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Tag: Danjuma

  • Danjuma renamed as Falconets’ Head Coach

    Danjuma renamed as Falconets’ Head Coach

    . Abdullahi, Ekpo  are assistants

    Christopher Musa Danjuma has returned to his job as Head Coach of the U20 Women National Team, Falconets, following a screening and interview process by the NFF Technical Committee. The committee submitted its recommendation and the same has been approved by the NFF Executive Committee.

    The process began with a one-week public notice which requested for applications from suitably qualified persons, after which short-listed candidates were contacted and interviewed by a panel of the Technical Committee.

    Danjuma, who has taken temporary charge of the Senior Women National Team, Super Falcons, on a couple of occasions, led the Falconets to the quarter-finals of last year’s FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup finals in Costa Rica.

    The experienced gaffer will be assisted by former U20 and U17 girls’ assistant coach Mansur Abdullahi, and former Super Falcons’ midfielder Effioanwan Ekpo.

    Read Also: Secret Asessors to Monitor NPFL Referees and Clubs

    Ekpo, who represented Nigeria for 10 years between 2000 and 2010, featured at the 2003 and 2007 FIFA World Cup finals in USA and China respectively, at the 2004 and 2008 Women Olympic Football Tournaments in Athens and Beijing respectively, and was a Women Africa Cup of Nations gold medallist on three occasions. She also featured at the 2007 All-Africa Games in Algiers.

    Yahaya Audu, who has been goalkeeper trainer of the team, also returns to his position.

    The Falconets will commence their 2024 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup qualifying campaign with a second round, first leg encounter against their counterparts from Mauritius in Saint Pierre on Sunday, 8th  October, with the return leg scheduled for the MKO Abiola Stadium, Abuja on Saturday, 14th  October 2023.

    Colombia will stage the 2024 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup finals.

  • Army panel tackles Danjuma on Taraba killings

    THE Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen Tukur Buratai has dismissed as untrue allegation of connivance levelled against the military during its operations in Taraba State.

    He said from the findings of the panel instituted by the army, the allegation by former Minister of Defence, Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (rtd), that troops connived with herdsmen to kill hapless inhabitants of some communities in the state did not reflect the true situation of things.

    Addressing journalists on the executive summary of the report, Buratai said the army and the Commanding Officer of 93 Battalion, Taraba State, performed their duties diligently, professionally and without bias.

    Gen. Buratai, who was represented at the briefing by the Chief of Civil Military Relations, Maj. Gen. Nuhu Amgbaso, said: “It will be recalled that the Nigerian Army has been conducting operations to tackle the security challenges in the North West, North Central and North Eastern regions of Nigeria.

    “However, in the process of conducting the operations in Taraba State, concerns were raised by some government officials and very senior citizens of the state on the approach of the Nigerian Army.

    “In view of these allegations, the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusufu Buratai, set up a 10-man Panel comprising senior Army officers (both serving and retired) and members from the National Human Rights Commission, Nigerian Bar Association and other Civil Society Organisations, to investigate the veracity of the allegations made against the Nigerian Army.

    “The Panel was inaugurated on 9 April 2018, and it visited government officials, security agencies and other stakeholders covering the three senatorial zones of Taraba State, including His Excellency the Governor of Taraba State.

    “The major findings of the Investigation Panel were as follows:

    *. There was no collusion on the part of the Nigerian Army and units operating in Taraba State with any bandit(s) as stated by Lieutenant General TY Danjuma (Retired).

    *. There were few instances where locals drag soldiers outside strict military duties to intervene in civil disputes.

    *. There was good collaboration, synergy and cooperation between the Nigeria Army and other security agencies operating in Taraba State.

    *.There is sustained media campaign to belittle the military operations in Taraba State.

    * Most of the crises over the years in Taraba State were particularly in Takum, Wukari, Ussa, Donga and Sardauna local government areas.

    *. There was absence of Nigerian Army deployments in some crises prone areas in the hinterland in Taraba State.

    *. The Nigeria-Cameroon common borders in Taraba State were porous.

    *. There was a massive proliferation of small arms and light weapons in Taraba State, some of which have been recovered from warring parties, criminals and unauthorised persons.

    *. Troops deployed in Taraba State for Operation MESA were not paid RCA by the state government since February 2018.

    *. There was inadequate communication equipment in the units which impedes Nigerian Army operations.

    *. Some of the localities in the hinterland in Taraba State were not accessible by road.

    *. The Commanding Officer 93 Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel IB Gambari, commands his unit effectively and professionally and was only being vilified by some people/government of Taraba State for his refusal to act outside his professional duties or do the biddings of some government officials.

    *. Lieutenant General TY Danjuma (Retired) could not be accessed by the Panel.

    *. The Executive Governor of Taraba State made several attempts to ensure the removal of the Commanding Officer of 93 Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel IB Gambari from command for his refusal to be dragged into the state politics.

    *. Taraba State is highly heterogeneous and divided along ethno-religious lines.

    *. The Chairman of Takum LGA, Hon Shiban Tikari, made several attempts to undermine the authority of the Commanding Officer 93 Battalion through some officers of the unit.

    *. The troops have a good understanding of the Code of Conduct/Rule of Engagement.

    *. There were security breaches/clashes in Taraba State till date which has necessitated the deployment of troops in the state.

    *. The responses of Nigerian Army troops deployed to forestall these crises were commendable despite daunting challenges.

    *. The 20 Battalion operating at Sardauna Local Government Area lacks combat motorcycles.

    *. Some of the challenges facing the units operating in Taraba State include terrain, inadequate intelligence, inadequate communication and manpower problem.

    *. There was verifiable evidence that 2 Nigerian Air Force helicopters with registration numbers NAF 574 and NAF 575 landed in Gembu on 15 March 2018 and 11 April 2018 respectively without the knowledge of the local authority.

    *. The Nigerian Air Force helicopters and personnel that landed in Gembu area were for the proposed establishment of Nigerian Air Force Base at Gembu.

    *. Dairies and other relevant documents pertaining to some major security breaches/clashes were maintained by units operating in the state, however the units did not document the after-action review.”

    Gen. Buratai also said the panel recommended that Army Headquarters should, among others, “device a means to be independent in its operation across Nigeria so as to insulate soldiers from the overbearing influence of politicians in government, especially with particular reference to sponsorship of Nigerian Army operations in states.”

    He added: “The Nigerian Army in keeping with its roles as enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution will continue to engage stakeholders in Taraba State to find a lasting solution to crises in the state. There is also a need for the Nigerian Police Force and other prosecuting agencies to prosecute all the suspects arrested in Taraba State for involvement in various crises.

    “It is the opinion of the Army Headquarters that the Investigation Panel did a thorough job. The Army Headquarters therefore upholds the recommendations of the Panel.

    “The general public is enjoined to note that the Nigerian Army is a formidable institution and the pride of the nation.

    “The Army will not rest on its oars when responding to the security challenges in the country. In synergy with other security agencies, the Nigerian Army will continue to work towards ensuring that the security and territorial integrity of our nation is guaranteed.

    “The Nigerian Army wishes to reiterate its loyalty and subordination to civil authority in carrying out its constitutional roles and responsibilities.”

    The panel, which comprised serving and retired army personnel, representatives of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), was set up on April 10 following the March 24 allegations by General Danjuma at the convocation of Taraba State University in Jalingo.

    Danjuma, a former chief of army staff and native of Taraba, had said on that occasion: “You must rise to protect yourselves from these people.

    “If you depend on the Armed Forces to protect you, you will all die.

    “This ethnic cleansing must stop in Taraba, and it must stop in Nigeria.

    “These killers have been protected by the military. They  cover them and you must be watchful to guide and protect yourselves because you have no any other place to go.

    “The ethnic cleansing must stop now otherwise Somalia will be a child’s play.

    “I ask all of you to be on your alert and defend your country, defend your state.”

    He was reacting to the spate of killings in Taraba, Benue, Adamawa and Kaduna states.

    The army had in its first response on March 25 to the Danjuma allegations labelled them unfortunate.

    It urged Nigerians not to heed Danjuma’s advice, saying: “The Nigerian Army views this statement made by the former Chief of Army Staff as most unfortunate at this critical time that the military has embarked upon demilitarisation of the North Central Region of the Country.

    “While Nigerian Army would not want to join issues with the elder statesman, however, certain facts need to be clearly stated in the interest of Taraba people and the Nigerian public.”

    The statement added: “In this light, the authorisation for the conduct of Ex AYEM AKPATUMA was authorised and troops deployed to curb menace of the herdsmen-farmers conflict and other criminal activities in the North Central Region amongst others.

    “The ENDNigerian Army advises the people of Taraba State and indeed all other Nigerians to continue in their day-to-day activities and be law abiding, as anyone caught with arms and ammunition will be dealt with in accordance with the laws of the land.”

  • ‘Ndigbo should listen to Obasanjo, Danjuma’

    NATIONAL Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Chief Raphs Okey Nwosu has said Igbo should listen to some elderstatesmen or perish.

    Nwosu said they are ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, ex-military President Ibrahim Babangida (rtd) and ex-Defence Chief T. Y Danjuma, who ‘’spoke out on how the country is drifting’.

    Nwosu, the convener of Coalition for Nigerian Movement (CNM) in the Southeast, urged Ndigbo to work with CNM to ease out this government.

    He spoke yesterday in Awka, at the zonal meeting of CNM,  accusing the APC government of perpetrating carnage and destroying property.

    According to him, the meeting was a call for Ndigbo to dump APC and collaborate with CNM, which is ‘the best alternative for their rescue from poverty, hunger, recklessness and ethnic cleansing’.

    He said: “Every Nigerian leader is embarrassed by the state of the nation, where people are attacked, killed, raped and displaced in their homes.

    “We can condemn, but most political leaders must advocate action against these senseless killings and seek how to design a democratic action plan to ensure we take care of this conundrum democratically, and say enough is enough.”

  • Danjuma: Army to make panel’s report public

    The Nigerian Army on Wednesday promised to make public the findings of the panel set up to investigate the allegations levelled against it by former Minister of Defence, Gen. T.Y. Danjuma (retd).

    The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, made the promise when the panel led by its President, Maj.-Gen. John Nimyel, submitted its report.

    Buratai set up the panel on April 9.

    He also received the report of the 17-member Committee on Arms Verification which he set up on March 19.

    Danjuma on March 24 alleged that some troops on internal operation in Taraba colluded with killers and suspected herdsmen and did not protect residents against attacks.

    “You must rise to protect yourselves from these people; if you depend on the armed forces to protect you, you will all die

    “I ask all of you to be on the alert and defend your country and defend your state,” he said.

    Danjuma’s call had ignited mixed reactions across the country, forcing the army to constitute the panel to get to the root of the allegations.

    But receiving the report, Buratai said: “We will take every aspect of this report very seriously. We will make this report available to appropriate superior authorities.

    “We will also make this report available to the media so that they will see clearly what transpired and to see whether the allegations against the military, particularly the Nigerian army, is grounded or whether it is true or not.’’

    Buratai, who said making the report available to the public would clarify the allegations, thanked the panel members for their painstaking efforts and sacrifice.

    NAN

     

  • Mark was my dependable subordinate in Army, says Danjuma

    Former Minister of Defence, General Yakubu Danjuma has  described former Senate President David Mark, as one of his most dependable subordinates in the military.

    Danjuma who was chairman at a dinner in Abuja to commemorate Mark’s 70th birthday said that he was not surprised that the senator is doing so well in politics.

    “David was one of my dependable subordinates in the army. I am not surprised that he is doing so well in politics, becoming the longest serving senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the former chief of army staff said.

    “David doesn’t look 70 at all to me. By the grace of God he will continue to serve his country in good health.”

    Senate leader, Ahmed Lawan who was one of the dignitaries at the occasion said that Mark was exceptionally skilful as Senate President and carried everybody along.

    Lawan described the celebrator as his mentor.

    “I learnt a lot from him for which I will always remain grateful to him,” he said.

    National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Uche Secondus, who led members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party congratulated Mark on his birthday.

    He described Mark as a soldier per excellence.

    He noted that in the Niger Delta area, especially Rivers State, although he retired a Brigadier General, the people still referred to him as Major Mark because of the role he played as chairman of the panel on abandoned property.

    Secondus who said that there was no doubt that Mark remained one of the best in the fold of the PDP noted that “We need the voice of David Mark in this country so that when he speaks and we listen our nation can begin to change for better.”

    Also at the dinner were Senate President Bukola Saraki, former Secretary to the Federal Government, Chief Anyim Pius Anyim and former Senate President, Ken Nnamani,

    Senator Ita Enang represented President Muhammadu Buhari.

     

  • Ishaku backs Danjuma on military collusion allegation

    Taraba State Governor Darius Ishaku yesterday backed Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (retd) on the latter’s allegation that the armed forces “are not neutral” in the attacks on innocent Nigerians by “armed bandits”.

    Speaking before the military panel investigating the allegation yesterday, the governor said the people of Taraba State were in support of the statement by the former defence minister calling on Nigerians to defend themselves.

    The probe panel met with the governor at Government House, Jalingo.

    Ishaku said the allegation by Danjuma, who once headed the Army, should be carefully looked into than criticised.

    “I didn’t sleep last night.  At 1a.m., I was woken up by a distress call on another herdsmen militia attack.

    “Yesterday, fortunately, the military from Takum came in to help. They battled till this morning.

    “In the morning, they counted 15 dead bodies; some are in the hospital in Sondi.

    “But as you are aware, now you can go to Sondi. This is not fake news. I spoke with the commanding officer of the army there this morning.

    “And the same this morning at 3a.m., the military in Takum went about beating up youths, arresting them from their homes and taking them to the military barracks.

    “The people are being killed and yet you are arresting them. Where is the fairness in this matter?” he asked the military panel.

    The governor urged the military to be fair in the discharge of their responsibilities, stating that in their recent operations, they succeeded in collecting knives and cutlasses of the people and no single arrest was made on those carrying AK-47 rifles.

    Maj.-Gen. John Nimyel (retd), who heads the investigative panel, said they were in Taraba to investigate the allegation made against the Army in their various operations by Danjuma.

     

     

     

     

  • Danjuma and law of self-defence

    General Theophilus Danjuma (rtd.), former Minister of Defence and an elder statesman, told Nigerians recently to defend themselves against killers in the country, saying the armed forces were not ready to defend them.

    Speaking at the convocation ceremony of Taraba State University, Jalingo, he expressed his dissatisfaction with the attitude of the military in the face of ongoing security crisis rocking the country. In his words “Our armed forces are not neutral. They collude with the bandits to kill people, kill Nigerians. The armed forces guide their movements; they cover them. If you are depending on the armed forces to stop the killings, you will all die one by one.”

    He went further to say “I ask every one of you to be alert and defend your country, defend your territory and defend your state. Defend yourselves because you have no other place to go. God bless our country.”

    Danjuma, now 80, cannot be more correct, politically and legally. The security and welfare of the country and its people have been dragged into the mud of politics. The governmental machineries that ought to ensure the lives and security of people have crossed the sacred Rubicon of neutrality.

    Right to life is an inalienable provision of our constitution. Section 33 of the 1999 Constitution makes provision for right to life of all citizens. Nowhere was it written that fellow citizens or a se(c)t of citizens have the licence to kill. For the right to life is the greatest of all rights and cannot and should not be arbitrarily taken away.

    For this right to be properly protected, the constitution empowers the government to maintain security agencies that will be neutral in bringing about “peace, order and good governance of the federation”. As such, it is obvious that adequate welfare and being properly secured are civic entitlements of the citizens.

    The security of the people is sacrosanct to any state. A country is as good as dead if lives are insecure. It is sad that right to life in Nigeria is only provided for in the pages of our laws. The licence to kill others with impunity, prevalent here is a pointer to the fact that the right to life in Nigeria is nothing other than mirage. Right to life, and life itself, is meaningless in a situation where the security of the people is a prank.

    In the face of endless killings going on in the country, the citizens are made to see hell and frustrated due to the improper attitudes of security agencies. If the lives of the people are breached, about to be breached or ordinarily threatened to be breached, it becomes a constitutional onus on the government through its security agencies to provide adequate and necessary help. Unfortunately, in Nigeria, those necessary and urgent interventions of the security agencies will either come at the wrong cum late time or not at all.

    Few instances can be given. We are aware of the popular style of our police. When you place a call on them to inform them about an ongoing armed robbery or similar cases, they will come only few hours after the incident, which would have claimed plethora of lives.

    Another good example is that of the recent Dapchi abduction. There was a withdrawal of troops from the Dapchi area a few hours before the abduction took place. The same drama surrounded the Chibok abduction. Should we term this as a conspiracy, natural coincidence or a point to buttress the security agents’ non-neutral stance?

    Mention should be made of how security agents join in endangering of lives of the citizens by way of joining in unlawful killings and complicating security matters beyond satisfactory repair — they are all part of the abnormalities we have unconscionably normalised. One is even tempted to think Nigeria is a country with no security.

    When this is the case, then, the citizens appear helpless, cheated, betrayed and are made to be more of a slave in their own country. They are forcefully made to become victims of poor governance and insecurity; meaning their lives can be taken at any time.

    At this point that the citizens are dragged to the wall, the only lawful means to save their dear lives is to take advantage of the laws of self-defence. Self-defence is a defence to criminal liability. “A person may use such force as is reasonable in the circumstances in the prevention of crime, or in effecting or assisting in the lawful arrest of offenders or suspected offenders or of persons unlawfully at large.”

    Self-defence is a constitutional right. Section 33(2)(a), a part of the constitution concerning right to life, provides thus:

    “A person shall not be regarded as having been deprived of his life in contravention of this section, if he dies as a result of the use, to such extent and in such circumstances as are permitted by law, of such force as is reasonably necessary –

    (a) for the defence of any person from unlawful violence or for the defence of property.”

    Section 32(3) of the Criminal Code also provides that a person is not criminally liable for an act, when the act is reasonably necessary in order to resist actual and unlawful violence threatened to him or to another person in his presence.

    In UWAEKWEGHINYA v. STATE (2005) 9 NWLR (PT. 930) 27, the Supreme Court was of the firm view that “where a person kills another in defence of himself, such a killing is excused, and it does not amount to manslaughter under the Criminal Code or culpable homicide not punishable with death under the Penal Code… The defence of self-defence is a complete defence under the Criminal Code and the Penal Code and a successful defence of self-defence leads to the discharge and acquittal of the accused person.”

    So, it is appropriate to say that Danjuma only reminded Nigerians of an already settled position of our law and the attack from the federal government is needless and unwarranted. What should be done is to take realistic measures to curb insecurity in this clime.

    For the sake of clarity, self-defence is not the same as self-help. Whereas self-help is unlawfully putting law into one’s hands and as such a crime, self-defence is the lawful protection of oneself against arbitrary attack, as we have seen.

    Now, the government needs to rediscover its purpose at this stage of our history. The government needs to know clearly that the security (and welfare) of the people is their primary goal. If the security of the people continues to get politicized, the indivisibility and indissolubility of the country we all crave for will be totally unachievable.

    Politicizing national security is a dangerous move that can lead to the total disintegration of the country and cause avoidable violence. No one desires to get killed and become casualty of politicized insecurity in a “forced union”. One fears yet again if this insecurity wickedness wouldn’t lead to more secessionist agitations.

    Finally, the government should quickly give a lasting solution to security issues rocking the country. Even self-defence may not save us when it gets to a stage, as it might later lead to avoidable violence and disorderliness when virtually every citizens resort to it.

     

    • Ogun is law undergraduate and civil rights activist.

  • Christian elders back Danjuma on self-defence

    The National Christian Elders Forum (NCEF) has supported calls by Lt General Theophilus Danjuma (Rtd) on Nigerians to defend themselves against rampaging Fulani herdsmen.

    The group said Danjuma was in order to advocate self-defence in the light on the non-prosecution of herdsmen for the numerous killings of Nigerians.

    In a statement by its chairman, Solomon Asemota, the elders some of whom include Gen. Joshua Dogonyaro (rtd), Justice James Ogebe, JSC (rtd), Gen. Zamani Lekwot (rtd), Elder Moses Ihonde, Elder Nat Okoro, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, Chief Debo Omotosho, Dame Priscilla Kuye and Professor Yussuf Turaki, among others also alleged the composition of the nation’s security apparatus was in favour of the north.

    They pointed out all the key positions in Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Interior, State Security Services, Police, Customs, Immigration, Office of National Security Adviser, Army, Civil Defense, Prisons are held by Muslims from the North.

    According to the elders: “The NCEF stands with Danjuma and the Christian Elders support him totally that Nigerians should make adequate arrangements to defend themselves.

    “For a very reserved and conciliatory Elder statesman like Gen. Danjuma to speak in the way that he did, it should be clear to all discerning persons that the situation is hitting a boiling point. There is still time for sanity to prevail.”

    The group condemned the Sharia Council for canvassing prosecution of Danjuma over his support for self-defence.

    It wondered why the Council has not called for prosecution of aggressors “who maim and destroy lives at will over the country.”

    “In view of the foregoing, the unfortunate statement by the Sharia Council is an open indication that the current genocide going on in Nigeria is deliberate, intentional and government complicit.

    “Those who condemn residents for securing their houses yet do not condemn the thieves raiding them are undoubtedly the thieves,” the elders added.

    On the alleged concentration of security infrastructure with northerners, they said: “This is a total violation of the Constitution of which the Buhari administration should be totally condemned and thoroughly rebuked.”

    The group called on President Muhammadu Buhari to secure the release of Leah Sharibu, the only Dapchi girl with Boko Haram abductors.

    “The National Christian Elders Forum insists that there is a moral burden on President Buhari to ensure that Leah Sharibu is delivered from her abductors alive and well.”

  • OBJ, IBB, Danjuma, and the rest of us

    Three fabulously wealthy retired generals, two of them, former heads of state and one, a former defence minister are visibly agitated and even on the loose. The latest and the most incendiary is the outburst of retired General Theophilus Danjuma, who struck unfathomable person fortune when he sold an oil well for nearly US$2billion.

    There is no comparable fortunate retired General in the world, who got such breathtaking state hampers as oil field, and exploded in wealth without consumerate drop of sweat.

    Talking about why headsmen and farmers are in murderous encounter over depleting resource, the state’s art of parceling out of common national patrimony to very few tiny elites, account for one of the remote causes of the widening and terrific conflicts in which the toxic contradiction of peoples ever growing needs meets with shrinking opportunities.

    Danjuma at a convocation ceremony of Taraba State University lashed out the army, which President Muhammadu Buhari is the current Commander-in-Chief as criminally colluding with murderous marauders to attack helpless communities, decimating their population and pillaging their properties. He calls on Nigerians not to place their security in the constituted authority of a government they freely elected but to rise in self-defence against maunders and their military backers.

    Coming soon after the copious letter of former President and retired army General Olusegun Obasanjo, who owns billions of naira worth of private university and presidential library, in which he accused the government of incompetence and feeble anti-corruption war, followed by half-hearted and unsolicited counsel of former president, Ibrahim Babangida to President Buhari to forfeit any second term ambition, the impression cannot be lost in any discerning and fairly intelligible quarter, that the inordinate tantrums the retired soldiers dressed up as patriotic outrage is more than what meets the eye. When did they actually began to care or is Nigeria’s characteristic periodic and exponential upheavals, for which they have been collectively and even privately privy to, a new phenomenon? Is the state of affairs of a weak state and dysfunctional institutions, toiled to perpetuate influence peddling and power-grab not the crucible of  a prebendal polity and socio-economic system, benefiting men of power, money influence, even when they have exited formal state apparatus? Has the edifice of a rigged structure designed to be manipulated from outside under threat and has the influence peddling maneuvers of retired General, on state authority under threat.

    If President Buhari is eventually disrupting and dismantling paternalistic structure of the state, in which a tiny elite exercise a disproportionate suzerainty over it, to its benefit and allied surrogates to the exclusion of the majority of Nigerians, then a backlash of coordinated outbursts is only to be expected and is even welcome.

    Both presidents Obasanjo and Babagida helped entrench fragile state structure, and weak public institutions, reinforced by elite impunity, lawlessness and corruption that is at the root of contemporary Nigeria’s challenge.

    Having established the corrosive network through which the state is rendered hollow and vulnerable to insidious manipulations by handful of elites, from where they thrive and enjoy questionable appellations of “statesmen”, any prospective disruption of the informal network of state control would naturally draw the ire of the “big men” who have enjoyed the status of a state within state.

    The open revolt of Nigeria’s rich retired army Generals whose personal fortunes are way beyond the imaginations of their peers around world, calls for sober reflection within intelligible quarters and not the mere partisan roars of many commentators.

    Against their own records in office, what is the current government doing so incompetently that could draw their irate backlash? Former President Obasanjo enjoyed rare goodwill of a national consensus that followed the anger of General Babaginda’s questionable and endless transition to civil rule. Basking in the rare national unanimity of an elected civil administration, former President Obasanjo has the unique privilege to turn such goodwill into credible institutional process of state building. He bucked the party that brought him into office, grossly undermined state institutions and fostered surrogacy through planting minions accountable only to him and to not formal institutions of state.  He oversaw the largest turnover of the leadership of National Assembly, as he cherry picked the most malleable and pliable. President Buhari even against the prodding of his party and associates rejected meddling in the leadership of National Assembly, allowing the institution to sort out its leadership question. Ganging up against the current administration with open incitement to rebellion against it, the Generals are on a dangerous adventure. General Danjuma’s charge of a security breakdown which he alleged that the military colludes with criminal marauders to perpetuate murder and pillage against Nigerians is hot air and a mere smokescreen to hide deeper antipathy. For President Obasanjo, the latest outburst of an incompetence and even Babangida feeble attempt to put the Buhari regime to a corner are willful orchestrated outrage designed to bring the regime to an informal negotiating table of keeping alive the informal back channel through which Nigeria has been run aground that paved the way for its numerous crises. President Buhari must refuse to oblige them.

    The Buhari administrations have undoubtedly numerous self-inflicted problems, but the wolf-cry of Obasanjo, Danjuma and Babangida are national distractions, that the country cannot afford. But President Buhari must be alive to his responsibility especially in drawing the line where free speech begins and outright incitement to anarchy begins and not mistake one for another, before it is too late.

    Former French President Nicholas Sarkozy has just answered questions about his possible infractions of the law, while in office, and his Nigerian counterparts should not  be held no less accountable.

     

    • Onunaiju is journalist based in Abuja.

  • Danjuma: Letter or no letter!

    Theophilus Danjuma is by all reckoning, a well-respected Nigerian. He played very critical roles in the evolution of modern Nigeria state. As a former Chief of Army Staff and defence minister, he is deep rooted in the dynamics of our national security operations.

    Danjuma is reticent but frank. When he spoke on the conduct of the military in the continuing killings by Fulani herdsmen, he was bound to get the ears of the public both within and outside our shores.

    The former defence minister was in an offensive against the military accusing them of bias and harbouring an agenda in ethnic cleansing. Hear him “our armed forces are not neutral. They collude with the armed bandits to kill people, kill Nigerians. The armed forces guide their movements. They cover them. If you are depending on the armed forces to stop the killings, you will all die one by one”. He called on all those facing such attacks to defend themselves.

    These are very serious and weighty allegations. Their enormity must have so rattled the military high command that they did not waste time in responding. The Defence Headquarters said it was taking the allegations serious with a promise to investigate and bring to book any personnel found culpable.

    But the ministry of defence in a statement blamed the Taraba State government for allegedly not writing it on the alleged infractions by security personnel. They claimed not to have received any letter from the state government complaining of the alleged wrong doings. Rather, they got reports from Nigerians on misconduct of soldiers in clashes between farmers’ and herdsmen and those involved have been put through ‘disciplinary procedures’. For the ministry, government could not work with general comments or allegations if no specific report was made available to military authorities.

    Taraba State government however, came up with a number of documented instances the federal government and the military were informed about security breach and soldiers’ misconduct but were utterly ignored. The reading of this contention is that even if complaints on the activities of the military are in public domain, the authorities would still not act until they are documented and mailed to them. That would seem rather strange.

    If the military only acts on documented reports, one wonders the role of intelligence in security operations. And if quick responses to security emergencies have to await a formal letter that may well arrive after the harm has been done, of what use is that letter? So the entire argument about letters as the basis for action in situations lives and property are in grave danger cannot sway anyone. That is however, beside the issue.

    Before Danjuma spoke, the nation had been awash with allegations on the partial conduct of the military in some crisis situations. Farmers have serially alleged in Benue, Plateau and Taraba states that even when reports of impending attacks are given to the military posts around them, those attacks eventually take place without the same military coming to their aid. Before the killings at Nimbo, Enugu State, there were copious reports of the impending attack. The governor even held meetings with security chiefs who reassured they were ‘on top of the situation’. They were still on top of their imaginary situation when the herdsmen despoiled the community killing, maiming and destroying every house in sight. No aid came and no arrests were made.

    Operation Cat Race designed to arrest the wanton killings in the north central arrived with a baggage of strident criticisms. Both Benue and Taraba openly alleged that herdsmen who ran away after the killings in some of their communities for fear of reprisals made a triumphant return with their cows when the military exercise began and have since resumed attacks on vulnerable communities. They cite continuing killings in the face of the operation as evidence of failure of the exercise. So it not just right for the military to give the impression they are unaware of public perception of their roles in these clashes. Why Operation Cat Race would return with herdsmen and their cattle instead of maintaining the status quo until peace is guaranteed is at the centre of the allegations on collusion and cover up by Danjuma. And in issues of this nature, public perception is far more important than whatever impressions the military nurses about its conduct.

    Beyond this, it would appear the military is just scratching the surface of the very weighty and fundamental issues raised by Danjuma. Their reaction gives the impression the complaint is about isolated infractions by individual military actors. That is why they talked of disciplinary measures having been applied. That also accounts for the recrimination over letters or no letters.

    Danjuma is not concerned with acts of omission or commission by individual soldiers. He is very clear and unambiguous in his allegations. And all those that have spoken on behalf of the government failed to address the substantive issues to them. And it appears they are not even in a position to address them as they revolve around policy.

    He accused the armed forces of not being neutral; colluding and providing cover for the bandits to kill people and cover them up. This conjures the impression of a policy direction within the military. In effect, he is accusing the military of having firm instructions to back Fulani herdsmen in their attacks on farmers. He is not concerned with individual actions or inactions. The challenge is to locate the source of such policy direction if it really exists.

    The location and characterization of those in position to dish out such policies will aid understanding of the gravity of Danjuma’s case. Ironically, it is not an allegation that can either be wished away or resolved in a very casual manner. It is deep-rooted and will require a thorough inquisition and far-reaching measures to reassure the various constituents that the Nigerian military is truly Nigerian in name and actions.

    It is an uncanny coincidence that the allegations came a day after President Buhari issued stern warning against those he said were politicizing security issues. The president who spoke against the backdrop of suspicions over events leading to the abduction and return of the Dapchi school girls had warned of dire consequences for culprits. The Dapchi altercation pales into insignificance in the face of the accusations by Danjuma.  What Buhari would make of this, remains to be seen. It is not certain what the president meant by politicizing security matters. Irrespective of this, it is feared serious interrogation of unclear security measures may attract adverse consequences. We may as well prepare for the intolerance that characterized the misadventure of the military in the political process. Such threats have no place in a democracy as extant laws are sufficient to take care of any infraction. The president’s threat would seem an act of desperation given the welter of criticisms that have of recent trailed the actions of his government.

    The answer does not lie in threats but openness and deep introspection. The government must pause a while to see if it can read the mood of the nation. Much of the credibility issues the military are contending with hinge on the failure of appointments to reflect the heterogeneous nature of the country. It is no longer news that security hierarchy is populated almost entirely by people from a section of the country. How that will imbue public confidence in that institution is any persons’ guesswork. But their consequences are now manifesting.

    How does current public inquisition on security affairs differ from the acerbic and vitriolic attacks the last regime was subjected to? Yet, it did not issue threats. No less a person than the former governor of Adamawa State, Muritala Nyako had in his outlandish and inflammatory letter to northern governors accused that regime of contriving Boko Haram to depopulate the north. Northern elders equally alleged then most of the crises in the north were invented by those outside the zone who wanted to control it economically and politically. Now, we know better.