2023: North should forget Presidency – Babachir Lawal

Sir, let us begin with politics in your home state, Adamawa. Prior to 2019 elections, you predicted that the then governor, Jibrilla Bindo, of the APC would lose the state, because he was not carrying critical stakeholders. What actually happened to APC in the state?

Maybe I should first declare that I am a Christian and that gives me a Christian worldview of politics; a Christian’s idea of how politics ought to be played according to Biblical principles. The way the government played its politics was not in the interest of everybody, and in particular, the Christians. I interacted with many people who are members of the Christian community in the state, so, I was in advantageous position to know their opinions concerning the governance of the state.

I tell most politicians that as a Christian and one who mixes with Christians almost daily, it is my duty to relate to the party, the feelings of that segment of the society. You would not expect a Muslim to know what the preacher said in the church last Sunday. In a similar manner, you would expect that a Muslim in APC will be able to report to the party, the feelings of the Muslim Umah as regards the practices of politics of the day.

Now, the thinking of Christians in Adamawa during that time was that they were being side-lined in the act of governance. The governor was a Muslim, his deputy was a Christian, the Secretary to the State Government was a Muslim, the speaker was a Muslim and a lot of other things were like that. First of all, in Adamawa State, we have the feeling that if you want to be charitable to everybody, you might say that the Christians are in the majority, even if they are not, the non-Fulani tribes, an aggregation of other tribes versus Fulani, are in clear majority, may be 68 per cent. And this group of people felt sidelined.Initially, when we were looking out for a possible successor of Murtala Nyako, we felt that it would be good for the unity of the state if we get a Muslim who is from one of the small tribes, in that way he will not despise his own people, who are Christians and Muslims, and they would not despise him because he is from a minority tribe.

We felt if we get a good man that will bring everybody together and after eight years, we can start talking about anything once everybody is carried along.

But Bindo failed woefully in that regard and he was somebody who didn’t have the capacity to learn. He wouldn’t listen to all the efforts we made to make him realise that there was a problem. It culminated into the congresses for the elections of officers into the party. If you know the APC system, you will know that its executive at every level constitutes delegates to elective conventions.

From the ward congress to ward executives, they form the majority of those who will elect the local government executives, plus national officials who are mostly a few in number. In my state, the national officials were only two or so.

Once they elect the local government executive along with the delegates, they go on to elect state executives. This forms the core group from which delegates to elective conventions, primaries are going to be formed. Bindo inherited the party executive in which the majority of its members were Muslims because they were constituted by Nyako, a Fulani.

Some senior Christian leaders in the state wanted our boys to participate in politics but in APC, as long as that executive structure constituted by Nyako remained; they stood no chance of getting elected to contest general elections. So, after sometimes, he had a study which showed that elections were going to be held purely on religious basis, out of the 25-member House Assembly, there is no way Christians or minor tribes will not have eighteen seats. This was a fact well studied.

As at that time, there was almost in a full-blown war in southern senatorial district between Fulani and the natives in that zone, principally, Bachama people. Some religious leaders met me and suggested that the solution to the problem was for us to have anti-open grazing law. The idea was for Fulani herders to restrict their pastoral activities in a localized area so that they don’t become a danger to different farms.

So, we asked how are we getting it done. First, we had only five members in the State Assembly and given the Nigerian politics, it was unlikely that a five-man team could sponsor a minority bill and get it passed in the house, especially when it has religious connotations like this. The governor was a Muslim, the SGS was a Muslim and the international leader of the Fulani tribe, Lamido Adamawa, gives the governor orders. Our only solution was to beef up our strength in the house of assembly.

Consequently, they did a study and brought it to me. I found out that if the elections would be free and fair, you know, there were other politically interested groups, that things would change.  Of course, many people believed that we should have free and fair congresses to elect executives. The governor will not hear of that. He wanted to give the then public office holders automatic tickets. Those guys did something sad in my local government when we were about to conduct the primaries for election that produced Bindo’s administration. In that local government, we had about 400 delegates to the primaries and our son, the present SGS, was contesting. I called our people and said gentlemen, ‘politics is our local issue. I will prefer we vote for this boy. Let him win, at least, at home. He may lose in other local governments, so that we don’t create problem for ourselves. If we don’t support our son, we don’t know the consequences in future. So, let’s give him massive votes.’

That was two days to the election. They agreed and went into town. Of six district heads in the area, one was a Christians and five others were Muslims. Some politicians, however, cautioned the delegates in their communities that they didn’t want a kafir (non-Muslim) to be the governor. We came out the following day in spite of the fact that we were mobilising delegates with four to five times the amount of money that Bindo was given. Out of four hundred and something votes, Bindo got three hundred and something votes. And our man got 78 votes. That was a classical demonstration of what religion could do in primaries. I was a clear victim of this.

So, we wanted that influence to be diluted so that when primaries come our boys would stand the chances of being nominated but Bindo won’t have that. We went for stakeholders meeting I knew they did not want me to attend but I did and it surprised them all. They turned the meeting into a government briefing. I tried to let them know that the meeting was not a government programme but party programme. I queried why the Chief of Staff (to the governor) was conducting the programme instead of the organising secretary of the party?  They won’t listen.

When it was clear that they won’t allow any person outside the government circles to talk, I called the Chief of Staff who was with the microphone and demanded that I should be allow to speak. He didn’t allow me. So, I called the SSG and told him that they if don’t allow me to speak, I will call a press conference after they had finished the programme. So, they announced that the SGF was there that I should be allowed me to speak. When they called me to the high table, I told them I was comfortable where I was seated and I have had enough of high tables in my life but they should give me a microphone. I started by pointing out that the gathering was stakeholders meeting ahead of Saturday’s election. So, we should be discussing the zoning of offices. Usually, the offices are zoned to each of the three senatorial districts. Then each district would also consult its local government areas so that everybody is represented. In particular, we wanted a scenario where the chairman and secretary, for instance, would come from the two main religious bodies.

As I was talking, the Chief of Staff went behind and thugs started drowning my voice. I continued until they switched off the public address system. I didn’t stop speaking because I wanted to make my point, whether they like it or not. Then, they started the National Anthem, while I still had the floor, which I considered a declaration of war. As a party man, of course, I am a senior member of APC, I was in the merger committee, in the Interim Management Committee, and in the National Working Committee. I was SGF, who was as of the time running the political arm of the presidency.

So, I called a press conference later and told the journalists why I was playing that role in the polity. I wanted a scenario where we will vote for APC. I knew if we go along the way the governor was going, Christians would not vote for APC but he wouldn’t listen. So, we drew the battle line. We went to general elections. PDP was with our people. APC only had Christian candidates in those LGAs were it was practically impossible to bring out a Muslim candidate but where they could, even though Christians were 80 per cent and Muslims 10 per cent, they will pick from that 10 per cent.  That was how APC went to the elections, including the state house of assembly poll for 25 members. In PDP, of their 13 members in the house of assembly, Christians had 10 and Muslims had three.

The APC where we come from, the SGF, governor and every politician who-is-who in Adamawa won 12 seats in the state assembly. We had eight members of the House of Representatives out of which six were Christians.  I think we had one Senator but APC could not produce one elected (Christian) member in the state House of Assembly out of its 12 members. One seat was won under the platform of one opposition party though I understand that he has now joined APC. Obviously, he is a Muslim. Of the 13 members of PDP in the House, 10 were Christians. Exactly what I predicted would happened came to pass. Of course, the mother of all the casualties was Bindo, who lost his re-election bid.

Right now, we are almost repeating the same scenario. Last week, we almost had a major crisis in the state. APC Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee led by Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni, sent a seven-man team to Adamawa and all were Muslims. I understand too that of the 15 from the state that are going to other states, only two are Christians. So, there was uproar in Adamawa. And based on our protests, I understand that they have made some modifications. We are doing all this, not because of religious politics but all-inclusiveness in politics. Any criteria that you will use that will marginalise any category of Nigerians will not be acceptable at all. Any criteria for marginalisation whether by height, tribe or especially religion will not acceptable at all.

Right now, Fintiri of the PDP is the governor. How is e running government? Is he practising all-inclusive government?

My people have asked me this question because our action helped him to win by default. But I can tell you, the enemy of your enemy is your friend. It is a popular adage. It is not that you like the enemy but he is fighting the battle for you. He was an instrument for us to fight our battle, but I remember that I told people then that Fintiri may not make a better governor than Bindo. But one thing is you can intimidate him and he will say he will do something even if he will not do it.

He can pretend and accord you all due respect. That will make you feel good as of the time and you would have fooled yourself. The man doesn’t listen to you but in actual fact he doesn’t listen to anybody. The way I hear his people complain is terrible. Of course, we don’t go to him.

For me, as a leader, I should consider myself above partisanship in my state. But the issue is who does what for the people. He (Fintiri) is not doing much in all ramifications. Bindo used to construct roads, even though the cost of the road was something else. He was doing roads, not necessarily significantly, but he was doing something within the town. This one, I don’t know if he is doing anything, although I heard he has started. That is my personal assessment. Apart from my personal relationship with him, I can call him on phone any time and he will respond politely.

Let’s graduate to APC at the national level. Is this the APC you toiled with the president to nurture?

I am just a Buhari loyalist. My politics is politics of Buhari. I never experienced in practical terms, what political parties ought to be. I joined partisan politics to assist him in mobilisation and to do the needful for him to win elections. And part of that included the merger (of CPC with some political party). We, Buhari people, not his political party alone, felt that Buhari would never be President as the political parties then existed.

Yes, he polled about 10 to 12 million votes but he needed about 15 to 16 million votes and three-quarter votes in 24 states. The 19 states in the northern are about five states short of what is constitutionally required to become a president. So, we went out to look for merger. We wanted somebody who will bring out block votes from a minimum of five states to add to his (Buhari) votes and so that he can become victorious.

And of course, we got partners that delivered on that. So, I laugh when people talk to me about APC. Whether they like it or not, APC was formed to make Buhari president. That is, on our own side. We had no other objective but to make Buhari president by kicking out PDP. Along the line, we sold the idea to other people, who had their own reasons for coming into the merger. That is the truth. South East came with their reasons. Later, other APP members, who were neither here nor there came in. Also, APGA came in and we delivered Buhari.

PDP splinter group also joined it. They too come for their own reasons. Some were running away for their lives in PDP and they need protection. For some, their ambitions in PDP had become frustrated. They were looking for where they could manifest such ambitions. Everybody was coming in for his own different motive but not everybody achieved that much. But you can see that of the first set of governors, only Almakura of Nasarawa State, was in the original Buhari’s party, the CPC.

The rest were PDP big wigs like Masari, who did not make it in PDP but had to joined CPC and this man in Kaduna, who is everywhere there is an opportunity. And, the bloc that came from South East. We, Buhari people, got the first prize. So, we are happy. It’s only natural now that those who came on the hunting trip and didn’t make it may want to go back, but those who came and made it, they want to think that is their party. I know the Yoruba came in with an ideology because they are normally ideological in their politics. They play politics of conviction. Of course, every now and then, there are mercenaries to dilute that position. We, on this side (North), in South-South and in South East, we play politics of opportunity. Politics of where do I get a platform that will deliver my ambition for me? When such happens, there is hardly any meeting of the minds.

Is that not why APC government cannot really deliver?

It’s not a political party that delivers. A political party is a platform. When you want to pluck a mango and you climb a ladder, the ladder is not the mango tree, you only need the ladder to help you pluck the mango.Again, can we say that is the reason why APC still has challenges working together? 

I think the problem with APC is the problem of individuals with inordinate ambitions, who do not want to play by the rules and as long as they get what they are after and every other person can go to hell.Can you give an example to substantiate this?

I can be specific on this because the truth of the matter is that there are 36 governors. I think it started during Olusegun Obasanjo when the governors tested power and authority and they supplanted the president in dispensing of favour and pecks of office. They liked it and Buhari came and tried to cut the governors to size.

Buhari didn’t want any governor to dictate to him but somewhere along the line, he gave in to them and they wanted to take over the party as during Obasanjo era when the governors said the next president must come from their rank. They tried it and they didn’t succeed during Goodluck Jonathan’s era and this time, they will fail woefully.

Who are these governors?

There are some very nice governors but not a majority of them. Most of the governors in the North are not doing anything. They just sit on the revenue that is supposed to go to local governments while their commissioners cannot spend more than N200, 000. There is hardly any commissioner in the North that can award up to N200, 000 contracts. They (the governors) are full of themselves.

They have abandoned governance in their states and they are looking up to the federal authorities. We must do something about governors if Nigeria wants to make progress. We must put governors at the position the Constitution places them. I thank God for his mercies, if every governor had become like Rotimi Akeredolu, what would have happened? Visit any governor in his house, everybody except him will be sitting on the floor because they are the only ones that can give the people something to eat. He can sack any of his aides if he is not happy. If you need fertilizer for your farmer, only the governor can give you that.

And the governors do not seem to understand that in running the country, they have a major role. They take at least 48 per cent of the resources of government and they think that only the federal government should be responsible for security, should be held responsible over the economy and every other sphere. They just sit quietly in their own domains and be behaving like emperors. They want to take over APC.

Was that why Oshiomole was actually fought and removed?

When the President went to commission some projects in Edo State as of the time Oshiomole was governor, he was so impressed and, on that occasion, he made a public comment, saying, ‘You have done so well, you deserve a role in my government at the national level.’ That was a promise. For us, implementing that promise, with me as SGF, we had to examine the political position that Buhari should give Oshiomole.

Perhaps, offer him minister of works position?

Nigerians don’t understand that to be a minister requires an above average capacity, intellectually. It (the centre) is not a place like state executive council where a governor is always right, whether he is right or wrong. A ministerial position is not like that.  A federal permanent secretary and directors won’t allow a minister to get away with nonsense. So, it’s not everybody that can be appointed as a minister. You understand that my friend didn’t have much paper qualifications. He did his best as a governor but he didn’t have much paper qualifications.

Anyway, I don’t think a ministerial position was what Buhari had in mind. We felt the party chairman position would be ideal for Oshiomole.  As a unionist, he knows how to handle issues. As a former governor, we believed he won’t succumb to the dictates of governors. He was one of them and so could not be easily manipulated. He was just the ideal candidate needed at that place. So, we started selling the idea to Mr. President. We reminded him that he once promised to have him (Oshiomole) at the national level.

Meanwhile, people had the notion that it was Bola Tinubu that brought Oshiomole in as APC national chairman. It was Buhari. But it was Tinubu that pressurised Buhari to support the emergence of Oyegun as the chairman of APC. While it was Buhari that brought Oshiomole and not Tinubu as was widely perceived. Buhari preferred Bisi Akande to Oyegun.

Buhari brought Oshiomole, but his methodology was too combative and there is no compulsion in politics. If I don’t get what I want in APC, I can move to PDP or APGA. He was too combative, he wasn’t listening. He was running national headquarters as if it was something else. He was called but he won’t listen. He wouldn’t listen to anybody. I understood that during NWC meeting under his leadership, he would come in and say all he wanted to tell them, that is if we wanted to call the meeting at all, and he would go out and say ‘we have decided.’

So that caused his problem. He wasn’t listening. Even those of us in the system that brought him had no access to him. He left the national headquarters and created his own office at Aso Drive. While there, even some governors were said to have spent up to five hours waiting to see Oshiomhole, who could be inside his office talking with one person. So, his problem was administrative.

By 2023, Buhari or the North will clock eight years in the presidency. How do you situate the clamour by various geo-political zones for the pendulum to swing to their direction?

I have lived in various parts of Nigeria. I am from Adamawa, I went to primary school and university in Maiduguri and I spent nine years in Zaria in the university system and in Warri, Delta State, as an engineer. I was in Lagos as an engineer and of course, in Kaduna before I moved to Abuja. So, I have lived in different parts of Nigeria. I attended St. Patrick’s Primary School, Maiduguri, with pupils drawn from different tribes including Yoruba, Igbo, Kanuri and Kiliba like me. I learnt one thing there: intelligence does not depend on your tribe. I know so many Yoruba pupils that came last and so many that came first. I know some many Hausa pupils that came last and so many Hausa people that came first. So, I don’t believe that one tribe is better another in terms of competence and capacity. But I believe in equity.As a Northerner, I am victim of northern rulership, for want of a better word. Tafawa Balewa was the prime minister, around the time I was just struggling to enter primary school. That Balewa was from Bauchi State didn’t confer any advantage to me a citizen of Adamawa State and thereafter, Northern Nigeria. After Balewa and Aguiyi Ironsi, he didn’t last long. Then Yakubu Gowon’s long regime of about nine years did not confer any advantage on the North. And as things moved on, it became clear, as people say, that we were the ones holding the horns while others milk the cows to extent that we are the most under developed part of the country. We have more resources in the North than any part of the country. I can tell you that as a former SGF. I know the resources that the North has underground apart from the ones above the ground and its huge population, which is also its major advantage. But our people didn’t develop all these.

In the West, every commissioner is in charge of the budget in his ministry unlike in the North. I will say the Presidency is like an albatross around our neck. We receive insult that we are the ones ruling but we don’t see the benefits. In the North, there is a class system, some says the Fulani are at the top of the class, then may be the Hausa and then may be the rest of us. They say that is how it is supposed to be. Some People believe that one cannot rise to the top of the place because of who you are and because of your tribe. But during elections, the Hausa, the Fulani will start running around, saying we must come together; we are Northerners, we must work as brothers. I have to cast my ballot for a Northerner and revert to my ‘siddon look.’ That is the Northern system. It is this type of attitude has made it clear to us that we should let other Nigerians to pilot the government and let us see whether their method will benefit us more.

Apart from sense of equity, we must practice zoning. We must agree that in Nigeria, religion has become a major factor for success in the political system. We northerners made the point that President Goodluck Jonathan should have a northern successor because Yar’adua did not complete northerners’ turn. That shows implicitly that we have accepted zoning from the way we argue from time to time. So, we cannot therefore turn around now and say after Buhari tenure that the presidency should not go to the south.

Which of the three geo-political zones in the South should produce the next president?

I believe in equity. As I told you, the Yoruba joined the merger obviously for their own reasons although it was not clearly stated. To me, it was clear, since I was all over the place, and many Yoruba are till date my friends. I also have a lot of Delta Igbo as friends. I could see during the merger, as I was liaising then between ACN and CPC that the Yoruba were of the opinion that if they support the northerners for the Presidency, the north would be charitable enough to support them after the northerners’ tenure in good faith. This scenario is changing because some over ambitious northern governors want to vie for the presidency.

What will be the outlook in 2023 because the South-West people are also clamouring for the position?

I am just telling you the reason why I think the South-West has a claim on it despite Obasanjo Presidency just as the South-South has had President Goodluck Jonathan. But, you see, zoning implies the North and South basis. Let’s face it; the Igbo are also entitled to it, that is, if it’s zoned to the south. Igbo have the right to a lay claim to it.

What is your take on the rumoured presidential ambition of Tinubu and Rochas Okorocha who were part of the merger talks that gave birth to APC?

You want to trap me with this. They are two people that I think based on their antecedents and contributions are entitled to have a go at it. First, is Tinubu because coming from CPC, we went after him for the merger and it is only fair that his interest should be considered but he has not said that is he interested in the race. He is my friend and I read his body language. Okorocha has right to lay claim to it because he too brought a faction of APGA into the merger. Tinubu is quite a quintessential politician. Okorocha is another quite quintessential politician and he knows the North even more than he knows the South-East.

Bola Tinubu has spent a lot of his resources on human capital development. Okorocha has also spent a lot of his resources over the years on social development. If you don’t know, there is hardly any state where Okorocha has not built a school. In Okorocha schools, there are buses that convey indigent pupils, to and from schools. The children are provided with free food, books and uniform. And Okorocha lived in the North for so many years. We have no reason to fear Okorocha Presidency because he is an Igbo man who grew up in the North, Jos specifically.

Who will you consider as the best suited to succeed Buhari?
Bola Tinubu.

You mean in the whole South?
In the whole of Nigeria.

Are they or their foot soldiers reaching out to the North already?
I wouldn’t know, I can only speak for myself. I can’t say whether Tinubu wants to be president. I can only say he is qualified to be one.

You are one of the most prominent Christian politicians in the North. Are we right to assume that Tinubu is talking to you already about 2023?

This is very unfair because Tinubu has been my friend for years before the current political dispensation in the country. I know him. I was Buhari fieldsmen. Buhari himself cannot run around for all the needed political network. I did that and I used the network in CPC and in APC when there was crack or perceived crack between the South-West and the North to reach out to everybody.

The Tinubu boys are also my boys. When he was a governor, Prof. Yemi Osibanjo was his Commissioner for Justice, Babatunde Fashola and Rauf Aregbeshola were also commissioners. I know all these people and they know me as Tinubu’s friend. There is no doubt about it, Buhari wasn’t my friend, and I just thought that if Buhari could be President, we would all be better for it. So, I plugged in and moved close to him and rose through the system. It’s the same thing with Tinubu. I think he will make a good president. He deserves to be president based on his contributions to the system. If he says he is not interested, I will work for Okorocha.

Are you not still very relevant in politics?
I am. I will not say I am not.

What is your assessment of insecurity in parts of the country?

I will be going to my village this week. We have noticed that some people are moving into the forest in the area. Based on intelligence, we gathered that they are people moving into the forest from Zamfara and Katsina states. We have called a meeting to look into the issue and that is why I say security is everybody problem. But nobody wants to hear this. When I was SGF, for six months, I couldn’t assess my village because Boko Haram had overrun my local government area. In fact, two of my cousins were among the Chibok girls that were abducted. I agree that security in the context of fighting Boko Haram has improved tremendously. I was SGF when somebody blew off himself in Kuje and (a bomb went off) at Nyanya in FCT. Now, nobody is afraid that Boko Haram may blow off a church in Abuja or Kaduna, or even in Yola. That era is gone, Boko Haram members have been confined into their area of origin around Lake Chad. Although, every now and then, they may escape into Borno and Yobe State and cause havoc.

Be that as it may, other areas of insecurity have sprung up. I don’t know where this word, ‘bandit,’ comes from. You see, we are trying to be nice to them. They are more than bandits. They are terrorists but unlike Boko Haram they grab land, they grab resources and they have more sinister motives than Boko Haram. They invade farms and kill the owners, including innocent people and they destroy the affected farms. So, they are not after the territory. We don’t know what they are after but they are impoverishing Nigerians. Zamafara used to be one of the most peaceful states in the country; the people relied on their subsistence farming and sometimes get Hajj seats to Mecca and fertilizer for their farms. You can see that they are the most traumatised now in Nigeria. In Kaduna, people are afraid to go to their farms.

After almost six years, the president has just changed his service chiefs. Can you set an agenda for them?

I went to Nigeria Military School. So, I was a soldier. It is good the President has changed them. Before the public outcry, I advised that the service chiefs be changed. Buhari is a general; he knows very well why he retained them for so long. Every soldier that gets to a command position knows what he should do. The problem with longevity in a given post is you run out of ideas and you start to feel you are indispensable and you start to give in to temptation of being worshipped.

So, that is why I am happy that he has replaced them. They have done their best, even if their best did not meet the criteria Nigeria expected of them. Of the new service chiefs, there is a particular one I appreciate very much. That is Leo Irabor. He was quite humble. I read in his biography that he went to one of the best staff colleges. I don’t know much about the others but I wish them well.

The APC membership registration cum revalidation exercise is ongoing, has it got to do with 2023 presidency?

Please, go and ask Mai Mala Buni that question. Everybody is wondering whether his interim committee was not supposed to be a convention planning committee. But they keep expanding their scope and tenure. Who knows? They may amend the constitution to remain in office permanently; they know why they want to conduct another membership registration. It’s true that some people must have died; some may have left, while others may have joined the party. I thought the party adopted continuous membership registration, which can be done online anyway.Have you gone to your ward to register?

I don’t have sufficient money to go to Adamawa and register as a member of APC. I can register in Abuja here. The only thing is that I will not be able to participate at the ward congress in Adamawa State.

What is your take on economic recession in the country?

I will not pretend that it is easy. It is very, very tough. I know some people that were very prosperous people but these days find it difficult to eat. I know of people that go to the hospital and cannot pay their bills and they call me for help. They think because I was SGF, I must be rich. They don’t understand the economy is tough on everybody.

Why are some Nigerians adding hatred and division to our problem?  We are praying that there should be no retaliation over the cases of attacks against some people in the South-East and South-West. I read in the papers how some people in the name of Eastern Security Taskforce, reportedly sew uniform for themselves, bought guns for themselves and went around killing people and threatening law and order.  I read in another paper that an ultimatum was said to have given to some Hausa-Fulani to leave a particular state in South West. We hope there will be no retaliation. We have experienced the consequences of such retaliations in the past. The leaders in different regions should check the rhetoric from our youths and their behaviour. The governors must do their own part in dousing tension and creating employment opportunities.

Issues relating to Fulani herdsmen have become a recurring decimal in parts of the country. Are you worried over this?

A Fulani is somebody you cannot intimidate through direct confrontation because of the nature of his life style. I don’t want to call it wild but it is basically wild. A Fulani is by his nature used to protecting his animals in the bush, so he needs to be armed. If the arms used before now were bows and arrows, it was because the enemies he was facing then could be handled with bows and arrows. Now, his enemies are sophisticated, they come to steal his cattle with guns; he needs the guns. His problem is no more lions in the forest but people who could rustle about 800 cows at once and move them up to Cameroon or somewhere else. So, he needs to be prepared.

Unless, we understand this issue: that the man is not intimidated, he has no house to protect, the man has no children in school that could be arrested, he has nothing to lose, the cows he has now are cows he holds in trust for people in some cities. Fulani herdsmen are also casualties or victims of kidnappers because local criminals know that he has cows, so he can pay ransom. Fulani men you find in detention are often subjected to extortion and right abuse because they are illiterate and at times they cannot speak even good Hausa. They have no protection under the law because they do not know their rights but when it is time to revenge, they do so with equal vengeance and they are one of the largest tribes in Africa but have no boundaries.