2019: “INSECURITY HAS NO RELIGION” – SULTAN

“More than anything else, more than even the 2019 election itself, Nigerian citizens, especially in the North, are very concerned about the current insecurity in the country. There is pervasive fear all over – from Borno and Yobe in the North East, to Zamfara and Kaduna in the North West, to Plateau and Benue in […]

“More than anything else, more than even the 2019 election itself, Nigerian citizens, especially in the North, are very concerned about the current insecurity in the country. There is pervasive fear all over – from Borno and Yobe in the North East, to Zamfara and Kaduna in the North West, to Plateau and Benue in the North Central. Our people are worried and they are crying out for security…”

So said the Sultan of Sokoto Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar while opening the 5th General Assembly of the Northern Traditional Rulers’ Council (NTRC) last week in Kaduna. Themed “Pervasive Insecurity in an Election Year: Prospects and Challenges”, the Sultan confessed that in the past four weeks alone, he had attended four conferences/workshops/meetings solely on security, and wondered aloud why we have to continue going round in circles and repeating the same messages with no apparent implementation of agreed decisions of the past.

Apparently referring to a recent report titled “Hidden Atrocities” written by a member of the British House of Lords Baroness Cox and a Reverend Father, David Thomas (a report which brazenly and unfairly allocated the tags of ‘oppressor’ and ‘oppressed’, and which was discussed on this page two weeks ago), the Sultan reiterated that “The insecurity we are facing in this country, and especially in the North, has no religion. And neither does poverty and drug abuse – we are all victims! Adherents of all religions are reeling and suffering from these calamities.”

The Sultan further warned Nigerians against the current trend of dangerous hate speeches, ethnic and religious bickering, do-or-die political campaigns and the unfortunate use of innocent youths as political thugs. He also lamented the rising waves of kidnapping and banditry, resurgence of insurgency and other forms of criminalities. He stated that, with the General Elections very near, all hands must be on deck to safeguard the nation and its citizens as the world’s attention is now on Nigeria.

The Northern Traditional Rulers invited heads of two very relevant government establishments to address them – Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Prof Mahmoud Yakubu, and the Chairman of the recently-inaugurated Presidential Advisory Committee on the Elimination of Drugs Abuse (PACEDA), retired Brigadier General Muhammad Buba Marwa.

INEC Chairman assured Nigerians and especially the traditional rulers that his agency is ready and prepared to conduct a successful poll come 2019, and alluded that the part concerning security and matters related thereto are being addressed by the security agencies working in tandem with them. PACEDA Chairman lamented the current disturbing trend in dangerous drugs smuggling and trafficking, sales and consumption, and the effects of drugs on the lives of the addicts, and especially how drugs contribute to insecurity and crime, and the relationship between drugs and election insecurity.

As is usual and expected of our Northern Governors, none of them personally turned up for this very important Assembly. To be fair, three governors were represented: Kaduna (host state, suffering from incessant insecurity); Plateau (ditto, concerning rampant and runaway insecurity); and Niger (where kidnappings are escalating by the day). They all reported what their respective states are doing, as well as the constraints they face, being that security is almost the exclusive preserve of the Federal Government despite the ‘cosmetic’ (in the opinion of this Column) tagging of governors as ‘chief security officers’ of their respective states.

Apart from these three states, this Columnist did not see or hear from Zamfara State (Current Insecure State Number 1 whose Governor is Chairman Nigerian Governors Forum); Governor of Borno State (Current Insecure State Number 2 whose Governor is Chairman Northern States Governors Forum); and Yobe (Current Insecure State Number 3). They may perhaps have sent apologies for their inability to attend and/or send representation, and perhaps the Sultan and his brother-traditional rulers may have accepted these excuses, but this Column hereby rejects any and all excuses from especially these three highly insecure states, as well as from the neighbouring states surrounding Kaduna: Kano, Katsina, Bauchi and the Federal Capital Territory.

In a communique issued at the end of the Assembly and which was signed by Justice Lawal Hassan, Emir of Gummi and Chairman of the Council’s Coordinating Committee, the traditional rulers noted with great concern the rising levels of hate speeches, do-or-die political campaigns, vote buying and money politics, and urged politicians to immediately change their tactics to those of honor and decorum so as to avoid the serious consequences of those illicit acts.

The traditional rulers also noted that while the signing of the retired General AbdulSalami Abubakar National Peace Committee document by leading presidential contestants was laudable, politicians should stand by their pledges and ensure that the 2019 elections are not marred by violence, and should acknowledge and deploy the very important role traditional institutions could play in ensuring peaceful elections in view of the rulers’ immense natural influence and authority among their people.

The Assembly also noted the very sad and unfortunate use of innocent youths as political thugs, and urged parents to be more proactive in imparting good morals in their children, and also urged the youths to realise that those politicians using them for thuggery and violence have shielded their own children from such acts, thereby clearly wishing safely for their own and doom for others.

Lamenting the renewed onslaught on military formations and ransacking of communities in the North East by Boko Haram insurgents, the rising waves of kidnapping and banditry especially in the North West, the farmer-herder conflicts especially in the North Central, and the general rise of other forms of criminalities that are destabilising communities and may seriously affect the conduct of the 2019 elections, the traditional rulers called on government to do everything possible to curtail these menaces, and urged the security agencies to enhance their operational synergy with a view to containing the unsavory situations.

On solutions, the traditional rulers commended government’s efforts in poverty alleviation and enhancing self-employment, but urged governments at all levels to do more as poverty and unemployment are the driving forces for all forms of criminalities and insecurities; that one of the major underlining causes of incessant farmer-herder conflicts is the unavailability of adequate grazing reserves and livestock routes (being that historical livestock routes and grazing reserves have been taken over or encroached upon), therefore the provision of sustainable grazing reserves and livestock routes that are gazetted and protected is a sine qua non for lasting peace.

Finally, the traditional rulers resolved that there is urgent need for frequent consultations among themselves to exchange ideas and promote community security, mutual understanding and national integration; and that they shall urgently work to calm nerves in their domains before the February 2019 General Elections; that all Emirs and Chiefs shall sensitise religious leaders and districts heads in their jurisdictions, and that these religious leaders and district heads shall in turn sensitise their village and ward heads on the need to attain and maintain peace and tranquility for the conduct of peaceful elections.

FROM THE COLUMNIST: In sha Allah in a couple of weeks and until the February Elections, this Column will start a series titled “MY VOTE IS…” where readers will state FOR and AGAINST what issues will determine how they will vote. No issue is too big or too small. For example, for this Columnist MY VOTE IS… “FOR anyone who will build a Kaduna-Kano Modern Rail Line” and MY VOTE IS… “AGAINST any Cabal Real or Imagined.” Readers may email their FOR or AGAINST in no more than 100 words apiece. Some readers will replicate these opinions on social media for wider reach.