The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Danjuma’s

  • Killings: Taraba demands removal of military commander in Danjuma’s hometown

    Fresh facts emerged yesterday that Taraba State Government has demanded for the removal of the Commanding Officer, 93 Battalion in Takum, but the Federal Government is yet to act.

    A former Minister of Defence, Gen. Theophilus Danjuma, who accused Nigerian Army of taking sides in the killings in Taraba State, hails from Takum.

    It was gathered that Danjuma’s attack on the Army was borne out of the refusal of the military to redeploy the said Commanding Officer (CO), Lt. Col. Ibrahim Babatunde Gambari.

    But it was learnt that the National Security Adviser, Gen. Babagana Monguno, had directed the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Buratai, to look into complaints by Governor Ishaku Darius against the affected CO.

    Although a military team met with Taraba State governor in respect of the investigation, the state is yet to be briefed on the outcome.

    The state’s demand was one of the eight letters which the governor wrote to the presidency, the military, the police and the National Security Adviser (NSA) before the killings in Taraba took worse turns.

    A fact-sheet obtained yesterday indicated that the governor had on  August 11, 2017 wrote the NSA requesting that the CO be transferred because of attack near Takum by herdsmen.

    The NSA on his part on  August 2, 2017 asked the Chief of Army Staff to “look into the complaint against the CO.”

    After waiting for four months without response, the governor also wrote the Office of the Vice President on January 2, 2018 against the same CO and the VP through his Chief of Staff, Ade Ipaye, replied on January 31, 2018.

    In one of the letters, the governor said: “Every security officer is expected to cooperate and take directive from the Chief Security Officer of the state, but this is not the case with the CO of the 93 battalion, Takum, who hardly attends our security meetings.”

    The fact-sheet added: “Before the killings got to this level in Taraba State, the governor wrote eight letters to the presidency, the NSA, the Chief of Army Staff and the Inspector-General of Police. Most of these letters were copied all the heads of security agencies. In what ways can we be proactive?

    “We have been raising the alarm in the last one year. On February 14, 2017, the governor sent a letter to the Inspector-General of Police requesting for a mobile police squadron in Takum to check most of the criminals in the southern part.  We lost a member of the House of Assembly. The house he was kidnapped was opposite military barracks.

    “On May 18, 2017, another letter was forwarded to the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Buratai,  by the governor on the need to flush out some criminal elements in some forests in Taraba State, especially in Suntai, Donga, and Bali Gashak-Gunti National Park, which was almost becoming entry point to Sambisa Forest. But there was no response.

    “We began to think that there was some kind of conspiracy from the military. The governor ensured that the military officers and men were able to do their job but they have not been able to stop the killings.

    “Instead of disarming the herdsmen who were armed, they decided to invade the bedrooms of innocent people collecting their cutlasses.

    “The military raised a committee to investigate the CO but nothing came out of it but we are still expecting the outcome. They came to meet with the governor and what the governor said was: ‘I have nothing personal against the CO but I want him to do his job perfectly as a professional without taking sides. Let him ensure justice for all.’ Up till today, nothing came out.”

    A top source also said:  “All that the military had said amount to lies. They have failed in their duties and they refused to admit. Their failure has led to thousands of deaths and if they do not change, more will die.

    “The military has not done what it is expected to do. The governor has been crying himself hoax. Any day he receives the news of the death of one person, he is upset. He receives most of the calls in the night after hectic day work. There is a deliberate effort of the military to turn the truth upside down.

    “Gen. T.Y Danjuma did not speak only on behalf of Taraba State, he is speaking on behalf of Nigerians and he is an international figure whose voice in defence of innocent lives will count. He spoke out of frustration because the military is doing the opposite of what he taught them to do. As a teacher, you will feel frustrated if your wards are not doing well. The killings are not only happening in Taraba but we are having much of it.”

    When his official reaction was sought, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Taraba State on Media and Publicity, Mr. Bala Dan Abu, said: “As at now, the state is relatively at peace, but we do not have confidence in the military. We still insist that we have no confidence in the military apparatchik.

    “People are being disarmed, but they are discriminatory. I am not in a position to suggest what they have to do, but the people they posted are not doing the right things. We have a right to say we are not happy with their conduct so far.”

    The Nigerian Army through its Public Relations Officer, Brig-Gen Texas Chukwu, had said the Taraba State Government was not cooperating with the Nigerian Army in ending the current herdsmen-farmers crisis.

    “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 the Taraba people and the Nigerian public. The Nigerian Army is constitutionally charged with the responsibility of defending the territorial integrity of Nigeria and to aid the civil authority whenever called upon to do so.

    “In this light, the authorization for the conduct of Ex AYEM AKPATUMA was authorized and troops deployed to curb menace of the herdsmen-farmers conflict and other criminal activities in the North Central Region amongst others”.

    “It is on record that the successes so far achieved in Ex AYEM AKPATUMA have been recognized and accepted by Nigerians. The public is notified that Nigerian Army personnel have had to pay the supreme price for ensuring the sustenance of security in Taraba State. For instance, a gallant non-commissioned officer of the Nigerian Army was beheaded on March 16, 2018 in Takum, Taraba State, by criminal elements.

    “It is noteworthy to state that at the inception of Ex AYEM AKPATUMA, the Taraba State Government did not cooperate with the Nigerian Army due to the Army’s stance to remain absolutely neutral in the herdsmen-farmers crisis.”

  • Danjuma’s bombshell

    GETTING him to talk is a big problem. Many times reporters go after him hoping to get a word  or two from him on burning issues, but he never obliged them. To him, a general’s actions, not words, should speak for him. Gen Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma, popularly known as TY,  former Chief of Army Staff, former Minister of Defence and a civil war hero, is as taciturn as they come.

    Danjuma brooks no nonsense and he has been like that since his army days. As a soldier, he knows the consequences of yielding ground to your opponent when you have the opportunity to finish him off. The soldier in Danjuma has been awakened by the killings in the Northeast, Northcentral and the riverine areas. The soldier in Danjuma was never dead. What infuriates him is that in a country with soldiers, some herdsmen are going about killing and maiming. The soldier in Danjuma cannot stand that and the man of steel lashed out at the military for not doing anything to stop the killings. Since the man, who hardly speaks,  spoke, the nation has known no rest.

    He was blunt as he assessed the herdsmen killings in Benue, Adamawa, Nasarawa and his home state of Taraba. “Taraba State”, he began, “is a mini Nigeria where we have many ethnic groups living together peacefully. But the peace in this state is under assault. There is an attempt at ethnic cleansing in this state, and of course, all the riverine states of Nigeria. We must resist it…every one of us must rise up. The armed forces are not neutral. They collude; they collude; they collude with the armed bandits that kill people and kill Nigerians. They facilitate their movement. They cover them.”

    Even though he spoke in anger, he made his point clear. “This ethnic cleansing”, he warned, must stop, otherwise we will go the Somalia way. We all know what has been happening in Somalia since 1991. The government cannot dismiss what Danjuma said because he is not known to be flippant. He must have seen and heard certain things before he spoke the way he did. But he has access to the President, some would say. Why didn’t he meet with the President on the issue before going public? Others would ask. Do those talking like this know whether he tried to explore that avenue but made no head way? Anyway, the matter is now in the public domain.

    Since it is Danjuma that spoke, the government will be compelled to listen. If it had been another inconsequential person, he would have been cooling his heels in detention by now. Danjuma’s outburst came at the right time. Look at what is happening in Benue. Ever since 73 people were killed there by herdsmen on January 1, the killings have not stopped. So, also in Plateau, Adamawa, Nasarawa. It is the duty of the armed forces to defend not only the territorial integrity of our country, but to also maintain internal security. Criticising or abusing Danjuma for  what he said is not the way out. The way out is for the military to do a soul searching. Has it done what it should do to stop these killings?

    If the military cannot stop  killer- herdsmen or their ilk from wreaking havoc on the land, who will? Danjuma knew what he was saying when he accused the military of “colluding with armed bandits to kill Nigerians”. As a former army chief, he must have his own way of gathering intelligence about goings-on in the country, especially in his home state of Taraba. As a son of the soil, Danjuma must be concerned about what is going on in Taraba. He cannot watch his people being killed and keep quiet. With what two local government chairmen in the state said, which corroborates Danjuma’s statement, the military has some questions to answer. Takum Local Government Chairman Shiban Tikari and his Ussa local government counterpart Rimamsikwe Karma claimed that troops have been aiding killer-herdsmen. They claimed that Governor Darius Ishaku as the chief security officer of the state does not know what the military and other security agencies are doing because he is not being carried along.

    In one word, the governor has been sidelined in security matters concerning his state. What is the military’s response? The military said it is neutral, contrary to Danjuma’s claim. It, also for the first time on Monday, said it got reports of soldiers’ misconduct in some states, but none from Taraba. What did it do about those reports? It claimed to have put those soldiers through “disciplinary procedures”. Well, it is good to hear that. What kind of “disciplinary procedures” did they go through? Who and who were found culpable? How were they punished? These are some of the things the military should tell us and not that vague statement of some soldiers being put through “disciplinary procedures”. For all we know, it may not be doing anything at all. This may just be a face saving statement in reaction to Danjuma’s outburst. All because Danjuma sneezed, the military caught cold. That is good enough. If it took Danjuma’s comment to get the military to wake up, may he continue to speak every day on vexed issues. May his tribe increase.

     

    The man died

    BEFORE his death on Monday, MMM Pyramid founder  Sergei Mavrodi, a Russian, caused the death and bankruptcy of many who were looking for quick money. I do not understand his Ponzi scheme under which you are expected to make your money grow by the number of other investors you bring on board. To me, it was too good to be true. But in a society like ours where poverty is rampant, people embraced it with all they have – and ended up losing all. Yet, many did not learn any lesson. They stuck to the scheme and were waiting for its return after it was shut down some months ago to tie up some loose ends. That was not to be. Mavrodi died of heart attack on Monday – killing also the dreams of many to become millionaires. Hope many will also not die of heart attack because of his death?

  • Danjuma’s intervention

    •That his sentiments resonate well with many Nigerians shows something is wrong somewhere

    Ordinarily he should not be one to indict an organisation in which he had a lifelong career that saw him rising to the apex of his martial profession. But speaking at the maiden convocation of Taraba State University, Jalingo, on Saturday, a former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma (retd), offered a searing and scathing verdict on the role of the Nigerian Armed Forces in handling the protracted clashes between herdsmen and farmers in Taraba and some other states over the last three years. This continuing and escalating violence has claimed thousands of lives, displaced scores of communities and destroyed a lot of properties.

    In the general’s unsparing words on the occasion, “There is an attempt at ethnic cleansing in the state (Taraba) and of course some rural states in Nigeria, we must resist it. We must stop it. Every one of us must rise up. Our armed forces are not neutral. They collude with the bandits to kill people, kill Nigerians…If you are depending on the armed forces to stop the killings, you will all die one by one”. This is a virtual declaration of no-confidence in the military and a rousing call on affected Nigerians to defend themselves against the marauding killers or face extinction. Gen Danjuma is also a former Minister of Defence.

    The military has described Danjuma’s assertions as uncalled-for and an incitement to anarchy while reiterating its neutrality and professionalism. In particular, the Ministry of Defence has taken exception to the general’s call on Nigerians to defend themselves in the face of the military’s seeming impotence to do so, stressing that the authorities will clamp down on anybody found carrying illegal weapons. This is ironical since the military has so far been inexplicably incapacitated from apprehending, arresting and containing the rampaging herdsmen who are mostly the aggressors and are armed with sophisticated weapons, including AK47 assault rifles.

    How many of these bandits have been arrested and brought before the law? Are the victims then expected to watch helplessly as their lives are snuffed out by vandals that the state seems helpless to contain and neutralise? That a significant number of Nigerians share Danjuma’s sentiments is a reflection of the increasing breakdown of the social contract that binds the citizen and the state. The state’s primary raison detre is to protect the lives and property of its people and when it fails in this duty, it loses the trust and confidence of citizens.

    According to Amnesty International, these clashes claimed 549 lives in 2017 and another 168 lives thus far in 2018. The states affected include Taraba, Adamawa, Benue, Ondo, Kaduna, Enugu, Zamfara, Plateau, Nasarawa, Niger, Cross River, Katsina, Delta and Kogi. It is believed that more lives have been lost in these clashes since 2015 than the ebbing Boko Haram conflagration in the North East has consumed. Some have argued that Danjuma is not a disinterested party in the affair, being of Jukun extraction from Taraba State. That is immaterial. It does not detract from the essential validity of his contention.

    The military admitted on Monday that it has received reports of misconduct of soldiers deployed to handle the herdsmen and Fulani clashes and acted swiftly to discipline those indicted though it claimed no such petitions emanated from Taraba State. This kind of information with appropriate details should be routinely made available to the public to engender public trust.

    There are two sides to the dispute – herdsmen and farmers. What is important to us is that no life should be lost needlessly, especially through the current alarming failure of intelligence and avoidable military lethargy. If President Muhammadu Buhari’s military chiefs are failing him in this regard, it is his responsibility to urgently appoint fresh hands to inject new energy and ideas into the bid to make every inch of Nigeria safe for citizens.

  • Danjuma’s belated rebellion

    Open grazing, Miyyeti Allah say with a foreboding finality, is not just the culture of Fulani, it is also their hobby. That non-negotiable position immediately forecloses

    ranching, which represents the world’s best practices as an option.  But open grazing in a multi-ethnic society is an invitation to conflict especially between subsistence farmers and herdsmen. Confrontation between AK-47 riffle-wielding herdsmen who value the life of a cow to that of a man and poor subsistence farmers protecting their farms  with bare hands have led to a harvest of deaths especially among the farmers in recent years.

    To forestall further clashes and the attendant mindless killings, some states passed anti-open grazing laws. The Inspector-General of Police (IGP) however was reported as insisting such states laws could not be implemented until after such states have provided ranches for herdsmen. The killings continue across the states with the police and the army unable to apprehend the marauders who openly graze their cattle on captured territories. The president appealed for calm while admonishing the aggrieved to be accommodating of settlers in their midst. But the nation remains under siege by those many believe are not even Nigerians who have turned the country to a killing field. And while the nation, according to Professor Wole Soyinka, an elder statesman, had expected President Buhari to “give orders that the bloodthirsty terrorists are brought to book, what the nation got was a president showing up at the arena of human desecration to shed unjust tears.”

    But President Buhari who often wrongly equates his righteousness with effective governance also seems not to be listening to anyone outside his cult of trusted allies. Earlier, precisely on January 29, Amnesty International issued a statement claiming “The Nigerian authorities’ response to communal violence is totally inadequate, too slow and ineffective, and in some cases unlawful. They revealed that “Clashes between herdsmen and farmers in Adamawa, Benue, Taraba, Ondo and Kaduna have resulted in 168 deaths in January 2018 alone”. There have been several deaths between then and now.

    Last week, the usual taciturn retired General Theophilus Danjuma, former Minister of Defence joined the growing list of concerned Nigerians who fear our country is heading for a shipwreck. While describing what is “happening in Taraba and other states as ethnic cleansing’ which needed to be stopped if we are to prevent the nation from the fate of Somalia, he called on “Nigerians, to be alert to defend their country and their territories, because they have nowhere to go”. Danjuma went further to allege that the armed forces, by colluding and facilitating “the movement of those who kill Nigerians, are not neutral”.

    In the face of government’s apparent helplessness, Danjuma’s call on the people to defend themselves as provided for in our constitution can hardly be faulted. Rather than a call to arms, I think it is a challenge to the states that often wait on federal government for everything to set up vigilante groups which can be supported by underfunded police formations in their states with contributions from their state security votes as Lagos State first did with LASTMA. Besides, a  call from taciturn Danjuma to  taciturn Buhari who listens to no one but a small circle of his trusted confidants who we now know do not necessarily share his pan Nigeria passion, may be a wakeup call from his deep slumber.

    But far more important is Danjuma’s reference to the betrayal of the country by the military. Danjuma is eminently qualified to speak on the Nigerian military that often fraudulently claim to sacrifice their present for our future. The recent attempt by the army spokesman to debunk Danjuma’s allegation of army collusion with those who harbour anti-Nigeria agenda is not supported by facts of history the military whether now nor in the past has never been neutral observers on the issues of Nigerian politics.

    The Nigerian military from the onset was a colonial specially crafted sectional apparatus for power and domination. It was no surprise therefore that by 1961, just one year after independence, it became a tool used by the northern ruling political elite to suppress the legitimate aspiration of the oppressed Tivs for self-actualization.

    In 1962, the military stood by as the First Republic Prime Minister, Alhaji Tafawa Balewa, and his NPC used a group of thugs to effectively abridge the progress of the Western Region. In 1964, the so-called custodian of our constitution watched Balewa’s NPC award itself over 23 million votes out of total votes of 23.6 million without forgetting to allocate 4,863 and 1,103 votes to (AG) and NCNC respectively. The military stood by the fraud in the constitutional crisis between Prime Minister Balewa and President Azikiwe that followed.

    In July 1966, when an armed northern mob in military uniform protesting over the killing of northern military officers and political leaders during the Igbo-inspired January 1966 coup, Major Danjuma, capitalising on the fact that there were only 50 Yoruba soldiers out of 500 based in Ibadan and 26 out of a battalion based in Abeokuta selected the most able loyal northern to replace Major General Aguiyi Ironsi’s normal guards. And thereafter told him with bravado “you are under arrest; you organized the killings of our brothers in January… you will answer for your action”. Ironsi and Fajuyi, his chief hosts were later shot. Except Murtala Muhammed who was bent on northern secession and sinking of Lagos with a dynamite, the other main actors in the July vengeance coup that led to the death of over 200 military officers include Danjuma, Gowon and Martin Adamu and a number of other  middle belters have often tried to be more northerner than the northerners. Although, they all claimed to have been driven by patriotism, but we have no evidence such patriotic zeal was driven by altruism since they were all richly rewarded for their pains with Gowon with over 11 senior military officers ahead of him becoming Head of state and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, and Danjuma becoming one of the nation’s best army chief who went on to make huge personal fortune from the state.

    In 1993, when the most credible election in our country won by MKO Abiola was annulled on behalf of Fulani Hausa north, according to Babangida. The dirty job was executed by Ibrahim Babangida, Joshua Dongoyaro, late John Shagaya, Jeremiah Useni and David Mark, all from the now-besieged middle belt region. And when the military under Babangida and Abacha degenerated to “an army of anything is possible” and  became an instrument for creating more states, more LGAs and foisting of  a unitary constitution on Nigeria in 1998,Danjuma and his middle belt officers worked tirelessly for their northern natural leaders.

    General Abacha, the maximum ruler sustained his war against the Yoruba and by extension Nigeria with some help from Danjuma who for his pains got an oil block.  Danjuma was also a pillar of support for Obasanjo during his ‘mainstreaming’ war against Yoruba.

    Middle Belt’s current political leaders in deference to their Hausa/Fulani natural leaders but in total betrayal of their illustrious forbears, have always been violently opposed to restructuring and state police. Ex-Governor Gabriel Suzwan narrowly escaped death during an ambush by herdsmen. David Mark as Senate President for eight years only shed crocodile tears each time scores of his people got killed. Chief Audu Ogbe, Minister for Agriculture is the chief exponent of ‘cattle colonies’ in Middle Belt and southern states for whom the  argument of those who believe the uncharted Sambisa forest said to be six times the size of Lagos state is a better alternative count for little.

    With the exception of Danjuma’s current belated rebellion, the restructuring battle for which Middle Belt’s illustrious forbears fought and died holds no attraction for current leaders. The potential for integration into the northern ruling caste through political appointments, business connections or by marriage has become a more rewarding option.