The Farmers-Herders imbroglio is an age-long ethno-territorial skirmish in Nigeria, way before I was born. Yet, we had relative peace across the country. What’s presently alarming, however, is the WRONG LABELLING of criminals by various government officials for ethno-political benefits. The soft romancing and preferential treatment given to CRIMINALS, who should be crushed with every military and security destructive storm, is appalling. These politically labeled criminals as BANDITS OR HERDERS, when they are neither, are TERRORISTS. They are the spillover of BOKO HARAM from Sambisa Forest as a result of the military’s superior firepower, migrating to the Northwest, North Central, Southwest, and Southeastern Nigeria, using cattle as a cover.
The credible intelligence at the disposal of the government, the weaponry, and their day-to-day modus operandi are evident of this fact. So, why the negotiations? Why the amnesty proposal? Why the dialogue? To what end? This is a demoralization of our law enforcement officers. How can we send troops and manpower to search for and arrest criminals bearing arms in one region and send a delegation to negotiate with criminals bearing arms in another region? How can there be unity in the country when there is no unity of purpose from the government? We fought Niger Delta militants in the South-South (even though there was a negotiation afterward), we are fighting Boko Haram in the North East and IPOB/ESN in the South East, so why the hell negotiate with bandits in the North West and North Central? A criminal in the South East is a criminal in the North West; likewise, a criminal in the North East is also a criminal in the South West. A civilian who carries arms is no longer a civilian but an enemy combatant.
These politically preferred criminals carry a Browning GPMG or a C-6, which uses a .50 caliber (12.7mm) armor-piercing bullet, RPGs, and AK-47 assault rifles, which use a 7.62mm bullet full metal jacket (NATO STANDARD) – the same as Boko Haram terrorists. These weapons are NOT your regular kind of toys; they are tools of DEATH. They invade villages at will, they kill, maim women and children, rape young girls in the process, and kill pregnant women without remorse. Farmers can no longer farm on their lands, people travel by road in fear, businesses close once it’s sunset, and these are people you negotiate with instead of crushing them?
The government knows the sponsors and can do better, but will not arrest them for political reasons. After all, 2027 is by the corner, and so, every action of the government is tagged a political witch-hunt regardless of its legal substance. Our traditional rulers refuse to tell the government the truth for fear of cutting their emirate councils’ allocation or being labeled a “rebel monarch.” Our clerics choose to pray rather than speaking out the truth, and our youth prefer a shortcut to success and social media war instead of getting a voter’s card to change any non-performing government when elections come. Our security agencies are not completely given a free hand to operate.
Ladies and gentlemen, where are we headed? How can insecurity ever end when we reward the perpetrators instead of jailing them? It’s a monumental embarrassment to see a self-acclaimed negotiator, a (Sheikh), having a handshake with criminals in the pictures below. It’s an insult to the patriotic souls of our armed forces who are killed by the same people every day. Even with a sterilized hand-glove, I will not shake a criminal.
There can never be meaningful development in any country without security. The conspicuously demonstrated lack of competence and political willpower by our state actors to tackle insecurity is enough pretext for the federal government to declare a state of emergency on insecurity in the affected states of the country. Arrest those who are benefiting from it for whatever reason. The misguided politicians are pitching us against each other, and they are succeeding. That’s why we see the pathological hatred we see in the country: Igbos hate Hausas, Hausas hate Igbos, Yorubas are told that Hausas are playing them, using their heads politically, and Hausas are told that Yorubas are hypocrites, they should be careful with them. But in the end, we are all victims of bad leadership, economic dilapidation, educational disintegration, healthcare deterioration, plus insecurity that brought us where we are as a nation. So we must unite and open our eyes to the catastrophic reality before us.
This is not an ethnic profiling of criminals because there are criminals everywhere. A criminal’s bullet does not know the tribe of its target. This is about safeguarding Nigeria and providing safety and peace for the common man, which is the least the government can do for the poor since the rich can afford close protection bodyguards and bulletproof vehicles. So, let’s call a spade a spade; let’s call criminals by their names without attaching any religious or tribal affiliation to them, and we should not appear weak to them by asking for dialogue when we can crush them without doubt. The only weapon authorized to civilians for self-defense is an SBSG Automatic pump action or manual, and there are procedures involved in getting the license from the licensing authority, which is the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) under the FIREARMS ACT 1958: LAWS OF THE FRN. So, if anyone carries any other category of weapon under whatever pretext – be they Fulanis, Igbos, Hausas, Yorubas, Tivs, Igalas, Ibibios, Itsekiris, Biroms, Sayawas, Igbiras, or Tangales – they are CRIMINALS and should be treated as such. I am a proud Northerner, and I do NOT support crime and criminality of any kind! FIGHT THE CRIME AND LEAVE THE TRIBE.
Ahmed Saleh Jnr. Forensic Scientist, Public Safety and Security Analyst.
