Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano State has moved to investigate the Kano State University of Science and Technology (KUST), Wudil, based on the recommendation of a visitation panel report over unremitted pensions of staff to the tune of N352 million.
Several other recommendations in the panel’s draft White Paper Report, including that asking the state government to investigate the financial standing of the university, have since been adopted by the government.
The state commissioner for information, Malam Muhammad Garba, in a statement today, August 16, said that the inter-agency investigative panel set up by the governor would look into the entire outstanding liabilities audited accounts and recover the amount lost in the university.
He said that the will be chaired by the Permanent Secretary, Establishment, Office of the Head of Civil Service while Permanent Secretary, REPA, Office of the Secretary to the State Government; Permanent Secretary, Pension Trust Fund; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance; State Auditor General, Local Government Auditor; Chairman, Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education; would serve as members. The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Justice will serve as member/secretary of the committee.
He said that the governor will inaugurate the committee at a date to be announced.
Former Military President of Nigeria, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, has predicted that those who are behind the lingering insecurity in the country will soon regret their action nd face the consequences.
Babangida, who turned 81 tomorrow, August 17, told news men at his Hilltop residence in Minna, Niger State today, August 16 that there is urgent need for such people to embrace peace and unity of the country.
He asked Nigerians to be hopeful, determined, faithful and pray for the end to the current insecurity challenges.
“Those behind it (insecurity) will soon regret their action and will realize the consequences and impact of their actions.”
The former President stressed the need for the media in the country to ignore those who are preaching disunity and give priority to those making efforts to ensure peace and unity.
He asked Nigerians to remain resolute and believe in the unity of Nigeria, charging them to be patient and prayed to overcome the current challenges bedeviling the country.
This was coming as President Muhammadu Buhari congratulated Babangida for turning 81 year, saying that it is a thing of joy that he is celebrating another year, heralded by God’s benevolence and mercies.
The President acknowledged the historical role of the former military President in shaping the political and economic development of the country, “and his counsels to upcoming political leaders.”
He prayed for longer life, good health and strength for the octogenarian.
“To those who have done many things against us, I want to tell them there’s nothing to fear. There will be no vengeance. We do not have the luxury to look back.”
These were the words of William Ruto, who was declared winner of the Kenyan Presidential election by the Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) today, August 15.
The electoral body had said: “In accordance with the Constitution and the law, I, chairperson of the IEBC, hereby declare that Ruto William Samoei has been duly elected as the President of the Republic of Kenya under the provision of Article 138 of the Constitution of the Presidential election held on August 9, 2022,” Wafula Chebukati, Chairman of the IEBC, said.
Ruto polled 7,176,141 votes in the last Tuesday’s election, representing 50.07 per cent of the total votes cast to beat his rival, Raila Odinga. Ruto secured the minimum 25 per cent of votes in 39 counties.
In his speech, President-elect, Ruto thanked the electoral commission for overseeing the election, saying: “it is a wonderful evening… all sovereign power belongs to the people of Kenya”, Ruto said, calling Mr Chebukati a “hero.”
“To those who have done many things against us, I want to tell them there’s nothing to fear. There will be no vengeance. We do not have the luxury to look back.
“There are no losers. The people of Kenya have won because we raised the political bar. There is no looking back. We are looking to the future. We need all hands on deck to move forward.”
However, four of the seven members of the electoral commission had refused to endorse the result, saying it was “opaque.”
“We cannot take ownership of the result that is going to be announced because of the opaque nature of this last phase of the general election.
“We are going to give a comprehensive statement… and again we urge Kenyans to keep calm. There is an open door that people can go to court and the rule of law will prevail”, said Juliana Cherera, the Vice-Chairman of IEBC.
Chebukati said he had done his duty despite receiving threats.
“I took an oath of office to serve this country and I have done my duty in accordance with the constitution and the laws of the land. We have walked the journey of ensuring that Kenyans get a free fair and credible election. It has not been an easy journey – right now two of my commissioners and the CEO are injured,” he said.
Meanwhile, Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated Ruto over the electoral victory, praising the people of Kenya for the peaceful and transparent outcome of the elections.
In a statement today, August 15 by his spokesman, Femi Adesina, President Buhari said that the election demonstrated that the democratic process, values and principles remained the best way for the people to select their leaders and hold them accountable.
President Buhari said that Nigeria valued Kenya as a strategic partner in the fight against terrorism and violence extremism, buoyed by a long history of friendship, economic and trade ties, and effective collaboration through international organisations such as the African Union, the United Nations and the Commonwealth.
The President wished Ruto a successful inauguration and tenure in office, adding that he expects fruitful and robust engagements between the two countries on shared priorities such as enhancing peace and security on the continent, democracy, greater economic prosperity and social development.
He also saluted President Uhuru Kenyatta for his statesmanship and exemplary leadership to the people of Kenya in the past nine years and the profound legacies of his administration on infrastructure, education, healthcare reforms and tourism as well as strong influence and support on regional security.
Professor Ibrahim Gambari, Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari (in the middle), today, August 15, hosted the State Chief of Protocol (SCOP), Ambassador Lawal Kazaure (second left), Senior Special Assistant to the President on Domestic and Social Event, Mallam Mohammed Sarki Abba (second right) and Deputy Chief of Staff, Dr. Ade Ipaye (far right), in honour of the two Principal Officers of the President (Kazaure and Abba) that were Conferred with Republic of Niger National Honours by that country’s President, Bazoum, recently.
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, has emerged the “Man Of The Year” for the 2022 Leadership Excellence Awards.
He won the award in a 14-day Leadership Excellence voting by Nigerians, both home and in the Diaspora via online platforms and was organized by the Igbere TV, a foremost community TV in Nigeria.
Obi defeated three other nominees to emerge winner in the online voting that took place from August 1st to August 14, 2022 via online platforms.
Peter Obi polled 2, 428, 403 votes to defeat the Chairman and Founder of BUA Group, Abdul Rabiu who polled 1, 124, 172 and popular Nigerian Singer, David Adeleke, a.k.a Davido who polled 881, 766.
The award, endorsed by the African Union, African Film Institute, will be presented in November 2022 in Abuja.
The awar,d which is the fourth in a row, is an annual event that promotes outstanding leaders and personalities whose impacts have been felt in Nigeria’s political, social and economic spheres.
Obi is a Nigerian businessman and politician who served as governor of Anambra State from March to November 2006 to February to May 2007, and from June 2007 to March 2014.
Born in Onitsha in 1961, Obi graduated from the University of Nigeria in 1984, entered business and banking and held several high-ranking executive positions in the banking sector.
In the year 2000, Obi was the Chairman of Fidelity Bank before leaving the position to go into politics.
PDP National Chairman, Ayu | Photo credit: Premium Times
The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Iyorcha Ayu has made it clear that he has no intention of resigning from his position.
In a statement today, August 15, through his special assistant on communication and strategy, Simon Imobo-Tswam, Senator Ayu said that he intends to serve out the four-year mandate given to him by the PDP.
“The PDP National Chairman, Dr. Iyiochia Ayu, has not resigned and has no plan of resigning. For clarity and emphasis, he was elected for a tenure of four years.”
The position of the PDP chairman came against the backdrop of the crisis rocking the main opposition party over the emergence of Atiku Abubakar as the party’s 2023 presidential candidate and the subsequent emergence of Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa as his running mate.
The camp of Rivers State Governor, Nyeson Wike has demanded his resignation as part of the solutions to the crisis affecting the PDP. Wike is alleged to have insisted that Ayu should resign to address the issue of having the party’s national chairman and its presidential candidate coming from the same Northern region.
Patent medicine dealers have called on the Federal Government to factor them into the immunisation programme in Nigeria.
The national president of the National Association of Patent and Proprietary Medicine Dealers (NAPPMED), Prince Joel Odoh, who spoke to newsmen in Abuja, said that patent medicine dealers who are all over the country, are highly dedicated and experienced.
He said that the union has over 627, 000 registered members across the country, with good structure to take the scheme to the grass-roots for quality health delivery in Nigeria.
“The ministry should consider our members for immunisation programmes instead of hurriedly training non-health professionals and sending them to the field. This is about health.
“Patent medicine dealers have been in this field for many years. Our association is over 60 years. A majority of us have garnered experiences through trainings and on the field, hence we can discharge primary health roles effectively.”
He commended the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control for making identification of fake drugs easy.
“We commend NAFDAC that numbers drugs. Our members know how to identify fake and counterfeit drugs. Anybody selling them simply wants to do that. There are numbers inscribed on these drugs for easy identification.
“Our members know that getting these drugs from open markets may make them vulnerable to fake drugs. I urge them to be very careful by simply observing those precautions. Some of us who get drugs from manufacturers directly also check these facts meticulously.
“We have stringent measures for erring members. If it is the government that arrested such sellers, we won’t go there. If it is our task force that arrested them, because we have task forces at unit, state and national levels, after dealing with the persons in accordance with our rules, they will be handed over to NAFDAC for further actions.”
The government of Saudi Arabia has rejected the United Nations (UN) document on the Convention on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Agreement, a veiled reference to women emancipation.
CEDAW is an international treaty that was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly.
The Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Adel Al-Jubeir, in a statement today, August 15, described CEDAW as against the provisions of Islamic Sharia.
Though some Arab countries have begun to agree to the CEDAW agreement, but the Saudi government insisted that some provisions in the document are dangerously contradictory to the provisions of the Holy Qur’an.
Minister Adel Al-Jubeir listed such provisions as follows:
1- CEDAW says that a woman is like a man but the Qur’an says: “And the male is not like the female.”
2- CEDAW says a man is not allowed to have polygamy but the Qur’an says: “Then marry as many women as you like, two, three and four.”
3- CEDAW says that children are named after their mothers but the Qur’an says: “Call them to their fathers.”
4- CEDAW says: There is no waiting period for a woman (after divorce) but the Qur’an says: “And divorced women await three readings by themselves.”
5- CEDAW says the man does not have guardianship over the woman and the father does not have guardianship over his daughters but the Qur’an says: “Men are the guardians of women.”
6 – CEDAW says male and female in inheritance are one but the Qur’an says: “The male shall have the share of two females.”
7- CEDAW says a man can marry a man like him and a woman can marry a woman like her but the Qur’an says: “Do you come to the remembrances of the worlds.”
8- CEDAW gives women the right to have an abortion but the Qur’an says: “And do not kill your children.”
9- CEDAW does not criminalize sexual relations outside of marriage for both spouses but the Qur’an says: “Do not approach adultery, for it was an indecency and an evil way.”
10- CEDAW says: A woman is bound to whomever she wants, separates whenever she wants, and reconnects whenever she wants but the Qur’an says: “Magnorous women who do not intermarry, nor take wives’ wives.”
11 – CEDAW says: The age of marriage is after eighteen but the Qur’an says:
“And afflict the orphans until they reach the age of marriage.”
Saudi government stressed that whoever wants to stand by CEDAW and defend it must know that he is disobedient to God, and denies His Book and the Sunnah of His Prophet..
“Work diligently to dissolve the conservative society, and work to push it to follow lust and perversion.”
Let’s call it a tale of two WhatsApp broadcasts. On 5 June 2022, I received this chat from an older friend whom I call “uncle” because of the age difference: “Today in Owo at St Francis Catholic Church, Owaluwa Street, Owo, Fulani herdsmen on rampage”. It was accompanied with videos of the terror act in which 80 defenceless worshippers were murdered in cold blood. I can’t stand gory sights, so I did not open the videos. I already read the news and the heart-wrenching details and did not need any visuals. The Owo attack shook me gravely: I started fretting and wondering if the terrorists were about to open a new frontier in their attacks on the peace and stability of Nigeria.
On 9 August, I received another WhatsApp broadcast from uncle. It had a title: “Owo Massacre: Arrested Suspects are Mostly Ebira.” It read: “Two of the masterminds of the deadly terrorist attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, South-West Nigeria have been arrested. The suspects described as top commanders of Islamic State West Africa Province ISWAP in Nigeria, are 39-year old Jimoh Ibrahim, Idris Abdul Malik Omeiza, Momoh Ojowu Abu, Aliyu Yusuf and Auwal Onimisi”. By popular accounts in June 2022, echoed by sections of the media, the attackers were “Fulani herdsmen”. Two months later, they were Ebira from Kogi state.
You see, to set Nigeria on fire through ethnic profiling and hate-mongering in order to promote the “this country cannot work” mindset is not that difficult. Just craft a fantastic narrative that will sell ethnic and religious prejudice and get the hate merchants to help you nurture it. You are good to go. If some Yoruba taxi drivers in Jos are found to have kidnapped a passenger, just start a narrative around “Yoruba kidnappers” and soon enough, every criminal in Plateau State and northern Nigeria will be called “Yoruba kidnapper”. Anytime anyone is kidnapped, the template is set: “Yoruba kidnappers abduct passengers in Riyum”. It doesn’t matter if the kidnappers are Berom or Hausa.
If an Igbo is arrested for internet fraud or drug pushing and your interest is in casting the Igbo ethnic nationality in bad light, your job is made easy. All you need to do is develop a narrative that Igbos are internet fraudsters or cocaine pushers. Ignore the fact that Igbos are doing excellently in science and technology, commerce, sport and other spheres of life. Just focus on the 0.0001 percent involved in internet fraud and conclude that all internet fraudsters are Igbo or that Igbo people are fraudsters. Discount the fact that Yoruba, Edo, Ibibio and Hausa people are also being arrested and jailed for internet fraud. You must ignore that detail — because it won’t help your hate-mongering duty.
Let me be clear again: I do not deny that many criminals wreaking havoc across the country are Fulani. This has been well established in many places, north and south. I also know that there is a perception that the criminal elements are getting a pass because President Muhammadu Buhari, himself a Fulani, has failed to come down heavily on them. It is a very popular notion. What I object to, and will continue objecting to, is the demonisation of a whole ethnic group because of the criminal conduct of a tiny minority. Suddenly, all kidnappers and killers in Nigeria are “Fulani”. People of other ethnicities are clean — they don’t kidnap or kill. That is the prevailing narrative.
Here is my point: we should never rush to attribute crimes to members of an ethnic group before the actual facts are established. In August 2017, gunmen attacked St Philips Catholic Church, Ozubulu, Anambra State on a Sunday morning, killing 35 worshippers. Internet was immediately awash with claims that “Fulani herdsmen” and “Boko Haram” were behind the massacre. The police commissioner said it was local war. He was savaged and ridiculed on Twitter over the “newfound efficiency” of the police in establishing the facts of a crime. It did not take us long to discover that it was indeed a gang war between drug lords who were trading in meth. Ethnic profiling is deadly.
How do we tackle ethnic profiling? The least we can do is stop prefixing terrorists, bandits, robbers, drug pushers and fraudsters with “Yoruba”, “Igbo”, “Fulani”, etc. Criminals are criminals. There is no ethnic group in Nigeria that does not have criminals in abundance. I felt quite uncomfortable when the military authorities identified the suspects behind the Owo attack as “Ebira”, “Egbirra” and “Ebra”. I believe it was enough to identify them as coming from Okene, Kogi State, and leave the rest unsaid. I suspect the authorities were eager to disprove the “Fulani herdsmen” claim, but they may end up profiling the Ebira. Every Ebira now stands the risk of being perceived as a terrorist or bandit.
Ethnic profiling promotes ethnic hate. We have to deal with it. For starters, maybe we should start celebrating the good in others rather than magnifying the bad in them? Maybe we should free our minds to also see the professionals and entrepreneurs from other ethnic groups, not just the outlaws? Maybe we should start seeing others as human beings like us: imperfect, self-interested, territorial and capable of doing good and bad? Maybe we should judge people individually rather than collectively? As a Nigerian who has experienced prejudice in foreign lands because of the adventures of a few fraudulent Nigerians abroad, I can never be an evangelist for ethnic profiling.
When Mr Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, picked Dr Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed as his running mate, I was gratified by the way “Obidients” welcomed him with open arms. They started celebrating his two degrees in economics. They started casting his Fulani roots as an electoral asset. I said: “This is it”! On another day, those who celebrated him would typically have called him a “Fulani terrorist” or “Fulani cow”. They would otherwise have derided his degrees as a product of “quota system”. But the same human being, from the same ethnic stock and the same religion, is being cast in a good light. Yes, that is what you see when you pocket your prejudice.
Aside ethnic profiling, identity politics is also being deployed to promote ethnic hate. You will later find out that people are just playing politics. For instance, the heartland of the resistance to “Fulani jihad” in northern Nigeria today is Benue State. Yet, I understand that most Benue delegates voted for Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, a Fulani Muslim, in the presidential primary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Dr Iyorchia Ayu, the PDP Chairman and a Christian from Benue, worked for Atiku, not Chief Nyesom Wike, his fellow Christian. Ayu embraced Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, another Fulani Muslim, hailing him as the “hero of the convention” for delivering his delegates to Atiku. Politics!
Mr Babachir Lawal, the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, has been campaigning against Muslim-Muslim ticket since Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential flagbearer, picked Alhaji Kashim Shettima as his running mate. However, he worked for Tinubu, a Muslim, in the APC primary despite the fact that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, a pastor, was also in the race. It would appear Lawal completely forgot about religion in this instance. It is understandable: if Osinbajo, or Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi had won the APC ticket, Lawal would not be in running for the VP slot. Tinubu settled for a Muslim and Lawal became a fiery northern Christian activist. Politics!
Anyone familiar with my writings knows that I am an advocate of “balancing” in a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society. I do not wish to depart from that. Not yet. However, I am intelligent enough to understand that we freely deploy politics and prejudice to promote a narrative. We take certain positions and ignore certain facts and realities because of our undeclared self-centred agenda; which is perfectly human. The dangerous part, for me, is when we go overboard to propagate and promote ethno-religious hate and stoke fire. We need to draw a line. We have to choose between promoting peace and propagating hate. If Nigeria catches fire, we will all suffer the consequences.
As I was putting finishing touches to this article, I received this instructive broadcast from a friend: “Take a good look at the ongoing case of Ahmed Idris (the suspended Accountant-General of the Federation); he is being prosecuted alongside an accomplice in person of Godfrey Olusegun Akindele, a Yoruba man. They are being defended by the chambers of Kalu Uche & Co; all before a Yoruba judge – Adeyemi Ajayi. So, in summary, a Hausa/Fulani man stole, his partner in crime is a Yoruba man, he is being prosecuted by the EFCC (Economic and Financial Crimes Commission) headed by another Hausa/Fulani man but engaged the services of a Yoruba prosecutor… and the accused are being defended by an Igbo man.”
The writer concluded: “Those who steal our common patrimony are always united in corruption, irrespective of tribes and religions; but whenever they want to hoodwink the unsuspecting citizens for their own gains, they amplify our fault-lines”.
That is my point. We are all victims of insecurity, kidnapping, terrorism, corruption, inadequate infrastructure, economic hardship, and poor governance. Yet, we have managed to allow ourselves to be hoodwinked into promoting ethnic hate through profiling and identity politics. When those destroying Nigeria gather to plot and plunder, the last thing on their mind is ethnicity or religion. I hope we would wake up to this reality someday.
AND FOUR OTHER THINGS…
PARIS CLOBBERS
Mallam Abubakar Malami, the Attorney-General of the Federation, has been fighting tooth and nail to make us pay $418 million to consultants who said they were engaged to help use their calculators to determine what was due to the states from the Paris Club refund. On Thursday, he insisted that the claims are justified. What he did not add was that there is still a case in court challenging these claims. If we are really serious, the EFCC should have been unleashed on the claimants and their lobbyists by now to uncover the shady details — as was done in the P&ID case. But it seems there is more to this than we are being told. Nigeria!
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
The arrest of suspected perpetrators of the 4 June 2022 Owo massacre is heart-warming, even if it cannot bring back the lives of those heartlessly gunned down by the terrorists. I don’t know if anyone has noticed this, but Ondo is one of the very few states where perpetrators of these dastardly acts are being brought to justice. In June 2022, three persons were sentenced to death for the murder of Mrs Funke Olakunrin, daughter of Reuben Fasoranti, the former leader of Afenifere. In 2017, seven people were imprisoned for life for kidnapping Chief Olu Falae, former Minister of Finance. Rather than just lamenting and alleging conspiracy, we should seek justice. Always.
BANDITS’ PARADISE
Seven more kidnapped victims of the Abuja-Kaduna train attack were released on Wednesday after over four months in captivity. The sorry sight of a family with four children hit me very hard. This is what Nigeria has become. The bandits, or terrorists, are having a ball at our expense. According to reports, not only did the Federal Government meet their demands of having their commanders and family members released from prison, they still went ahead to collect ransoms before releasing their victims. We do not want to use military force because they are using the victims as human shield. Clearly, the advantage is with the criminals until we figure out how to conquer them. Damning.
ASUU ISSUE
It is now six full months since university students have been at home as a result of the strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). A big bone of contention, obviously, is the insistence by the Federal Government that university employees should be enrolled on the integrated personnel and payment information system (IPPIS) for more transparency on the wage bill. ASUU has developed the universities transparency accountability solution (UTAS) which it says is better. For us to resolve this crisis and move forward, I would advise that (1) the Federal Government should accept UTAS (2) ASUU should allow UTAS to be linked to BVN. Compromise.
Former Vice President of Nigeria and Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, took his home State, Adamawa by storm today, August 15, along with the party leaders, including former vice president Namadi Sambo, the vice presidential candidate and governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa, governor of Adamawa State Ahmadu Fintiri and national chairman of PDP, Iyorchia Ayu.
Atiku promised the decampees that he will work for them, saying: “I have been serving the people since I joined politics 30 years ago and that is my promise to you all today.
“I believe that Governor Fintiri has done a good job and that we should join hands to make sure he wins his second term election.”
This was even as the chairman of the party, Iyorcha Ayu said that the rate of defection from the APC to the PDP is increasing by the day, adding that the frequent defections indicate that the opposition party is waxing stronger.
“It is clear everywhere that the PDP is back. Today, we are here to take in new members into the PDP. Very soon, this venue shall be hosting the President of Nigeria who is your very own son.
“I welcome the new entrants to our party and I therefore hand them over to Governor Fintiri. I urge the governor to continue with his good work in making Adamawa better than he met it,” Ayu said.
Speaking on behalf of the supporters and the decampees from various electoral wards across the state, Shuaibu Babbas, a member of the Adamawa State House of Assembly from Fufore Gurin constituency, said that their loyalty and commitment to the PDP in its quest to oust the APC and fix the broken state of the country’s socio-economic and political fabrics is firm.
It is the first time that the presidential standard bearer will be visiting his home state after the presidential primaries election of the PDP.
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Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano State has moved to investigate the Kano State University of Science and Technology (KUST), Wudil, based on the recommendation of a visitation panel report over unremitted pensions of staff to the tune of N352 million.
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, has emerged the “Man Of The Year” for the 2022 Leadership Excellence Awards.
Of Ethnic Profiling And Prejudice, By Simon Kolawole
Let’s call it a tale of two WhatsApp broadcasts. On 5 June 2022, I received this chat from an older friend whom I call “uncle” because of the age difference: “Today in Owo at St Francis Catholic Church, Owaluwa Street, Owo, Fulani herdsmen on rampage”. It was accompanied with videos of the terror act in which 80 defenceless worshippers were murdered in cold blood. I can’t stand gory sights, so I did not open the videos. I already read the news and the heart-wrenching details and did not need any visuals. The Owo attack shook me gravely: I started fretting and wondering if the terrorists were about to open a new frontier in their attacks on the peace and stability of Nigeria.
On 9 August, I received another WhatsApp broadcast from uncle. It had a title: “Owo Massacre: Arrested Suspects are Mostly Ebira.” It read: “Two of the masterminds of the deadly terrorist attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, South-West Nigeria have been arrested. The suspects described as top commanders of Islamic State West Africa Province ISWAP in Nigeria, are 39-year old Jimoh Ibrahim, Idris Abdul Malik Omeiza, Momoh Ojowu Abu, Aliyu Yusuf and Auwal Onimisi”. By popular accounts in June 2022, echoed by sections of the media, the attackers were “Fulani herdsmen”. Two months later, they were Ebira from Kogi state.
You see, to set Nigeria on fire through ethnic profiling and hate-mongering in order to promote the “this country cannot work” mindset is not that difficult. Just craft a fantastic narrative that will sell ethnic and religious prejudice and get the hate merchants to help you nurture it. You are good to go. If some Yoruba taxi drivers in Jos are found to have kidnapped a passenger, just start a narrative around “Yoruba kidnappers” and soon enough, every criminal in Plateau State and northern Nigeria will be called “Yoruba kidnapper”. Anytime anyone is kidnapped, the template is set: “Yoruba kidnappers abduct passengers in Riyum”. It doesn’t matter if the kidnappers are Berom or Hausa.
If an Igbo is arrested for internet fraud or drug pushing and your interest is in casting the Igbo ethnic nationality in bad light, your job is made easy. All you need to do is develop a narrative that Igbos are internet fraudsters or cocaine pushers. Ignore the fact that Igbos are doing excellently in science and technology, commerce, sport and other spheres of life. Just focus on the 0.0001 percent involved in internet fraud and conclude that all internet fraudsters are Igbo or that Igbo people are fraudsters. Discount the fact that Yoruba, Edo, Ibibio and Hausa people are also being arrested and jailed for internet fraud. You must ignore that detail — because it won’t help your hate-mongering duty.
Let me be clear again: I do not deny that many criminals wreaking havoc across the country are Fulani. This has been well established in many places, north and south. I also know that there is a perception that the criminal elements are getting a pass because President Muhammadu Buhari, himself a Fulani, has failed to come down heavily on them. It is a very popular notion. What I object to, and will continue objecting to, is the demonisation of a whole ethnic group because of the criminal conduct of a tiny minority. Suddenly, all kidnappers and killers in Nigeria are “Fulani”. People of other ethnicities are clean — they don’t kidnap or kill. That is the prevailing narrative.
Here is my point: we should never rush to attribute crimes to members of an ethnic group before the actual facts are established. In August 2017, gunmen attacked St Philips Catholic Church, Ozubulu, Anambra State on a Sunday morning, killing 35 worshippers. Internet was immediately awash with claims that “Fulani herdsmen” and “Boko Haram” were behind the massacre. The police commissioner said it was local war. He was savaged and ridiculed on Twitter over the “newfound efficiency” of the police in establishing the facts of a crime. It did not take us long to discover that it was indeed a gang war between drug lords who were trading in meth. Ethnic profiling is deadly.
How do we tackle ethnic profiling? The least we can do is stop prefixing terrorists, bandits, robbers, drug pushers and fraudsters with “Yoruba”, “Igbo”, “Fulani”, etc. Criminals are criminals. There is no ethnic group in Nigeria that does not have criminals in abundance. I felt quite uncomfortable when the military authorities identified the suspects behind the Owo attack as “Ebira”, “Egbirra” and “Ebra”. I believe it was enough to identify them as coming from Okene, Kogi State, and leave the rest unsaid. I suspect the authorities were eager to disprove the “Fulani herdsmen” claim, but they may end up profiling the Ebira. Every Ebira now stands the risk of being perceived as a terrorist or bandit.
Ethnic profiling promotes ethnic hate. We have to deal with it. For starters, maybe we should start celebrating the good in others rather than magnifying the bad in them? Maybe we should free our minds to also see the professionals and entrepreneurs from other ethnic groups, not just the outlaws? Maybe we should start seeing others as human beings like us: imperfect, self-interested, territorial and capable of doing good and bad? Maybe we should judge people individually rather than collectively? As a Nigerian who has experienced prejudice in foreign lands because of the adventures of a few fraudulent Nigerians abroad, I can never be an evangelist for ethnic profiling.
When Mr Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, picked Dr Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed as his running mate, I was gratified by the way “Obidients” welcomed him with open arms. They started celebrating his two degrees in economics. They started casting his Fulani roots as an electoral asset. I said: “This is it”! On another day, those who celebrated him would typically have called him a “Fulani terrorist” or “Fulani cow”. They would otherwise have derided his degrees as a product of “quota system”. But the same human being, from the same ethnic stock and the same religion, is being cast in a good light. Yes, that is what you see when you pocket your prejudice.
Aside ethnic profiling, identity politics is also being deployed to promote ethnic hate. You will later find out that people are just playing politics. For instance, the heartland of the resistance to “Fulani jihad” in northern Nigeria today is Benue State. Yet, I understand that most Benue delegates voted for Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, a Fulani Muslim, in the presidential primary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Dr Iyorchia Ayu, the PDP Chairman and a Christian from Benue, worked for Atiku, not Chief Nyesom Wike, his fellow Christian. Ayu embraced Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, another Fulani Muslim, hailing him as the “hero of the convention” for delivering his delegates to Atiku. Politics!
Mr Babachir Lawal, the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, has been campaigning against Muslim-Muslim ticket since Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential flagbearer, picked Alhaji Kashim Shettima as his running mate. However, he worked for Tinubu, a Muslim, in the APC primary despite the fact that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, a pastor, was also in the race. It would appear Lawal completely forgot about religion in this instance. It is understandable: if Osinbajo, or Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi had won the APC ticket, Lawal would not be in running for the VP slot. Tinubu settled for a Muslim and Lawal became a fiery northern Christian activist. Politics!
Anyone familiar with my writings knows that I am an advocate of “balancing” in a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society. I do not wish to depart from that. Not yet. However, I am intelligent enough to understand that we freely deploy politics and prejudice to promote a narrative. We take certain positions and ignore certain facts and realities because of our undeclared self-centred agenda; which is perfectly human. The dangerous part, for me, is when we go overboard to propagate and promote ethno-religious hate and stoke fire. We need to draw a line. We have to choose between promoting peace and propagating hate. If Nigeria catches fire, we will all suffer the consequences.
As I was putting finishing touches to this article, I received this instructive broadcast from a friend: “Take a good look at the ongoing case of Ahmed Idris (the suspended Accountant-General of the Federation); he is being prosecuted alongside an accomplice in person of Godfrey Olusegun Akindele, a Yoruba man. They are being defended by the chambers of Kalu Uche & Co; all before a Yoruba judge – Adeyemi Ajayi. So, in summary, a Hausa/Fulani man stole, his partner in crime is a Yoruba man, he is being prosecuted by the EFCC (Economic and Financial Crimes Commission) headed by another Hausa/Fulani man but engaged the services of a Yoruba prosecutor… and the accused are being defended by an Igbo man.”
The writer concluded: “Those who steal our common patrimony are always united in corruption, irrespective of tribes and religions; but whenever they want to hoodwink the unsuspecting citizens for their own gains, they amplify our fault-lines”.
That is my point. We are all victims of insecurity, kidnapping, terrorism, corruption, inadequate infrastructure, economic hardship, and poor governance. Yet, we have managed to allow ourselves to be hoodwinked into promoting ethnic hate through profiling and identity politics. When those destroying Nigeria gather to plot and plunder, the last thing on their mind is ethnicity or religion. I hope we would wake up to this reality someday.
AND FOUR OTHER THINGS…
PARIS CLOBBERS
Mallam Abubakar Malami, the Attorney-General of the Federation, has been fighting tooth and nail to make us pay $418 million to consultants who said they were engaged to help use their calculators to determine what was due to the states from the Paris Club refund. On Thursday, he insisted that the claims are justified. What he did not add was that there is still a case in court challenging these claims. If we are really serious, the EFCC should have been unleashed on the claimants and their lobbyists by now to uncover the shady details — as was done in the P&ID case. But it seems there is more to this than we are being told. Nigeria!
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
The arrest of suspected perpetrators of the 4 June 2022 Owo massacre is heart-warming, even if it cannot bring back the lives of those heartlessly gunned down by the terrorists. I don’t know if anyone has noticed this, but Ondo is one of the very few states where perpetrators of these dastardly acts are being brought to justice. In June 2022, three persons were sentenced to death for the murder of Mrs Funke Olakunrin, daughter of Reuben Fasoranti, the former leader of Afenifere. In 2017, seven people were imprisoned for life for kidnapping Chief Olu Falae, former Minister of Finance. Rather than just lamenting and alleging conspiracy, we should seek justice. Always.
BANDITS’ PARADISE
Seven more kidnapped victims of the Abuja-Kaduna train attack were released on Wednesday after over four months in captivity. The sorry sight of a family with four children hit me very hard. This is what Nigeria has become. The bandits, or terrorists, are having a ball at our expense. According to reports, not only did the Federal Government meet their demands of having their commanders and family members released from prison, they still went ahead to collect ransoms before releasing their victims. We do not want to use military force because they are using the victims as human shield. Clearly, the advantage is with the criminals until we figure out how to conquer them. Damning.
ASUU ISSUE
It is now six full months since university students have been at home as a result of the strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). A big bone of contention, obviously, is the insistence by the Federal Government that university employees should be enrolled on the integrated personnel and payment information system (IPPIS) for more transparency on the wage bill. ASUU has developed the universities transparency accountability solution (UTAS) which it says is better. For us to resolve this crisis and move forward, I would advise that (1) the Federal Government should accept UTAS (2) ASUU should allow UTAS to be linked to BVN. Compromise.
Kolawole is the Publisher of TheCable.