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Olakunle Olafioye
The National President, Arewa United Consultative Forum, Alhaji Ado Shuaibu Dansudu, has said that the relentless onslaught of Boko Haram terrorists in parts of the North and the activities of other criminal elements in the region could be part a grand plot to destroy the region.
He, therefore, urged the Federal Government to look inwards with the aim of correcting some of the mistakes inherent in its war against insurgency.
In this interview, the Arewa leader of thought also commented on an attempt by a group of people to cause disaffection between the North and the Yoruba, the feud between the Emir of Kano and the Kano State governor among other issues of national importance.
There is upsurge in the activities of insurgents and banditry in some part of the North, what can you identify as the major factor precipitating these criminalities?
The problem of insurgency is a grand plot to destroy the North. It is a plot to destroy our economy, our unity and our culture because the so-called Boko Haram insurgents, kidnappers and bandits, when we dig very deep into the roots you will discover that it is a plan to destroy the North. There was a time the Political Officer on Human Rights to the United States of America, one Mr Lazarus came to my office and interviewed me on the issue of Boko Haram in the North. He attempted to insinuate that the northern elders could be the ones sponsoring insurgency in the North. But I told him categorically that there was nothing like that because no one would be happy to destroy his own house. There are northern elders whose houses, villages have been destroyed and whose family members have been killed. So, how can the northern elders be involved in such heinous crime? I tasked the American government to dig very well into it to be able to unravel those behind it. I was equally invited to their embassy on the same issue. If you will not forget, there was one Australian journalist who indicted a former Chief of Army Staff sometime ago. Again, there was a military head who accused PDP of being behind Boko Haram. Although, he refused to be categorical about the individuals behind it, but we knew that what he was actually talking about was that there were some politicians behind Boko Haram. Then another suspect is the people who are clamouring for secession. Some disgruntled ones among these people could also be stoking the fire so as to cause problem for the North, in the belief that that could help them to achieve their goal. Nobody knows what this insurgent group wants. They started with the motive of pitting the Christians against the Muslims by burning churches and claiming to be Muslims, but when the true Muslims rose against them and condemned their activities they resulted to attacking the Muslims, burning mosques and killing both Muslims and Christians. So, it is very difficult to know their motive. From all this we can infer that insurgency crisis is a plot to cripple the North. On the issue of kidnapping, there is a need to scrutinize our security agents properly. At times the security agents will tell you to go and pay the ransom in order not to lose the person in captivity. And when you pay the ransom you have succeeded in empowering and strengthening these criminals the more, because the ransom will be used to buy more weapons. The money we pay as ransom is a grave mistake. So, I wonder how we intend to end kidnapping with this strategy. We indeed have a big problem at hand if our security agents cannot track, trail and arrest these criminal elements. In another breath, telecom companies in the country should be sanctioned for their inability to help track these criminals who use their network to perpetrate crimes and demand for ransom. Nigerians should mobilize against these telecom companies if they cannot help us to fight crime in the country.
Your claim that Boko Haram is a plot to destroy the North seems not to correlate with what is generally believed to be the origin of the problem in the first place…?
(cuts in) Boko Haram started during Obansanjo administration. But what we saw then was just a flash. Mohammed Yusuf’s case was caused by the negligence of the government of the era. The failure of the then government to handle the issue of Boko Haram with the dexterity it deserved is what led to the escalation in the first place. If you remember, Mohammed Yusuf was arrested about three to four times, but he was allegedly bailed by Jerry Gana on these occasions. Did we question what the relationship between Yusuf and Gana then? The same Yusuf we are talking about, his father was the Chief of Staff of Maitasine. Then his son started something funny and the Nigerian government failed to realize that they needed to handle his case with tact. They failed to handle it properly. When Yar’Adua came onboard, he couldn’t really do much perhaps because of his health issue. But when Jonathan came onboard, he failed to contain the situation because of his faulty approach to the issue. There was a war going on in the North and you decided to appoint a southerner as the Chief of Army Staff, another Southerner as Chief of Air Staff, Director of SSS was also a Southerner. What he ought to do was to appoint a Chief of Army Staff and his commanders from not just from the North, but from the Northeast, because it was their area and they understand the terrain very well. Apart from this, the people affected by this crisis are their people, so they would do everything to defend their people. But Jonathan failed to do that. He even went ahead to appoint El-Zakzaky as an Ambassador for Peace. So, I believe the Jonathan government empowered all these people.
You identified the failure of Jonathan government to appoint a northerner as the Chief of Army Staff as one the major factors that fueled insurgency, but the situation remains unchanged even with Buratai as the Chief of Army Staff?
Buraitai has really tried to the best of his ability. But the problem with our leaders is that they seem not to understand when there is a need for a change. As we speak, even the entire cabinet needs to be changed. That is number one. Secondly, extending the tenure of an appointee unduly is another major problem in this country. A situation where the government decides to unduly extend the tenure of appointees, when their seconds-in-command who are equally qualified and competent, and are eagerly looking forward to taking over from their superior, is dangerous. The immediate result of this kind of arrangement is that those who feel cheated are most likely to sabotage the effort of their superiors who are given undue advantage. These are some of the things causing the problems. Anybody who has attained the statutory retirement age, but whose tenure is extended will definitely have problems because those who are eagerly eyeing the position, but feel disappointed because the tenure of their superior officer has been extended will definitely sabotage him. The beneficiaries of such undue tenure extension should learn to reject such offers because it may end up rubbishing their previous exploits as a result of sabotage from those who may feel cheated. In a country of almost 200 million people, it is disgusting to think that it is only an individual that is capable of manning a position and as such you continue to extend his tenure unduly and endlessly. Getting too familiar to a position can be counterproductive sometimes.
What is your take on the decision by the regions to float regional security outfits?
I listened to the Coalition of Northern Youths and my conclusion from their outburst is that they are very wrong. They demonstrated that they lack proper upbringing, especially with their direct affront on the Sultan. How do you expect youths who show lack of respect for their elders to grow old? It is not possible. They condemned the Sultan for not supporting them. How would he support them? They have elders who they ought to consult before coming up with their decision, but they failed to do that. There are too numerous problems the North is contending with which should attract their attention, but instead of that they came up with the idea of Shege Ka Fasa. What is the meaning of Shege Ka Fasa? Why did they not think about that before Operation Amotekun came up? They are just a bunch of jobless youths who fish in troubled waters because they have some disgruntled politicians sponsoring them for their own selfish interest. Talking about Operation Amotekun, I will say it is a welcome development. But I will like to add that the outfit should not only safeguard the interest of the Southwest people. Rather, it should be for everybody in the zone. Whatever decision that will be taken concerning Amotekun, the northerners and other people living in the Southwest must be considered and carried along. If that can be done, without any sentiment, it is a welcome development. Those of us who are living in the Southwest must defend the Southwest because this is our home. The outfit shouldn’t be made purely to serve the interest of the Southwest people because there are a lot of our people that are born here and who only know the Southwest as their home. Some only know that they are northerners, but only know the Southwest as their home. So, if the outfit should come up with any decision that does not favour the northerners, this category of people will suffer a lot. Those criticizing the setting up of Amotekun are bias. There is nothing wrong with people coming up with such idea which is aimed at protecting the region against insecurity. Whoever opposes the idea should come up with a better plan on how the zone should be safeguarded or they should just go and sleep. Whoever wants to criticize the Southwest should consult those of us who are resident in the zone because we are in better position to put things in proper perspective for them. There is a rumour that northerners are being driven away from the Southwest. This is a pure lie. Does it mean the zone cannot create its own law for the benefit of the people of the zone? The law banning Okada affects the Yoruba people more than the northerners because 80 per cent of Okada being used by northern riders are owned by Yoruba and there are more Yoruba in the Marwa and Okada business in Lagos State. Again, they claimed that the Lagos State government is demolishing houses belonging to Hausa. What they failed to say is that the houses belong to Yoruba owners and if there are Hausa tenants in those houses, they are not up to the Yoruba occupants in the affected areas. So, people should stop peddling rumours capable of setting the country on fire.
You are from Kano. How best do you think the feud between the Emir of Kano and the state governor can be resolved?
The president recently gave his reason for not intervening in the matter so far. But I am sure when the issue gets out of hand he will be forced to intervene. During his first tenure, he maintained the same neutral position on the issue of who led the Senate and the House of Representatives until things went out of hand. The president is the father of the nation, it will be a huge mistake if a father sees his children fighting and he decides to fold his arms, except if he is taking side with either of the feuding parties. Perhaps he is supporting today’s giant because when you are in government you automatically become a giant. But if he is not taking side he should be bold to intervene. The Emir is right to have taken the position he took so far because he is not a betrayer. You came to my house and divided it into four and gave them to other people and you expect me to cooperate with you; that will never happen. Those pushing the governor to take the stance he is taking are his worst enemies. A similar scenario happened during Abubakar Rimi’s era, but when the soldiers took over they dissolved everything. The traditional stool should not be politicized .
