Olatunji Ololade
NIGERIA looms like a gothic platitude of misery and death from the cities to her transit townships yet she is the political class’ bower of bliss.
Picture President Muhammadu Buhari, for instance, in his stately Eden at the Presidential Villa in Aso Rock. There, he lives immune to the vagaries of insecurity and governance failure. And he has a nimble media team to protect him and his ‘interests’ from critics or perceived ‘detractors.’
You could be forgiven for thinking that each member of the presidential media team sits on his haunch, like a hound on its paws outside its master’s lair – forever waiting to lunge with a kill-cry and bare fangs at perceived ‘detractors’ of President Buhari.
Consequently, the media team keeps Buhari insensate to the ravages of ill-will and pent-up fury tearing the natives apart from inside out in the war-ravaged communes of the northeast and northwest, and the killing fields of Ondo, Oyo, Ogun, and other parts of the southwest, where murderous herdsmen paint once peaceful, picturesque domains into human abattoirs.
The presidency and its media office must be having a blast; Buhari, his cabinet members, and aides do not have to rise from their beds every day, with jitters about killer-herdsmen invasion of their abodes and workplace – unlike peasant farmers of the northeast, northwest, southwest and middle belt regions, who set out for their farms daily not knowing if they would return home to their families.
Buhari and cohorts are extremely lucky; unlike Funke Olakunri, the daughter of the National Leader of Pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organization, Afenifere, Pa Reuben Fasoranti. Olakunri, 58, was murdered on July 12 by suspected herders on the Benin-Sagamu expressway while on her way to Lagos from Akure in her Land Cruiser SUV after visiting her 93-old-year father.
Police authorities subsequently declared that they have arrested her killers, parading the suspects as Lawal Mazaje (40) from Felele area of Kogi State, Adamu Adamu (50) from Jada area of Adamawa State, Mohammed Shehu Usman (26) from Illela area of Sokoto State and Auwal Abubakar (25) from Shinkafi area of Zamfara State.
Buhari and aides do not have to worry about travelling the deadly stretch of the Lagos-Ibadan highway, particularly the spots where innocent children, mothers, fathers – dependants and breadwinners – are kidnapped and murdered by suspected herders or “criminal elements pretending to be herdsmen” as Buhari, Shehu and company would have us believe.
Of course, this writer recognises that there are peaceful, law-abiding herders doing legitimate business across the country but then, Nigeria must deal with the gruesome reality of the killer herdsmen cum armed bandits.
Worried by persistent attacks against farming communities in Ondo, the state governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, on Monday, gave an ultimatum to herders to vacate all forests while meeting with leaders of Hausa/Fulani and Ebira communities at his office in Alagabaka, Akure, the state capital.
Citing how the activities of the herders have long threatened state security, Akeredolu stated that those who wish to carry on with their herding business must register with appropriate authorities within the next seven days or risk evacuation from the state.
In a swift reaction, the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said, ”rather the ultimatum and contradiction that may follow the order, the state government and the leadership of the Fulani communities in Ondo state should dialogue for a good understanding that will bring to an urgent end, the nightmarish security challenges facing the state.”
He said, Akeredolu “will be the least expected to unilaterally oust thousands of herders who have lived all their lives in the state on account of the infiltration of the forests by criminals.”
Reacting to Shehu, the Ondo State Government accused him of backing criminal elements masquerading as herdsmen and insisted that herders must obey the seven-day quit order by Governor Akeredolu.
Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Donald Ojogo, stated in a Channels TV interview that it was hard to believe that Buhari endorsed the presidential statement on the issue, challenging Shehu to explain why he has taken up the fight of criminal elements who masquerade as herdsmen.
Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), however, argued that the presidency cannot fault Governor Akeredolu for ordering herders to vacate the forest reserves in the state. In an interview with Punch, Adegboruwa said the presidency misinterpreted the constitution stressing that Section 43 which grants people the right to own properties anywhere in Nigeria, cannot be construed as taking other people’s properties.
“Your right to acquire properties is that you acquire according to law and follow due process. When you get to a forest, it rather belongs to an individual, a community, or government…So, if you want to come to occupy a forest as a stranger, you must obtain the consent of any of the owners. You are a trespasser and any of them can activate a process to forfeit your trespass. This is what the governor has done by giving notice.”
Beyond the arguments and counter-arguments, the presidency must display greater tact, maturity, and statesmanship in handling the issue. The presidential media team must equally display less exuberance and more professionalism at parroting Mr. President and putting words in his mouth.
It is quite amusing that Mr. Garba Shehu was quick to respond to Governor Akeredolu’s ultimatum to herders in Ondo despite his perceived knack for shutting out successive news of herder-inspired carnage in the state.
For instance, Shehu and the presidency were disconcertingly quiet when rice farmer, Jacob Odushe, his son, Adura, and one Victor Ejeh, were reportedly murdered in their farm by suspected herdsmen in Arimogija community, Ose council area of Ondo state. Residents of the community fled their houses following the attack by the herdsmen, alleging that a helicopter once came into the forest of the community and dropped some ammunition for the herdsmen in which they perpetrate criminal activities. According to them, the matter was reported at the police station but no action was taken by the security agencies on the matter.
Shehu was quiet when the Ondo State Security Network Agency aka Amotekun, revealed how herdsmen attacked its operatives while they tried to settle a rift between them and farmers in the state.
Adetunji Adeleye, the Commander of Amotekun in the state while addressing journalists in December last year stated that one of the herdsmen was arrested with dangerous weapons.
He said, “Some farmers from Osi Community ran to the office complaining that their farms had been destroyed by herds. We sent our men there to assess the situation. They found out that the herds were actually on the farm and we invited the herdsmen. But unfortunately, on getting there, they attacked our men with knives and other dangerous weapons. But we were able to arrest one of them, named Abdulkadir Mohammed.”
While great care must be taken to avoid crucifying law-abiding herdsmen for the crimes of certain criminal elements among them, there is no disputing the fact that Governor Akeredolu’s decision to rid Ondo’s forest reserves of illegal squatters and herdsmen must be applauded in the interest of the state.
The presidency’s reactive stance in respect of Governor Akeredolu’s decision, however, reveals a more grievous problem.
