It was almost too late. All the same, the needed respite came at last. And from the most expected quarters. We nearly lost it totally last week.
We would have sunk completely. Even gone deeper into the bottomless pit of hell. It would have sealed it all. That would have confirmed our weirdness in this eerie clime.
Our own way of life is strange, wild and weird. Government saw it enough coming. Yet, dilly-dallied until it actually happened. It dragged along until it came to pass
Clearly, government was forced to act. It wouldn’t have done it voluntarily. The reason its action was half-hearted and half-baked.
It was a weeklong sordid drama. They were already coasting home to victory like never before. We were thrown overboard. Emir of Birnin ‘Yandoto, Aliyu Marafa, it was. He has his emirate in a remote location in Zamfara State.
He came into the scene rudely. He unwisely thought it wise. Perhaps, this is the best time to spring a crude and cruel surprise.
His proposal sends shivers down our marrows. He had his eyes on the notorious terror kingpin, Ada Aleru.
And he must be turbaned Sarkin Fulani of his emirate.
A traditional title for a certified terrorist, known bandit! Saturday, July 16, 2022, was to be the day of destiny for Aleru. Who did us in this low? Nobody but ourselves, we did it all alone.
We were hit far below the belt. We were lost in every sense of it. Just then, a massive turnaround was dropped on our laps. Emir Marafa ate his poisonous words.
The emirate laboured hard to come clean. It flatly denied plans to turban Aleru. Marafa caused his head of protocol (Wakilin Masarauta), Malam Magaji Lawali, to issue this terse rebuttal:
“At no point should the emirate plan in nearest future to honour or to confer any chieftaincy title on any bandit leader in the emirate.”
Again, we fell for it, hook, line and sinker. We thought he was sincere. We believed that sordid chapter was closed forever. We goofed and erred all the way.
Our relief was short-lived. Our fears became stark realities. The emir stubbornly returned to his stinking vomit. He insisted, Aleru must be Sarkin Fulani.
So? Marafa finally walked his tough talk. He took the bull by the horns. He braced the odds and damned all the consequences. At exactly 3:30pm, Saturday, July 16, 2022, he did turban Aleru his Sarkin Fulani. He will, henceforth, sit in judgement with him in his inner court. And that be it!
That was not to last the distance. Governor Bello Matawalle would not allow the shenanigans to continue. And he moved against it swiftly. He did not give the new Sarkin Fulani the needed breathing space.
He gave Aleru close marking. And it worked wonders. On Monday, government applied its big hammer. It ordered “the immediate suspension” of Marafa.
District Head, Yandoto District, Mahe Garba Marafa, takes charge of the emirate. And that’s for the meantime. A committee was hurriedly put in place to investigate suspended Emir Marafa.
Government was silent on Aleru. Very suspicious. That’s the gulf, the missing gap. And it’s huge. It needs to be plugged, even now.
We could have lost whatever remains of our sovereignty in the process. Our nationhood was practically heading into extinction. We were virtually there before good reason prevailed.
If not for Matawalle’s stroke, the terrorists would have become emboldened, even more ferocious. It was a clear signal that we have surrendered. Yes, yielded to them on their own terms, at their whims and caprices.
Days before this obscure emir strayed with his shameful stagecraft. Something pleasant appeared on the horizon. We were beginning to get serious. The same Matawalle was in the lead.
That Sunday, he woke up more worried. He then did the needful. He came out in clear terms. He opted for self-defence. He meant every word of it. He directed residents to defend themselves.
They should be bold enough to confront terrorists and their cousin-bandits and kidnappers. What informed the governor’s new stance? His nasty experiences in Bakura, Bukuyyum, Tsafe, Gusau and Maru local government areas did.
He knows and understands his onions: “Self-defence is a natural instinct and has always been part of human survival strategy.” A brilliant submission.
He didn’t just chose self-defence for the mere sake of it. It came handy when all other previous options failed him. He tried dialogue, reconciliation and disarmament.
He also had regular engagements with the Federal Government and neighbouring states. The Nigerien authorities were not left out. The governor did not stop at that:
“We also shut down mobile telecommunication networks to give security forces the leeway to take the battle directly to the bandits.”
Matawalle promptly sealed it up with a tight legislation. It was the appropriate thing to do at that juncture. That was a demonstrated attestation of seriousness. He was not alone. His Ondo State counterpart, Rotimi Akeredolu, would not be found wanting. Always at the forefront, he threw himself into it. He backed Matawalle with all his heart:
“Protecting life and property of our people is our priority here. Our own interest lies here. Any other incident here, we will ask our people to get guns to protect themselves. We will even get guns for our people to protect themselves.
“You want me to stay inside my house and someone will come and kill me there? If we are pushed to the wall, we will also encourage our people to get guns. We are talking to our traditional rulers to get us the traditional powers.
“If bandits can save their people from the government and the government cannot save their people from bandits, there is a problem. Insecurity is an issue. I am worried.”
We are all not unperturbed. That would be saying the least. We’re really disturbed. And we can’t see any viable respite. Not even in the farthest future.
The real reason Matawalle, Akeredolu and their likes are on course. They are treading the right path. May their paths and ours not be rough, tough and hard.
It’s our turn (“awa lokan”) to carry guns. Let the guns go round!
Who’s Ada Aleru?
For its “nuisance” value, who’s Ada Aleru? Courtesy, Premium Times: “Aleru was born in Yankuzo village, Tsafe Local Government, Zamfara State, but grew up in the main town.
“The 45-year-old leads a group of terrorists that attacked communities in Tsafe and Gusau, Zamfara, and Faskari and Kankara, Katsina State.
“Aleru gained notoriety in the area and earned the respect of his fellow criminals for his alleged ruthless execution of his victims.
“He was accused of killing the son of the Zamfara State Commissioner for Security and Home Affairs, Mamman Tsafe. Before that attack, Aleru led series of attacks on the headquarters of Tsafe LGA.
“In 2019, the then Katsina State police commissioner, Sanusi Buba, said the command would pay N5 million to anyone who provided information leading to the arrest of Aleru.
“He’s believed to have led the attack on Kadisau in Faski LG, killing 52 residents. That attack was in protest of the arrest of his son, Sulaiman, by the police.
“He is also blamed for the abduction of a Nigerian Customs Service officer after which he demanded N10 million as ransom.”