HUSH.

History is one subject that captivates me more than others. I have spent some time studying some of our West African neighbors and I am more than ever convinced that certain Nigerians need to talk less or not at all.

Some West African nations have fought civil wars in recent years just like Nigerians did for more than 24 months in the late 1960s. Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast and Nigeria all have danced naked and bloody before the world and one thing that is common is the focus on divisions above real issues. All these countries like most African states have been bedeviled by corruption, greed and other vices which successive governments vowed to tackle but where conflicts arose; those who sponsored them appeared to always engineer the discussion to be about ethnicity, religion or social status.

Military coups occurred in many African countries mostly backed by either foreign and/or local sponsors. In many of these cases, these activities were carried out to correct some real or imagined ethnic imbalances. Ghana had more than her fair share of coups but she somehow was spared the waste of a civil war. I don't know why this is so but where wars happened, it appeared fracture lines were made more apparent.

Liberia is a story of settlers (slaves who returned from America) dominating indigenes until Samuel Doe struck in 1980 killing the president before him and executing majority of his cabinet (Johnson Sirleaf and a few others managed to escape). A young non-commissioned officer soon promoted himself to general alongside other opportunists. They practically turned against one another till all things fell apart. Thomas Quiwonkpa, Charles Taylor and Prince Johnson were prominent players from 1980 in Liberia. Quiwonkpa before turning 30 fled the nation and returned in 1985 to overthrow Doe. He succeeded for about 6 hours without realising the Americans had given Doe a hint of the planned move against him. Quiwonkpa was killed, decapitated and all sorts of unimaginable deeds were done with his body. All these happened barely a month after Doe had organized elections and won. He is reported to have gotten over $500million dollars from the USA and met with Reagan. It seemed all a nation needed to do was to tell the U.S. that money was needed to fend off the Soviets. Doe turned on his former colleague's people and killed many of them. It became a 'we versus them' and the aggrieved only required a commander.

Taylor was acknowledged by U.S. intelligence to be one of their assessts while undergoing a trial in a U.S. court in the mid 1980s on account of money allegedly stolen from his role in Doe's government. He broke out of an American prison aided by American intelligence and somehow ended up in Libya with Gadaffi. He returned to Liberia a war Lord in 1989 and it became a 'free for all.'

With ECOMOG presence, Doe who had expected American intervention berated them for not doing so because they didn't want development in Liberia which he as president wanted. The U.S. under Bush snr were only interested in evacuating US CITIZENS which they did. So Nigerians, when next anyone incites other Nigerians or preys on our differences, please find out if they have dual or multiple nationalities. Don't be deceived, those big countries will only save those who have their travel documents which your pastors, imam or social media god may already have or be in the process of procuring.

Prince Johnson was with Charles Taylor as they approached Monrovia but soon broke away. He had been with the commander who had tried to overthrow Doe and seemed to have a personal score to settle. They soon captured Doe and the man who the US had planned an evacuation for was begging for mercy. The once boastful man was castrated and murdered gruesomely. Johnson kept repeating to him all his atrocities and how he didn't show mercy to his opponents.

The Americans were undecided on Taylor and let things play out. It's easy to call on America and other world powers for intervention when fecal matter hits the propeller, it's another thing entirely for them to budge. Ask Syrians. Taylor soon became president and a disruptor in the West African subregion. What he did cost Nigeria cash and blood; Obasanjo hoodwinked him and he got 50years for all his troubles. Prince Johnson is a senator.

I didn't realise how much Sierraleoneans sounded like Nigerians until I watched a YouTube video about their own version of civil war. Some of their names even look Nigerian like Joseph Momoh, Yahya Kanu, Solomon Musa etc. Settlers from slave pasts also stayed in Sierra Leone like they did in Nigeria. They are called Saros in some settings and were found across southern and central Nigeria. They were disputes back in the day with disrespect, land grab and it is on record that they were on different occasions pursued from Lagos and Abeokuta but they returned later.

Ethnic issues also played a role in their war but external influences weighed in considerably. A Nigerian businessman who lost both hands to machetes in Freetown [January 1999] recounted to Channels television in a 2012 interview how his limbs were chopped off by a Liberian rebel and how other Nigerians suffered similar or worse fates in only a matter of days. He said those rebels had francophone accomplices, soldiers of fortune more like. The subregion is that fluid and mercenaries for hire are available. I think we need to be addressing the real issues of poverty and underdevelopment in the region before we forget ourselves in disputes about who is a settler or indigene, black or mixed race and jew or hindu. They deliberately sought for Nigerians in Freetown because of ECOMOG. We have hemorrhaged enough as a nation on account of others. Let's not even for a second wish to bleed again from our own cuts, who will form the ECOMOG that will patrol our mangroves up to our Savannahs? Benin Republic?

We like to throw big words around as Nigerians but we should weigh them before writing or speaking such. Some people through their craftiness have succeeded in manipulating entire groups of people against other tribes and faiths. Educated folks who should examine and correct many of these inaccurate descriptions and stereotypes unfortunately do nothing. The more seeds of discord are sown the more trees of deception grow and block the sighting of truth and restraint.

People don't wait to verify news, they rush to broadcast and spread distrust, hate and rebellion. Some opinions are toxic enough to equate arson and these really don't have to be uttered. Don't even suggest any scale of violence because nothing can be guaranteed; the progression or the end. What some people think is freedom of speech seems to me like licences to kill; such should not be celebrated in any way. Don't play politics with everything, just hush from time to time.

JOA8072018

DEATH THREAT (1)

You see, I have used my facebook wall to call out at least two 'men of God' who say political stuff that I consider prejudicial and inappropriate for the office they occupy. I have done it before and I will do it again.

No one can tell me stereotyping any group or ethnicity is the ideal response in Nigeria considering our history and volatility. Telling people to spill blood, behead people or simply making accusations based on conspiracy theories cannot and I repeat cannot be justified. I have heard sermons or parts of such since before 2015 which have been based on fake news and propaganda.

Christopher Wylie of Cambridge Analytica blew the whistle earlier this year on how his group sought for hacked material on President Buhari's health status for representatives of the previous administration. In his testimony to a UK parliamentary committee, he mentioned how they provided a canadian firm: Aggregate IQ with violent video content to distribute in Nigeria' cyberspace aimed at intimidating voters. He said they had throat slits, burning bodies, hijabs etc all to convince Nigerian voters that it was cool to be anti-Islam for that election but what some people still believe till 2019 is that Buhari was the one with the propaganda.

I have seen supposedly cerebral individuals talk about the rallying call to Fula people worldwide to approach Nigeria and reign. The Fula people they say have their origin in Futa Jallon, Guinea and have been unable to dominate there so they moved all the way to Northern Nigeria where they have found refuge. What they fail to mention is that there are at least four countries in West Africa where a Fula individual presides or jointly presides but that won't be sensational enough. There is just something special about Nigeria that the west coast nation of Guinea and the Futa Jallon highlands doesn't have.

We are constantly reminded of what Usman Dan Fodio did in the 1800s which was halted but has somehow resumed. The spirit of Dan Fodio lives on and some people probably believe it is now upon the 75 years old Buhari and herdsmen who some say he funds. What is certain about Nigeria is that we have many tribes that have stood the test of time. An age of savagery could not wipe them out or subjugate them (we must acknowledge that kingdoms were subdued by Dan Fodio's movement) but civilisation appears to have brought along the fear of domination. This I find perplexing.

Nigeria has experienced numerous episodes of severe conflicts and bloodshed especially since the return of democracy in 1999. I won't go into mentioning Yelwa, Kaduna, Langtang, Jos, Dogo Nahawa, etc because it is now an offence in Nigeria to talk about the past; some consider it as an exhibition of a subhuman state and a lack of empathy so I will let it slide so I am not misunderstood. One of such unfortunate events happened on the 23rd of June 2018 in Plateau state which had otherwise been relatively quiet for the past few years when compared to what neighbouring Benue state experienced for extended periods.

Like most recent conflicts in Nigeria, this one was quickly tagged as the activities of Fulani herdsmen. For someone like me, I do not like this hurried descriptions even before investigations are done. If I am correct, the newspapers were already buzzing the next day with a report that Miyetti Allah had somehow taken responsibility by acknowledging it was a reprisal attack for lost cattle. Governor Ortom of Benue was reported in the Vanguard newspaper joining others to ask for the arrest of the Miyetti Allah spokesman who repeatedly denied that he gave the quotes published in the tabloids.

This Miyetti Allah spokesman Ciroma, represents the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders' association MACBAN. The group is the one Ortom had praised for cooperating with his state's anti-open grazing law (or whatever it is called). Ortom had (he still did in a Channels TV interview a few days ago) repeatedly accused the other Miyetti Allah group Kautal Hore as the culprits in just about all the Benue clashes except the ones he claimed without any investigations were the handiwork of a Benue indigene Gana. MAKH have repeatedly denied involvement as claimed by Ortom and I wonder if we should not grant them fair hearing.

The MACBAN Plateau state chairman granted an extensive interview a few days ago and one online newspaper gave a completely inaccurate headline of the content of that story. Nura Abdullahi mentioned that he is Fulani but an indigene of Plateau state. His opinion of the events of the 23rd of June was that it was his people who were actually at the receiving end on that weekend. He reeled out the names of villages where attacks on Fulani and their herd had taken place in the past and recently and accused some Berom people and other locals of attacking them. He denied the involvement of his people in the attacks but that is his opinion. Should we deny him or his people fair hearing because of prejudice?

When one asks that we are cautious about how we react to the cycle of violence and weigh all arguments, one is quickly brandished as a sympathiser of blood thirsty, privileged terrorists. One is seen as a mere defender of government and any attempt to try to explain that pushing a one-sided narrative helps no one is quickly met by a barrage of insults and curses. Should we deny that the much vilified Fulani have not suffered incredible losses on the Plateau cattle or not? The Human Rights Watch have detailed documents on past clashes in Plateau and Kaduna state especially and many of the stories therein are too gory to mention here. These events have hardly been confronted with justice and only get to have repeat performances from time to time. It is folly to keep saying the muslim incumbent is the one killing people when we had far worse cases under Christian presidents. We need justice urgently and that is a legitimate demand.

JOA3072018

Truly Interested In Solutions?

I posted these last year as well as other screenshots on 3 or 4 other posts. Many won't read to get informed that's why they will suddenly wake up in 2018 and become emergency activists trying to offer solutions to violence in Nigeria when they don't even understand the history.

I finally watched what Ben10 said on the floor of the Senate yesterday, where he mentioned Saraki taking over to end the violence. He sounded very funny really, like someone who just snapped out of a 35 years coma. A newbie to Nigeria listening to that would have thought extreme violence only started in Nigeria on the 30th of May 2015. He probably isn't aware of all the debates on herdsmen - farmers clashes and all versions of the grazing bills discussed in the red chamber before he got to the senate.

When you tell folks that we can't get lasting solutions by stereotyping an entire race and exclusively blaming them for all the violence, they accuse you of insensitivity and act like they alone are affected by the deaths. If you need Ben10 to describe for you how pregnant women and children get maimed or killed in Nigeria, you probably are not a bona fide citizen of Nigeria or your education was a complete waste of time.

If we ask people to propose lasting solutions to the herdsmen-farmers clashes, what we will likely get are emotionally driven and impractical solutions. You claim cattle grazing is obsolete but technically it's not. It's a method of animal husbandry and practiced to certain extents even in civilized societies where farmers opt to feed their cattle with strictly organic feed. One problem we have had in Nigeria is animals encroaching into farmlands. Cattle ranches or colonies are supposed to prevent this contact but one wonders why there's so much resistance. Is it every available piece of land in these states that is cultivated? Then one hears "islamization agenda of the Fulanis" and I can only shake my head.

They say cattle rearing is private business and government shouldn't have any part in it. I am sorry that all those teachers who labored to teach us in secondary school must feel heartbroken that they wasted their time. Livestock is food and government should be concerned about how food gets to the tables or plates of her citizens. When Channels TV carried a story in 2016 on how abattoirs were operated in Benue state, governor Ortom didn't say he was unconcerned that slaughtered cows were burnt with tyres but he moved speedily to order a revamping of all abattoirs in the state. He couldn't have appeared not bothered about the quality of meat sold in Benue markets. Is abattoir business government business?

Politicians have been playing politics with Nigerian lives since forever. They will give you wheelbarrows while they set up world class ranches for themselves. They will buy off real estate that should have provided sensible accommodation for scores because they want to build palaces for themselves. When they are marked for prosecution on account of corruption, they will buy aso ebí for you to fight on their behalf claiming ethnic or religious persecution. Many are applauding Aisha Buhari for her position, perhaps they want a first lady who will be claiming millions of dollars in accounts opened with the names of cronies after PMB leaves office.

Elections are around the corner, who is your candidate? Which horse are you betting on? Are you betting on PMB not running? Let's assume PMB opts not to run (not because of external pressures) and "anoints" someone like Shehu Sani suggested, do you think your candidate will beat any anointed man? The time you have left should be spent packaging your gladiator instead of worrying about PMB. Atiku is a Fulani man, he's running with PDP and Ben10 has anointed him as the next president. Will you a southerner vote Atiku a Fulani man considering how you have vilified the Fulani incumbent? Will you as a middle belt adult vote for Atiku considering how you have become paranoid about an Islamization agenda? Will you vote for the Red card movement instead to spite the top 2 parties or will you vote for one of the new parties with near idealistic ideologies?

How will any of the newbies recover the Chibok girls speedily? How will they transform the economy? Will massive industries suddenly spring out of fallow ground within 2 years? Will they release and allow every separatist and religious fundamentalist to thrive because they want to adhere to the rule of law? Will they be willing to incarcerate or kill anyone who is a threat to the nation? I remember Barack Obama's promise to close down Guantanamo bay prison, the place is still operational till tomorrow. Talk is very cheap at times until reality dawns.

Many have committed crimes in Nigeria, the reality is that it is extremely difficult to get justice speedily. Till then, we should sue for peace instead of replacing our brains with coconuts and retracting into our primitive ethnoreligious shells. Certain parts of our country are educationally and economically disadvantaged; shouldn't we reach out to obliterate the gaps? Communication is how this can be achieved not hibernation. We should not let angry people posing as religious, cultural or political leaders decide the agenda. The best they can do is to supply weapons but it's your children not theirs who will carry these weapons.

PS: All images are screenshots from a 2013 Human Rights Watch publication on Inter-Communal violence in Kaduna and Plateau titled "Leave Everything To God." https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/nigeria1213_ForUpload.pdf

JOA24012018