EditorialTHEWILL EDITORIAL: This House Must Not Fall

THEWILL EDITORIAL: This House Must Not Fall

THEWILL APP ADS 2

BEVERLY HILLS, January 25, (THEWILL) – Recent developments in the southwest in the past few weeks are not only worrisome but gravely frightening.

From the order given by Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State to the killer herdsmen and kidnappers to vacate the forest reserves in the state by Monday, January 25, to the 7-day eviction order to Fulani kidnappers and bandits to vacate Ibarapa land in the Oke-Ogun area of Oyo State, the response from the Federal Government, especially the Presidency, has not only been disappointing, rash and reactive but also reckless.

The boast and threat by the National President of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Bello Abdullahi Bodejo, in an interview with a national daily, saying nobody has the power to drive Fulani herdsmen from Ondo state’s forests is also a subtle declaration of war.

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Bodejo, unfortunately, is re-echoing the reckless statement issued by presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, on the matter as Nigerians begin to wonder when the Presidency has become the mouth-piece of Miyetti Allah and the latter becoming so powerful and untouchable in a federation like Nigeria.

We therefore begin to understand the reactions of the Federal Government and the Presidency, especially, to recent calls for a restructuring of the country.

A simple fact that has remained incontrovertible and has not been addressed by Miyetti Allah and its presidential defender is the obvious and apparent onslaught of some of these killer herdsmen on the southwest, having made the entire North and Middle Belt quite dangerous for Nigerians to live.

Unfortunately, despite the inability of the Federal Government to rein in the activities of the bandits wreaking untold hardship on the Northeast, President Muhammadu Buhari has just confirmed that “the sum of $80 million is to be disbursed for the fight against terrorism in the Northeast and banditry in the Northwest of Nigeria for the year 2021.” We wonder where the money is going since there has not been any positive result in past efforts.

The Eastern flank and every other parts of the country have neither been spared of the dangerous activities of these Fulani killer herdsmen who revel in the erroneous belief that Nigeria belongs to them alone.

Despite all assurances from a docile leadership and repeated calls by traditional rulers from every part of the country for intervention, the menace of these killer herdsmen and armed bandits has continued unabated and is becoming even more daring.

Only last week, the Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, raised the alarm on the activities of these bandits who, according to him, are now making his state increasingly unsafe. His call came just a week after Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, condemned the way and manner in which the Federal Government and some state governors have been treating the bandits with kid gloves, describing it as totally unacceptable.

THEWILL therefore believes that the order from Governor Akeredolu is therefore quite in place as no sane Chief Security Officer of a state would feel comfortable if his people are being kidnapped and killed almost on a daily basis by complete strangers who appear to be pursuing a wicked and devilish agenda.

We also believe that though Sunday Adeyemo aka Sunday Igboho in Oyo State, is not a state actor and should have been more careful with his eviction notice and subsequent actions, we still want to state that his actions were clearly not only a protest against leadership failure both at the state and federal levels but also the result of frustration and anger at the wanton annihilation and killings of his people.

Though the Police have since ordered for his arrest, Sunday Igboho has succeeded in sending a strong message that the situation on ground is no longer a “laughing matter” as he and his people now appear to be fully determined to defend themselves if the State would not protect them.

Tension is also rising by the day with the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, already engaging in a war of words with Miyetti Allah and the larger Arewa Consultative Forum over the Southwest crisis.

In response to an ACF statement on Saturday, warning of a reprisal attacks on Yoruba people in the North, which could lead to another civil war, if recent development in the Southwest is not brought under control, Afenifere has asked the ACF to call “their criminals to order and not expect Yoruba people to sheepishly wait to be killed by those who value the lives of cows more than humans.”

The Oodua Peoples Congress has also declared support for Akeredolu and Ighoho, calling the bluff of the ACF. Otunba Wasiu Afolabi (alias “Askari”), Deputy President to the late OPC Founder, Dr. Frederick Fasehun, in a statement at the weekend, said: “ACF is threatening reprisals instead of telling its prodigal sons to halt their criminality,” adding, “ACF should know that nobody has a monopoly over violence.”

It is really sad that the general insecurity in the country which the Buhari Administration has proven to be incapable of addressing for over five years is now assuming a dangerous dimension, especially with the recent ethnic coloration.

We want to state categorically that the Buhari Administration has no capability, whatsoever, to cope with additional ethnic and tribal clashes that are staring the country in the face going with the way the herdsmen menace in the South West is being handled. An Administration that has been fighting a futile battle against Boko Haram insurgents for years without any success cannot afford to add tribal clashes to its list of woes.

Farooq Kperogi, a public speaker and newspaper columnist, in a recent piece titled, Sunday Igboho: Buhari Is Actively Instigating A Civil War, said: “When you read the rhetoric of the honchos of the Buhari regime on the ongoing tensile stress between Fulani herders and the Yoruba, it’s hard not to come away with the conclusion that the regime is actually going out of its way to actively court and instigate a civil war. For what reason, I have no idea.”

According to Kperogi, “The thieving, clueless minions of the regime don’t seem to realise that they need to have a country before they can enjoy their loot. And they can’t have a country by escalating tension, openly taking sides, and being indistinguishable from one side of the conflict.”

He, however, advised that “Responsible governments try to give at least an appearance of being neutral arbiters in conflicts.”

Nevertheless, THEWILL maintains its stance and belief in one indivisible Nigeria and does not, in any way, share Kperogi’s view that “Buhari would be the death of Nigeria.”

We, however, call on the President to urgently call his men to order and act fast to nip the looming crisis in the bud and thereby prove Kperogi wrong.

We also commend the swift move of the Southwest Governors by calling a meeting this Monday, January 25, to engage with Akeredolu and Miyetti Allah to find a peaceful solution to the crisis. We also want to advise that the arrest order placed on Sunday Igboho should be done in a very mature way in order not to aggravate the already tensed atmosphere in the Southwest.

THEWILL sincerely hopes our present crop of political leaders will learn from the words of the late Justice of Supreme Court, Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, that “If a man in power today closes the gates to justice, the gates will remain closed when he is out of power at the time he desperately need to access justice”.

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