(Opinion) Oh, how my heart bleeds for Kaduna’s bloodshed…and govt’s ineptitude!

By Gideon Para-Mallam
I am experiencing a lot of pain in my heart right now and this is expressed through the dexterity of my fingers. Just before going to bed last night, news of the killing of five innocent and unarmed Borno aid workers filtered in. Prior to this, I was in prayer and working the phone speaking to both key Christian and Muslim leaders in Kafanchan to discourage the escalation of violence due to pent up anger as a result of the constant news of attacks and killings. We have seen the gory images of butchered women, children and men in Zango Kataf and Kaura Local Government Areas in Southern Kaduna. The banality of periodic Boko Haram attacks in Yobe and Borno recently and the decimation of ethnic nationalities in mostly Christian populated villages and towns in Southern Kaduna has reached a peak. Therefore, silence of any kind becomes a burden of careless irresponsibility by men and women of conscience. Five humanitarian aid workers killed! What’s going on in our nation? Where is the government? Where is the conscience of the terrorists? What became of the ‘victories’ one read about in social media about the last military offensive?
Is Nigeria’s Territorial Sovereignty and Internal Security Intact?
The primary obligation of a sovereign state is to guarantee the security of its citizens. Even though welfare is a mirage due to evident socio-economic inadequacies; security of lives and property is non-negotiable. This is the least any government can offer its citizens. This clearly hasn’t been the case for Nigeria.
First, the victims are Nigerians, most of whom are taxpayers. They are killed at will and the same government, who are maintained by the sweat of these taxpayers, simply just lets them bleed and die. It is regrettable that the Nigerian government is failing to provide security of these tax paying innocent citizens. Over time, these attackers continue to threaten both the legitimacy of our leaders and the sovereignty of our nation with each blow. These unchallenged horrific attacks, pillaging and destroying the modest existence of common people diminishes not only our President but the entire security sector leadership.
With specific reference to Kadunda State, the latest theatre of violence and bloodletting, they also diminish the Governor as well as all of us as a people. We are today virtually unprotected as citizens by the Nigerian security agents. This reality increasingly has me questioning the validity of Nigeria’s sovereignty and internal security. Can the Nigerian government really expect the victims of these attacks to wait helplessly without similarly securing weapons for self-defense, having failed abysmally to protect them?
Between the third week of June and the 3rd week in July there have been no less than five violent attacks in Zangon Kataf, one village experiencing same twice, one each in Kauru, Kagoro and an attempt near Kafanchan within this week alone.
The likelihood of frustration-aggression by peace loving unarmed innocent people, acting to protect their lives and habitat stares us all in the face. This scenario will be too costly for our nation, threatening all our erstwhile sane nation-state building goals and efforts. It looks like Nigeria is insane right now. Social cohesion within our communities is virtually non-existent. Take it or leave it, Kaduna State is more divided today than it ever was. Is the situation much different in other parts of the country? This is indeed worrisome.
Is Nigeria slowly turning into a country of Anarchy and Lawlessness?
In the case of Zangon Kataf, it was first reported on June 5th that there was a land dispute, followed by some people getting killed. A man from Chawai and a Fulani were involved. Gradually, things began to deteriorate. The Fulanis issued press statements to signal they will avenge their death and the Atyap people issued their own press statements to set the records straight on who the real victims were. Anybody familiar with how things turn ugly in the north will see the clear signs of rivers of blood and killing fields on the horizon. The Fulanis were preparing the ground to strike and in a strange twist, the government both at the State and Federal levels appeared to ‘justify’ their aggression. How painful to see Nigeria descend so low because of poor judgement on the part of our leaders. Sadly, we are now reluctant spectators of the bizarre. These tragic comedy of death and destruction is a pointer to the decadence of the state of insecurity in Nigeria today. Kaduna State has shown that we are learning nothing from our past. That vulnerable Southern Kaduna people have been subjected to incessant attacks by bloodletting Fulani militants is no longer in doubt. What internal security strategy is in place to defend defenseless citizens against attack.
It is clear that our security personnel are overstretched and unable to cope right now. The characterization of the Zangon Kataf attacks by Garba Shehu, a Presidential spokesperson, to be a two-sided revenge affair, is inaccurate and unwise. This is escapist and an unhelpful excuse which is loaded with dire negative consequences. In allowing this statement to fly, the Presidency has in some way portrayed the President of Nigeria as partisan and partial. It appears that the President is always making excuses for his inability to curb the excesses of his Fulani tribesmen. What a shame. Has the President become so out of touch and bereft of leadership ideas to this ridiculous extent?
Hear Garba Shehu: “We note that revenge and counter-revenge only create a circle of violence, thereby making everyone else unsafe, especially innocent people . . . The Presidency advises the people against taking the law into their own hands which makes the job of security personnel more difficult. Instead, they should report any security breach or threat to peace to the law enforcement agencies . . .” On face value one would think something tangible is being said but on deeper reflection this statement falls far too short of any responsible leadership really committed to ending the very cycle of violence they are talking about. Haven’t these attacks been reported over and over again?
Times without number, Fulani herdsmen give flimsy justification for their vicious attacks in the name of so-called revenge attacks – when in fact these are premeditated acts of aggression against their host communities. Where is justice and fairness? They wreak havoc on innocent lives in their homes and villages, some in their sleep. Yet, the Presidency is talking of revenge attacks? If the President cannot stop the attacks, can he at least condemn them for what they are? Why seek to excuse violence that keeps claiming innocent lives? Why does the government keep looking the other way? The sheer viciousness of the attacks demonstrates man’s inhumanity to man. Yet, these attackers still walk the streets of Nigeria free. Impunity of the highest order! How can this be with a government in place? This is highly unacceptable in a society with a democratically elected government and constituted security forces.
As a peace advocate and one committed to pursuing a peaceful agenda for Southern Kaduna, I wish to appeal to the peace-loving people of Southern Kaduna to shun violence and any form of retaliatory attacks as a result of unprovoked and unjust persecution. I have never and will never agree to revenge attacks against the Fulanis. I have always stood to oppose this both in private and in public. Therefore, I call on the Federal Government of Nigeria to fulfill its constitutional responsibility to protect the people of Kaduna State from violence and terror. The government should in fact have been actively mobilizing her citizens in word and deed to embrace each other in view of our common humanity as God’s creation.
Is the body language of our leaders not giving tacit consent to bloodletting?
Judging from the body language of the Federal Government, one is left to think that the government is absolutely indifferent or incapable of securing the lives of Southern Kaduna inhabitants. As a Nigerian patriot, a global mission leader and peace advocate, I believe that the Nigerian government can do much more in Southern Kaduna to end the heinous activities of Fulani militants that threaten peaceful coexistence. The Service Chiefs and our security apparatus are in dire need of overhaul, no doubt.
It is in the light of this reality that the Senate recently asked for the replacement of the Service Chiefs. The reaction of the Presidency though coming as no surprise remains a disturbing puzzle. It is like a nod for the incessant spate of attacks across the country – by what I call the triumvirate of evil: Boko Haram, Fulani Militia and Bandits – to continue terrorizing and decimating non-Fulani citizens. Oh, that Nigeria should not run the risk of re-enacting Liberia, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan and Central Africa republics. That would surely be a sad experiment in a journey towards a failed state.
Stop Press: On Friday night, the 24 of July a vicious attack near Kafanchan Southern Kaduna took place. The attack claimed the lives of 11 people and wounded several others. How could such attacks continue unabated and nothing is being done to find a lasting solution by the government? Though it is the government’s responsibility to provide rational and sensible leadership, this appears to be missing right now.
Some may think rather erroneously that we should leave everything for the government to do. I don’t think so. The people of Southern Kaduna must themselves find ways to live together in peaceful co-existence, guided by the principles of justice and fairness. It’s the surest way out.