I have in the past few days taken notes and analysed reactions to the statement made by elder statesman and former Defence Minister, General T.Y Danjuma (retired) at the maiden convocation of the Taraba State University on the mayhem being foisted on the nation by herders. The General, ever frank and courageous, said what most people had been unable to say about the shoddy and biased attitude of the Nigeria Army to the killings and burning of houses in various communities in the country, particularly in Taraba, Benue, Plateau, Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara states. General Danjuma had drawn the attention of the nation to the killings which he said had assumed a dangerous and frightening dimension and become a huge threat to the unity and survival of the country.
Then he added the clinker that the Nigerian military authorities have been unable to swallow. He said the army had not only failed to stop the killings but had become a colluding agent. He capped it all by asking the people to take the bold and courageous step by defending themselves since those constitutionally assigned the responsibility of protecting them had failed. Besides, self defence is the constitutional right of every individual.
Those views, coming from one of Nigeria’s most decorated and respected former military officers, have ruffled not a few feathers in critical places, particularly the army, his former professional constituency. It was expected. General Danjuma is not one of those Nigerians who shy away from the truth. His opinions are usually highly respected because they are always profoundly thoughtful and truthful. It is not surprising, therefore, that his views as expressed in Jalingo, Taraba State, are still generating a lot of heat more than two weeks after he expressed them. A lot of people have praised his courage for speaking the minds of majority of Nigerians. The killings in these states by herdsmen have become a national, even international embarrassment. They have increasingly worsened our rating on the international safety index.
At home, most Nigerians are shocked that herders whose only instrument of self-defence for many decades against the vagaries of their trade was a stick have become carriers of AK-47 guns with which they kill and maim innocent people.
Thousands of people, mainly farmers whose farms are invaded and destroyed by their cattle, are attacked and killed, their houses set ablaze for daring to complain against these devastating invasions by the herdsmen. But perhaps the worst and most embarrassing aspect of the menace of the herdsmen is the tacit support they enjoy from military officers posted to the troubled spots. In most cases, the soldiers look the other way while the killings are going on.
Sometimes, they actually help the herdsmen to do the killing of innocent people. It was this trend that actually provoked General Danjuma and a few others who have condemned the killings to advise the victims of the attacks to prepare to defend themselves. Rather than listen to the complaints against them and make amends, the military embarked on a purposeless and fruitless self-exoneration mission which has earned for them even greater public condemnation and rejection. They also made frantic eff orts to localise what General Danjuma said by suggesting that he was speaking only for and on behalf of the people of Taraba State. The Truthis that the army failed to stop the killings everywhere they killer herdsmen invaded.
Taraba State is just one of the worst victims of the attacks and the worst cases of neglect by the military. Danjuma spoke for all states that had been victims of the killings and for Nigeria whose international image has been greatly dented by the killings. It is also mischievous to suggest, as some people within the military circles have done, that General Danjuma’s statement was a call to war. Far from being so.
Those familiar with the modus operandi of the herdsmen know that surprise is one of the weapons of their attacks. Most of the times, they come when the people have gone to bed and far asleep. This is the reason the casualty figures of victims are always high. Is it, therefore, wrong to advise potential victims of such attacks to sleep less and guard their environments more? That really is the implication of General Danjuma’s suggestion for self-defence. In virtually all the centres of the killings, the military personnel on ground pretended they had no knowledge of the attacks and made no efforts to apprehend the perpetrators. I need not add that this attitude has encouraged the campaigns of death and destruction by the militia herdsmen and made the unarmed farmers and their family members more vulnerable and easy prey.
It is unfortunate. My analysis of the reactions to the views of the respectable General is that most people think that the military should rather listen and learn from the criticisms from the elder statesman and amend their ways that attempt to discard all that he said. There is a lot of lesson in all that he said. I want to associate myself with that position.
The truthis that the nation’s military is well trained and equipped to stop these killings. What is obvious from its attitude and conduct is the absence of commitment to fairness. It is obvious that somebody somewhere is influencing their biased approach which has made access to the villages and communities of the victims easy for the killer herdsmen. Therein lies the danger that the country now faces. The army is a national instrument of state security. It owes its loyalty to the nation. Even in a democracy, its loyalty does not shift base. It remains exclusively to the country. It must be insulated from politics.
Those whose commands dictate the behaviour of members of the military are expected not to allow political sentiments colour the tone of their commands. That is the only way the military can remain neutral and professional in their handling of security issues. To General Danjuma, Nigerians will remain eternally grateful to you for speaking to power on their behalf. We all owe you a huge debt of gratitude for acting at the right time. Your anger against the Nigerian military is justified. As at the time you spoke, the army was behaving as if it is the herdsmen’s army and not the Nigerian army.
That was the sad situation. Nigerians should hope and pray that those who control the Nigeria Army today will swallow their pride and learn from the opinion expressed by their grandmaster himself – General T.Y Danjuma. Anawo writes from Abuja
