The Bauchi State Governor, Bala Muhammed, has said some states in the Southwest region of Nigeria don’t want to accommodate other tribes. He was reacting to the recent development in some states in the Southwest where herdsmen were asked to leave. The governor was speaking as a Special Guest of Honour during the launch of the inaugural edition of the Bauchi Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ’s magazine titled “Correspondents’ Watch” on Thursday. Oyo and Ondo state government have been in the news over their activities to stop herdsmen from using forest reverses in the states. A controversial Yoruba “activist”, Sunday Adeyemo, known as Sunday Igboho, had issued a quit notice to herdsmen accused of sundry crimes in the Ibarapa area of Oyo and enforced same. Bala Mohammed said: “The west doesn’t want to accommodate other tribes but we are accommodating your tribe in Bauchi. “We have Yorubas who have stayed in Bauchi for over 150 years. “Some of them are permanent secretaries in Gombe, Bauchi and Borno. “If cybercrime is being practised mostly by one tribe, you don’t criminalise the whole tribe because of this. “That is why you journalist needs to be sensitive and exercise restraint. “Avoid writing reports that will threaten the unity of this country.” According the governor, herdsmen are bearing arms to protect themselves from cattle rustlers and other criminal elements that rob them of their possession or kill them. He added: “The tradition of transhumans, pastoralism, has exposed Fulani man to cattle rustlers who carry a gun, kill him and take away his cows. “He has no option but to carry AK 47 because the government and society are not protecting him.” The governor argued that nobody own any forest in Nigeria, saying the forests are owned by Nigeria. He stated: “Under section 23, 24 and 25 of the Constitution, every Nigerian is free to stay anywhere. The Governor slammed his Benue counterpart, Samuel Orthom, saying poor handling of farmers-herders clashes in his state incited other tribes against the herdsmen. ”My brother and my colleague Ortom started all this as regards herders clashes with other tribes. “That’s why I must commend the Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, NGF Solomon Lalong. “He is a hero in the promotion of peace despite his diverse and minority background. “He has put an end to the incessant fighting between herdsmen and other tribes in Plateau.”

Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe has said that regardless of what arguments may be held over insecurity in the country, one resolution that must be reached is to flush out all criminal elements. Speaking during plenary on Wednesday, Abaribe said authorities must not continue to paper over matter when it comes to the issue of security. The lawmaker who specifically spoke about claims that certain citizens were being sent away from different regions of the country, said only miscreants have been chased out of the forests from where they have been unleashing mayhem on innocent Nigerians. “No Nigerian is being sent away from anywhere, criminals are being sent away from the forest where they are,” Abaribe argued. He urged fellow legislators to be mindful of the message they pass and emphasized that the desideratum for solving Nigeria’s security need at this time, is to ensure that all criminal elements coming into the country from wherever they are, be flushed out.

Governor Bello Mohammed Matawalle of Zamfara State has said dialogue remains the best option to end banditry in the country. Mohammed said this while responding to questions from newsmen in Yola, Adamawa State capital, on Thursday. The governor was in Adamawa on an official visit to witness the inauguration of Phase II rural roads projects and distribution of maintenance equipment held at Kuva-Gaya in Hong Local Government Area of the state. According to him, the best option to douse tension and bring an end to banditry in Zamfara and beyond is to subscribe to dialogue. “I have been always saying, the best solution and option to tackle banditry is to seek for dialogue with the bandits.” “If really we want to end this banditry activity, we have to sit on a round table and negotiate. “Because through dialogue and reconciliation we are able to secure the release of many people who were under the captivity of kidnappers. “So, the best way out for my colleagues, governors, is for them to subscribe for dialogue,” Matawalle said. He maintained that the dialogue option was not meant to fight for those that refused to repent, but the government is using carrot and stick approaches. The governor noted that some bandits that prepared for dialogue, government sit with them and listen to their grievances, if any. “But those that refused to take path in dialogue we fight them. Because, as a governor, my number one priority is to ensure peace and stability, and to ensure people are sleeping with two eyes closed,” Mohammed added.

Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has warned the Nigerian Police Force to always be truthful in its engagements with the people, declaring that the police lied in claiming that herdsmen and their cattle did not invade his Abeokuta residence. Soyinka, in a statement sent to Tribune Online on Thursday titled: “Mad cow and madder narratives,” confirmed that his home was actually invaded by herdsmen and their cows on Wednesday evening, stating that “both cattle and herdsmen were flushed out of my property.” The statement reads: “The most distressful aspect of my recent interaction with cows and herders is that it has created a most unwanted distraction from the ongoing life and death Nigerian narrative. One has to take time off to deal with distortions and fake versions, while students are being reportedly waylaid and killed and/or kidnapped in Ondo and farmers are being slaughtered in my own state. “In short, the killings continue even as panels are being launched to enquire into immediate past human violations. For those who truly seek details of the Ijegba incident, I hereby affirm that I was never physically attacked, neither did I attack any cows. The cows and herders did however attack my property – and not for the first time. “The police need to be very, very careful, learn to be straightforward with public information. Failure to adhere to that obvious, basic form of conduct means that the public will lose total confidence in security agencies and constantly bypass them in times of civic unrest, no matter how trivial or deadly. How on earth could the police claim that my property was not invaded by cattle? It was. “My groundsmen knew the drill and commenced the process of expelling them. Fortunately, I was then driving out and was able to lend a hand by vehicle maneuvering. Both cattle and herdsmen were flushed out of my property. “Once they were outside the gates, I came down from the vehicle and beckoned the herdsmen to come over. At first they pretended not to understand, then, as I approached, fled into the bush. We thereupon “arrested” the cows, confining them to the roadside, while I sent my groundsman, Taiye, to the police to come and take over. “Since they took rather long in responding, I summoned a replacement and proceeded to the police station. On the way, we met a detachment, turned round, and together we returned to the scene of crime. The police wanted to commence combing the bush for the fugitives but I stopped them – what was the point? Keep the cows, I advised, and the owner will show up. Of course, that owner eventually did. “I thoroughly resent the police version which suggests that the cows never invaded my home: home is not just a building, it includes its grounds. And it was not a stray cow, or two or three. It was a herd – we have photos, so why the lie? It is so unnecessary, unprofessional and suspiciously compromised. The police suggest that I have nothing better to do than to go accosting cows on the public road – to what end? If the police demand proof, the next time such an invasion takes place, I warn that there will be no lack for cadaver affirmation and the police will be officially invited to join in the ensuing suya feast. So please, let us get serious! “Getting serious means seeking with a sense of urgency, ways of terminating mayhem, impunity, and the homicidal culture being imposed on us through some near cultic business minority who just happen to trade in cattle. It means not giving up on peaceful solutions, but also being prepared for the worst. Those of my line of thought have been working on various ways of sensitizing the nation to the very real and imminent danger issuing from this cattle aberration. “The menace, I repeat, challenges us as a cohesive entity and as communities of free individuals, committed to the dignity of existence. Cattle imperialism under any guise is an obscenity to humanity. So let me serve notice that we are about to commence a process of public sensitization; we hope even the police will join hands with the agenda as it progresses. “A special practical plea: now that the railways are being resurrected, let us make cattle wagons a priority. I grew up with the regular sight of those practical conveyances. It is time to bring them back.” Wole SOYINKA ARI. Kemta Housing Estate Abeokuta, Ogun State Feb. 11, 2021

Benue State Governor, Mr. Samuel Ortom, has pleaded with President Muhammadu Buhari to rein in rampaging herdsmen now causing trouble everywhere before they drag Nigeria into another civil war. Governor Ortom, who made the plea at a press briefing in Abuja, said that he made the appeal as a patriot who is concerned about the president’s reputation and the fate of Nigeria as a country. Before the briefing, Ortom had delivered a letter dated February 8, 2021 to President Buhari with the caption: “Appeal to Act before Herdsmen drag Nigeria into civil war”. Governor Ortom said in the letter: “Mr. President, we are not oblivious of the challenges that the country has faced in the life of your Administration. These include two recessions, the COVID-19 global pandemic and the unprecedented nationwide security challenges resulting into the largest loss of lives and property since the Civil War. These security challenges especially have unsettled the country economically, socially and politically. “Your Excellency, these security challenges have assumed new dimensions where the now emboldened assailants and armed herdsmen daringly enforce their will on legitimate owners and occupants of ancestral lands. There are many areas of concern over the Federal Government’s actions and inactions, including the widely discussed concern over inequalities in key appointments. These have reinforced the perception that the Administration is not fair and just to all Nigerians. “Mr. President, please recall my earlier letters drawing your attention to the murderous activities of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore and other armed Fulani socio-cultural groups and their leaders who publicly and brazenly claimed responsibility for the killings and destruction of property across States of the country. These groups and their leaders have also boasted that Nigeria belongs exclusively to them. “I am writing to you as a patriot who is concerned about your reputation and the fate of our dear country. I am imploring you once again to rise to the challenges of these times to avert the country’s drift to anarchy and disintegration, a situation that sycophants and praise-singers might be unwittingly shielding from you. “In 2015, Nigerians enthusiastically welcomed your return as a leader with a reputation for uprightness, fair-mindedness and integrity. The current situation is raising doubts in the minds of many Nigerians who had believed in you. Mr. President, your compatriots are looking up to you to act fast to redress the situation,” Ortom said in the letter.