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| Buhari would preside over the destruction of Nigeria. Nigeria cannot break up peacefully. There has to be violence – Junaid Mohammed [INTERVIEW] |
In the interview with Bruce Malogo of the Sun newspaper, stated the following: "The solution to this kind of artificial arrangement by the colonial masters; where they go and put artificial borders between two people, who are one and the same. It’s either you remove the borders and that would change the entire configuration of the countries."
Junaid's statement is an incontrovertible fact that has finally buried the notion of One-Nigeria. It among other things confirmed that current Nigeria's boundary was artificially created by outsiders without regards to the indigenous people.
He had been responding to this question after boxing himself into a corner when he tried to posit that the terrorists were not Nigerian Fulani:
We have pockets of agitations here and there. We have in the middle belt, the issue of herdsmen, the Biafra people are agitating from one end, and now the Niger Delta Avengers. Can we make progress in all these?
I have no doubt in my mind that this country is in a danger. My attitude towards confronting the danger is not to sit down and lament about it. I would start to look for solutions, solutions that are first and foremost, just and realistic; given the challenges we are confronted with. I believe in my mind that it is possible to deal with the Boko Haram situation and if, in fact the military under Goodluck Jonathan had done its job or were allowed to do their job by not allowing the monies to be stolen by civilians and military alike, by now we would have Boko Haram in the dustbin of history.
Agitation in the middle-belt is not as serious but I’m concerned about the migratory movement and the mode of grazing by the Fulani, many of whom are not Nigerians. The problem of the Fulani herdsmen is that; one, they had been victims on a number of occasions, there have been cattle rustling for the past 50 years. Lands that were set aside by the previous Northern regional government for grazing were taken over by privileged men, wealthy people, soldiers and turned into ranches. And these ranches are essentially idle, nobody does anything about it. In fact, some of the ranches have houses where people go and organize discos and what have you contrary to the purpose of grazing and farming. I believe we have to return the system of grazing and reclaim those areas which have not been built up and allow the Fulani to graze.
Down south, there is a little problem. But it is a problem only because there seem to be no will on the part of government or the previous government. I don’t know why there is no governmental will, but the fact of the matter is that this problem can be solved if there is a will on the part of the government.
Everybody is aware that 72% of landmass and water resources in Nigeria are in the North. If you reclaim those areas that have been identified in the past, and by law set them aside as grazing lands and lands to water animals for the Fulani, and what have you, you can see that 72% of the problem is already solved. It can be done because the government, under the Land Use Decree which is now part of the constitution, has the right to acquire land anywhere for public use. This is nothing but public use; it is not given to Fulani or any individual. That can be done, and be done peacefully.
Now, there is a dimension many people who want to play politics with the issue don’t seem to remember. The weaponization of the average Fulani cattle herder, started directly as a result of the problem in Libya. When the western countries first bombed and destroyed Libya and brought about a change of the Gaddaffi government. Now Gaddaffi had a huge armoury of weapons, and he had also merceneries, some of who are Fulani and some Tuareg. When he was overthrown by the western countries with their superior weapons, the arms were not properly accounted for. So people broke open the armouries and sold arms to anyone who was prepared to buy. That was how the herdsmen started getting theirs and other upowerful weapons and they have hundreds of tons of ammunitions to deal with. And these are the things that have been coming to the sahel region and to the rest of Africa.
There are two issues arising from what you have just said. One, if they are not Nigerians as many people have just been mouthing, how was it possible for them to come enmass into the boarders and make trouble in Nigeria. Number two is, these cows are not owned by these herders, they are owned by individual businessmen and farmers. How come they still allow them carry these arms?
First and foremost, if you own a cow, that is a significant investment if you don’t know. Two, I don’t believe you have ever been on the border of Nigeria and Niger alone. It is over 6000km. I don’t believe that the Nigerian armed forces and other security agents have the type of manpower or equipment and aircraft- because I knew there was a time when aircraft was used to patrol the borders. The cost was prohibitive; and government had to stop it. The solution to this kind of artificial arrangement by the colonial masters; where they go and put artificial borders between two people, who are one and the same. It’s either you remove the borders and that would change the entire configuration of the countries.
Unfortunately, part of the UN system; and it is one area which is contestable, is that after the Second World War, no country created should be allowed to be dismembered. Dismemberment has always meant that war would immediately follow. What is happening in Sudan between north and south Sudan is a classical example. So the idea that we should stop them from coming in won’t work. The entire Nigerian army, immigration, custom, or whatever you call them cannot effectively man that border.
And mind you, the situation is not only confined to us here in Nigeria; Ghana, Burkina Faso, Senegal and all the areas around the Sahel also are facing the same problem.
Two, I think there is a lot of confusion when people say the Fulani herdsmen are not the people who own the cows. That is partly true because to them, being herdsman is not just a question of doing a job for economic survival, it is a way of life. You have the same problem with the Tuaregs who deal in camels. So asking them to stop is asking them to stop living their pattern of life which has been for generations and millennia. It cannot happen overnight, it would take time. Sadly the people who own the herds are tiny minority. And it’s a very risky venture. Let me give you a personal example. If you buy some cows and hand it over to a Fulani man, sometime they disappear for five-10 years, you don’t see them until when they would come back to render accounts. Can you indulge in such kind of business yourself? But those who do derive satisfaction; I don’t. And that is why I stopped.
So, as far as I’m concerned the important thing to do is let us look rationally and let us minimize the politics in it. These people are coming through Niger, Chad and going through the whole of northern Nigeria-through the east particularly down to Niger Delta.
I think the knotty issue remains the persistent killing, raping of people by these herdsmen…?
(Cut in) let us be very careful. I don’t like to generalise because I don’t like to blame people unless I have evidence to blame them.
One, if they have been around for over 50 years and there have been skirmishes here and there, yet there is no instance of raping. Then the question is why now? And what would make the Fulani man to introduce this additional layer of violence called raping?
That is exactly what I’m saying. If they have been around, they have not been causing trouble; why now?
I have given you one reason. The overthrow of Gaddaffi threw hundreds of millions small arms for anyone to buy. If you go to some markets in Maiduguri and Chad, you can go and buy a gun the way people display tomatoes, potatoes or yam. You’ll see it there and they tell you the calibre and the bullets suitable for it. It is all out of the coup which was led by US, Britain and France against Gaddaffi. And we are paying the price now.
People say that owners of these cattle must be arming the guys?
I said No! No! No! No!
Who arms them?
I say they arm themselves. Because when you give them some of these cattle, it exceeds stocks, if they like they can sell it to buy arms. Assuming you give someone 10 cows, with nine females and one male for the purpose of breeding, they can sell one to buy a number of guns. So it is not quite the people who are arming them, not the owners of the cattle. It is not so. I’m telling you. It started with cattle rustling. The rustlers come and attack them with arms. So when the situation turned around, and they found they can easily get weapons, they decided to get their own weapon to confront the rustlers.
So, I’m not saying one side is right or wrong. It takes political leadership and I have not seen evidence of political leadership from those who are governing Nigeria now or on the part of those who governed Nigeria in the past. That is my concern. Nothing is too difficult to handle if there is goodwill. But I have not seen the goodwill and I have not seen the political maturity needed.
Last time we spoke, on this corruption thing you told me that the only person you can vouch for is President Buhari. Do you still stand by that?
Absolutely. I believe he is the only one that is sincere and 100% devoted to fighting corruption in this country.
What is the danger?
He is going to be isolated. Already he is being isolated. And it is more dangerous, he is being betrayed by his own people, friends, people in government who are his partners, and even personal relations. He is already isolated.
How do you mean he is being isolated?
If you are fighting corruption, an appointee of yours goes to commit a corrupt act, is he not betraying you?
But no one has been made public?
Oh my friend. Don’t deceive yourself. There is corruption going on now. He is aware of some of it. And the rest of us are very much aware of it.
Even in government now?
I told you that corruption is not only when you take or give bribe. But when you indulge in nepotism, that is also corruption, when your friends use the mere fact that you’re friends to commit acts of corruption or to cut deals like it happened in the ministry of petroleum for example; that is what we call chronic capitalism, it is also a form of corruption. So don’t deceive yourself that because Buhari is fighting corruption then corruption is no more. Corruption is very much alive and well and it is fighting back. Fighting back not the way we expect; frontally by those found to be corrupt. But it is fighting back through people who claim to be close to Buhari. And that is where it’s dangerous.
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