olakunle

“I belong to everybody. I belong to nobody.” 
That was the golden statement or word on marble credited to President Muhammed Buhari, GCFR as part of his Inauguration Speech on the day of his Inauguration on Friday May 29th, 2015 at Eagle’s Square, Abuja. Buhari with that particular statement, among other highlights of his Inaugural speech, the nation that has been put in a reverse-gear and in a state of despondency suddenly seemed to be revived and had her hope rekindled that her tomorrow would be better and alright. But some of us with the eyes of the Spirit by God’s grace, refused to be cajoled by that statement.

President Buhari and Emir Sanusi of Kano

The contents of our rejoinder titled “President Buhari Belongs to Somebody”, widely published online and by national newspapers like The Punch and The Sun, say it all. In that article, we debunked that particular statement and remarked that the President actually belongs to the North (especially the Hausa/Fulani) where he hails from and his party- All Progressives for Change -APC (the party that produced him as its presidential flag-bearer).

But some distrust Nigerians, including a well-respected Man of God who is an ardent supporter of Mr. President found it difficult to be on the same page with us on the views expressed in that article. Although this writer is also a supporter of President Buhari but definitely not a blind supporter or follower. I belong to a section of supporters who still have their eyes wide-open and regularly points out the pit-falls that the new administration may not be conscious of. And true to the prophetic insight clearly expressed in our rejoinder then by God’s grace, the President has begun to come up with his sets of appointments which clearly show where he belongs -  the North.

President Buhari rattled everybody including his Party-Chieftains whom God used to work for his good success at the presidential polls against all odds. The clear-cut lopsidedness in the recent appointments into boards of parastatals and key sectors of the Economy and the security apparatus have left no-one in doubt about where President Buhari’s spirit, soul and body belong - the North, with a particular reference to the Hausa/ Fulani. This unfolding scenario seems to have left the Ruling Party (APC) to be dumb-founded and rattled.