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| The Retun Of “Glover Hausas” In The Nigerian Army: Exposing 95% Dominance Of Key Army Formations In Igbo Land By Northern Muslim Officers |
(Onitsha Nigeria: 19th October 2017)-It
is sad and shocking that what is called “Nigerian Army” today and its mother
“security and defense” establishments are nothing but “resurrected Glover
Hausas” of the 19th Century. Recall that in 1863, British Lt Glover
of the Royal Navy selected 18 indigenes from the Northern part of the country
and organized them into a local force, known as the "Glover Hausas".
The
small force was used by Glover as governor of Lagos to mount punitive
expedition in the Lagos hinterland and to protect British trade routes around
Lagos. In 1865, the "Glover Hausas" became a regular force with the
name "Hausa Constabulary" given further birth to what is now called “the
Nigeria Police Force”.
As
the British malicious trade expeditions and consequent colonialism got expanded
by way of conquest of other ethnic nationalities and territories, the names of
the indigenous colonial army and policing entities kept changing so as to
accommodate and reflect the multiculturalism, multi-ethnicity and
multi-religiosity of what is now called “Federation of Nigeria”; a country of
over 380 tribes, 400 languages and multi-religious groupings.
Today,
the present Nigerian Security and Policing Forces including the Nigerian Army
are fully back to their 19th Century period. This has singularly put
Christians and other non Muslims at risk especially in Igbo Land and
South-south Nigeria. Christian populations in Northeast Nigeria especially in
Borno State are almost uprooted and decimated.
Those
in their large numbers in Adamawa and Taraba States are totally endangered with
their lives and faith hanging at crossroads of uncertainties. Southern Kaduna
Christians and those of Benue and Plateau States are not left out. They are
killed, persecuted, threatened and traumatized on daily basis with the present
central Government and the country’s policing, defense and security establishments
doing nothing or appearing to be working hand in glove with the killers and
tormentors of Christians and other non Muslims in Nigeria.
For
the first time since Nigeria returned to troubled democracy in 1999, the top
echelons of its security and policing forces are dangerously in the grip and
domination of Northern Muslim officers and ex officers. The present heads of
Army, Air Force, Police, SSS, Customs, Immigration, Prisons, NSCDF, etc are all
Northern Muslims of Hausa-Fulani extraction.
The
Minister of Defense is Northern Muslim; likewise the Minister of Interior, the
National Security Adviser and the Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces
and Police (President Muhammadu Buhari). It is also on record since June 2015
that no senior police officer from the Southeast or Igbo Nation-State is among
the country’s 24 serving AIGs who are also member of the Nigeria Police Management
Team.
Our
recent investigation further showed clearly that 95% of commanding officers of
all key Army formations in the Southeast are manned by top Northern Muslim
officers. The two key formations of the Nigerian Navy in Igbo Land or Southeast
Nigeria are also manned by Northern Muslim officers. The killings by the
Nigerian Army in three locations: Aba, Isiala-Ngwa and Afara-Ukwu (Ibeku) all
in Abia State, of not less than 100 members of the Igbo-Christian civilian
population and other non Muslims between
12th and 14th September 2017; are therefore not
surprising to us.
Igbo
Land or Southeast Nigeria is home to largest Christian population in Africa (with
over 50m); seconded only by the Democratic Republic of Congo. In Boko Haram
insurgency that devastated Northeast Nigeria since 2009, 1.3m Christians were
forced to flee the area to escape being killed, persecuted or forcefully
converted to Islam (OpenDoors Report 2015). Apart from not less than 14,000 to
15,000 Christians killed in the Jihadist insurgency between 2009 and 2015,
thousands, if not tens of thousands of Christians were also converted to Islam
to escape hostile religious killing and persecution.
Over
13,000 churches and 1500 Christian schools were also destroyed in the
insurgency. It is credibly estimated that over 4900 civilians who are mostly
Christians have been massacred by terrorist Fulani Herdsmen since June 2015
when their grand and life national patron (Retired Major Gen Muhammadu Buhari)
returned to power through the troubled poll of 2015.
Most
of the killings took place in 2016 especially in Southern Kaduna, Plateau and
Benue States (the most populated Christian States in Northern Nigeria).
Totality of these explained why the int’l anti Christian persecution watchdog,
Open Doors Int’l recently declared Nigeria under Buhari as “the most dangerous
place to practice Christian religion in the world”.
The statistical evidence
of the 95% dominance of Nigerian Army key formations in Igbo Land or Southeast
Nigeria by top Northern Muslim officers is presented as follows:
(1) The General Officer
Commanding (GOC) 82 Division of the
Nigerian Army, Enugu, Major Gen Adamu Baba Abubakar (Hausa-Fulani Muslim)
(2) The Deputy Army Director of Information of
the 82 Division Col Sagir Musa (Hausa-Fulani Muslim)
(3) Commander of 34 Field Artillery Brigade,
Obinze, Imo State, Brigadier Gen Hamza I. Bature (Hausa-Fulani Muslim)
(4) Commander of 44 Engineering
Brigade, 82 Division Garrison, Brigadier Gen Mark Mamman (Hausa-Fulani)
(5) Commander of Army Transport,
82 Division, Brigadier Gen E. A. Anaryu (Hausa-Fulani Muslim)
(6) The Brigade Commander of 14
Brigade, Ohafia, Brigadier Gen Abdul Kalifah Ibrahim (Hausa-Fulani Muslim)
(7) The Commander of 13 Brigade,
82 Division, Brigadier Gen Bulama Biu (Hausa-Fulani Muslim)
(8) The Commander of the 82
Division Provost Group, Col Ahmadu Abubakar (Hausa-Fulani Muslim)
(9) The Commanding Officer of 14 Field
Engineering Regiment, Onitsha, Lt Col Abubakar Saleh (Hausa-Fulani Muslim)
(10) The Commanding Officer of
the Onitsha 302 Artillery Military Police, Lt Col C.O. Ibrahim (Hausa-Fulani Muslim)
(11) The Commanding Officer of
144 Battalion of the 14 Brigade (Abia),
Ukwa West, Lt Col Umar Sidi Kasim (Hausa-Fulani Muslim)
(12) The Army Public Relations
Officer of 34 Field Artillery Brigade, Obinze (Imo), Major Haruna Tagwai
(Hausa-Fulani Muslim).
Commanding
Officers of the Nigerian Navy in Igbo Land:
(13) The Commander of the Nigerian Navel
School of Finance & Logistics, Owerre-Nta, Navy Captain Abdullahi Aminu (Hausa-Fulani
Muslim)
(14) The Commander of the
Nigerian Naval Outpost, Onitsha (Ogbaru), Navy Captain Mohammed Dahiru (Hausa-Fulani
Muslim). More are yet to be named.
Signed:
For:
Int’l Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law
Emeka
Umeagbalasi, Board Chair
Mobile
Line: +2348174090052
Chinwe
Umeche, Esq.
Head,
Democracy & Good Governance Program
Obianuju
Igboeli, Esq.
Head,
Civil Liberties & Rule of Law Program
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