SHOCKING RECOMMENDATION: ARM AND PAY FULANIS AND HUNTERS TO FIGHT BOKO HARAM

SHOCKING RECOMMENDATION: ARM AND PAY FULANIS AND HUNTERS TO FIGHT BOKO HARAM

By James Pam, 20 October, 2015, jamespam2004@yahoo.com, 08037200640

Yes, you read the title correctly alright. A group of highly educated and privileged Nigerian elite has recommended that the Buhari administration should recruit Fulani herdsmen, loacal hunters and civilian JTF and pay them very well to fight Boko Haram insurgents side-by-side Nigerian Army soldiers. The group was put together by former President Obasanjo, among other similar groups, as part of his contribution towards finding solutions to Nigeria’s numerous problems.

According to Premium Times of 23^rd August 2015, Obasanjo, under the aegis of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, has submitted to President M. Buhari a voluminous compendium of various committee recommendations he put together and titled, “TOWARDS A NEW DAWN IN NIGERIA POST 2015”.

The seven-man team that made the shocking recommendation is made up of the following hefty personalities:

1.      Ahmed Joda – a 1960s super Perm Sec and Chairman of too may Boards and committees including the Buhari Transition Committee

2.    Nuhu Ribadu – Lawyer, Retired Police AIG and first EFCC Chairman, Chairman Petroleum Revenue Task Force, now a politician in APC.

3.      Steven Oronsaye – From Edo State, Accountant, Perm Sec Finance under Obasanjo, one-time Head of Service of the Fed Govt, Member of NNPC Board and Ribadu Committee that probed NNPC but is now himself is being charged with various deals amounting to billion so Naira. He headed a famous Civil Service Reform Committee in the Jonathan days.

4.      George Obiazor - Professor of International Affairs, Nigeria’s Ambassador to the United States 2004 to 2008, Nigeria’s High Commissioner to Cyprus and Israel, Director General of Nigeria Institute for International Affairs (NIIA) and a member of the Okorounmi presidential committee that drew up modalities for the 2014 National Conference.

5.    Peter Okebukola – Professor with training at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) and Harvard University, Specialist in Quality Assurance in Education Systems, Science, Computer and Environmental Education. He is the President of the Global University Network for Innovation GUNI-Africa. He is the immediate past Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC).

6.    Tunji Olagunju – Kwara-born Special Adviser to IBB, Special Advisor to Obasanjo on NEPAD, High Commissioner to South Africa, PhD in Government from the University of Manchester, UK. Was Minister for Special Duties and Internal Affairs.  

7.      Yusufu Pam – Private Legal Practitioner on EFCC retainership from Plateau State.

No one can fault the pedigree of the men chosen by the former Presidnet, except that he was not gender-sensitive at all. The team therefore lacked feminine ingredients. No wonder, their end product is tasteless and tactless. How such richly trained and experience personalities would strip themselves of academic wigs and gowns and adopt the Fulani straw hat baffles me. In an exclusive report, PREMIUM TIMES, an on-line newspaper, reported that these men recommended that the Ministry of Defence should establish a collaborative effort between our soldiers, civilian JTF, local hunters and Fulani herdsmen to combat Boko Haram insurgents.

The ad-hoc fighters should be trained in light weapons handling and armed with these. They should also be handsomely remunerated with good cash via a corruption-free mechanism for maximum motivation. In short, the committee impliedly acknowledged that our troops alone cannot defeat Boko Haram. The use of the Civilian JTF could be code-named the “Bornu Model” because the committee code-named the deployment of hunters as the “Mubi Model” after the success of the local hunters to routed Boko Haram out of Mubi town. May be the engagement of the Fulani “unknown gunmen”, who are currently terrorising Middle Belt States, should be code-named, “The Middle Belt Terror Model.” So the modus operandi of the Fulani killer-squads operating in Southern Kaduna, Plateau, Benue and elsewhere, have impressed some people very much?

I will not say more but allow readers to listen to the various commentators who volunteered their opinions to the report online because they spoke well. Read on:

1.      Why recruit Fulani herdsmen when other minority tribes in the North-East who are at the receiving end of Boko Haram atrocities are not empowered. The Fulani factor is at work here. The Adviser.

2.      Instead of our collective intelligence being insulted with this charade, I would respect Buhari more if he just handed cold cash to the Fulanis. What stops Boko from also dressing like herdsmen and carrying out counter attacks? Boko Haram in the North -East will now be imported to all regions. What nonsense!  Ifeanyi Nwoko.

3.      Simply put, "Pay Boko Haram to stop their terrorism.”  Chris 1408.

4.      Did this distinguished lot bother with world history at all? Arming violence-prone civilians to champion the cause of government under whatever guise is suicidal. In the 1990's the US made that mistake in Afghanistan. Of course the Taliban was dealt a blow, but Al-Quaeda was born. We don't want to eradicate BH and breed a new Terror Squad. Let the military do its job. Lord Rey.

5.      The Fulani Herdsmen, next to Boko Haram, are the biggest killers of innocent Nigerians. They both seem to target the same type of communities. As such, the prospect of herdsmen working to counter the insurgency is quite remote. Bigzy.

6.      These herdsmen must be the Boko Haram fighters. They must have agreed to stop (fighting) for some compensation. James.

7.      Soon Joda and co will recommend Alfas, Babalawos, Ifa Priests, Marabouts, Imams, etc, for ministerial appointments. What a change! What a way to go in this 21st century! God, please deliver your people from this Fulani-Yoruba conspiracy. Tycoon.

8.      Nigeria is indeed a zoo. Fulani herdsmen and hunters to fight Boko Haram? Ludicrous!  Tycoon.

9.      Islamising Nigeria coming out gently-gently. Then we have to give arms to the Ijaw militants to help guard Nigeria’s oil pipelines too. Smith Scott.

10.  No Sirs. I completely disagree with these suggestions. You can't empower such a group. The government should let the security agencies do their jobs and hold them accountable. It may take time but with a good intelligence network, the terrorists would be routed. This is a divisive and lazy man's approach that would have a telling effect later. The President must not listen to this because we have so many groups like the Fulani herdsmen in many settlements in Nigeria and equipping them all (assuming equally) will spell doom for this country. The Fulani herdsmen are already a security issue themselves. This approach would boomerang later. No please, No!  Zung.

11.  These people are highly educated people, all of them. They are Nigeria's elite. Chukwuka Okoroafor.

12.  The same Fulani herdsmen and hunters that have consistently attacked and killed thousands of unarmed civilians within the Middle Belt - Benue State in particular? This must be a huge joke. Our political elite act like idiots. Equip the security forces to fight both Boko Haram and the Fulani herdsmen attacking communities in the Middle Belt. Orkaambe.

CHIBOK GIRLS' SAGA 2 YEARS ON

Its exactly two years today since the unfortunate incidence of the Government Secondary School, Chibok, Bornu State, Nigeria, girls'abduction happened. We at PIIMA continue to remember them and pray for their safe and early return home. Below is a link to CNN's exclusive video of 15 of the girls they say comes from a Boko Haram spokesperson. Pray for them please. (All still pictures courtesy AP)

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/04/13/africa/chibok-girls-new-proof-of-life-video/

KADUNA RELIGOUS PREACHING BILL: A BRIEF REVIEW

The Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, submitted a Bill to his State Assembly on 22^nd February, 2016 titled, “A BILL FOR A LAW TO SUBSTITUTE THE KADUNA STATE RELIGIOUS PRACHING LAW, 1984”. In this write up, I intend do a quick review of the proposed legislation. The spirit and letter of the bill, its constitutionality, its practicability and public opposition to it will be my main focus. In the end I will make suggestions as to the way forward.

Spirit and letter: Every law is enacted to achieve a purpose – this is the spirit of the law. The law itself is written out in appropriate language to convey its spirit – this is the letter of the law. Law drafters usually strive to capture the spirit in the letter. Unfortunately, this is not always successfully done. Interpreters are usually left to their wits to try and identify the spirit intended. They could apply the spirit of the law and deliver justice, or they could stick rigidly to the letter of the law and render the law an ass. The Holy Bible puts it this way; “The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life” (2 Corinthians 3:6).

On the surface of it, the spirit of El-rufai’s Religious Preaching Bill appears to be to curb the deployment of hate speech by religious preachers, which inflames and triggers clashes. But I am afraid; the words in which his Bill has been couched negate that spirit. The letter of his Bill has already aroused negative passions. The Governor is now the one being accused of stoking the ambers of religious intolerance.

(1) Where has legislation ever redefined established religious doctrine? The faithful are under obligation to practice their faith in line with its laid down dogma no matter what. (2) Have the Kaduna hate preaching incidents been intra-faith or inter-faith? If they have been intra-faith, why subject others whose religious practices do not need such a law? (3) Is the bill fair to assume all Kaduna State indigenes, and indeed all Nigerians, are either Muslims or Christians and that they are members of Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) or Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN)? Many Nigerians have nothing to do with these two religions and their umbrella bodies. The proposed legislation is discriminatory to such Nigerians. (4) In a country whose polity is deeply divided along religious lines, Christians will be justified to suspect ulterior motives in the Bill. After all, El Rufai is known to be a passionate Muslim? (5) Were JNI and CAN consulted first or was their compliance naively presumed? Will these bodies agree and can they cope if more States adopt the same law?

Constitutionality: S.10 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria provides that, “The Government of the Federation or of a State shall not adopt any religion as State religion.” Kaduna State violated this provision when it adopted Sharia law as a State religion in 2001 amidst violent protests against it. The proposed law will infringe more sections of the Constitution, like S.38 and S.39 which states: S.38(1) “Every person shall be entitled to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, INCLUDING FREEDOM TO CHANGE HIS RELIGION OR BELIEF, and freedom (either alone or in community with others, AND IN PUBLIC OR INPRIVATE) TO MANIFEST AND PROPAGATE his religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice and observance”(capitalisation mine); S.39(1) “Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information WITHOUT INTEREFERNCE” (capitalisation mine). Kaduna State will become the most blatant constitutional violator in the country. As the State’s legislators consider the Bill, they should think about this. Thisday newspaper reported Kaduna-based Director of Human Rights Monitor, Barr. Festus Okoye, as having said that the Bill was an affront on the Nigerian Constitution.   

Practicability: A very similar legislation has been in existence in Kaduna State since 1984, that is, for thirty-two years, without ever having been used. It has been amended twice – in 1987 and 2003, yet it remained unusable. El-Rufai’s amendment will be the third and futile exercise. The proposed legislation is too sensitive for anyone to use. Any case instituted in court based on it will evoke a lot of religious sentiment. Why invite avoidable future trouble?

Christians regularly hold vigils which go on all night just to sing and praise God using loudspeakers, and NOT PREACHING. Can Kaduna State Christians submit to a law that violates
God’s injunctions to them? Here is what the Bible says: “Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals” (Psalm 150:3,4,5). Again, note that this is normal Christian praise worship, NOT PREACHING.  Christians cannot switch off their public address systems and loudspeakers in their large cathedrals just to please a man.

Preaching in Islam is totally different from preaching in Christianity. In Christianity, preaching means the gentle and persuasive sharing of God’s plan of salvation through faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ ONLY. Hate speech has no place in Christian preaching because it would destroy the purpose of preaching. If Muslim preachers tend to use hate speech, then that should be address as an intra-faith issue and not a general religious thing for all faiths. Moreover, Christians MUST PREACH because they are commanded by the Lord Jesus Christ to, “Go ye therefore and teach all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:19). Again, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel.” (Luke 4:18). Again, “And He sent them to preach the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:2). As earlier quoted, our Constitution permits preaching even in public places. The Bill is therefore anti-Christian, unconstitutional and impracticable.

Christians usually play religious cassettes and compact discs in their cars while driving whether alone or with friends in the car. The messages they listen to could be in music form, poetry, direct Bible reading or simply inspirational messages they want to hear over and over. Does this qualify as public preaching? May be it does in Islam, but certainly not in Christianity. What will happen to the several calls to prayers from loudspeakers mounted on mosques between 8:00 pm and 6:00 am?  

Christians preach to their own church members a lot. Members of the public or other churches don’t have to be invited. For example, the General Overseer of a church that has branches all over the country might visit Kaduna State once a year to address only his church Kaduna members. Asking him to obtain a license to work within his own church members and buildings is most ludicrous and absurd. Non-Kaduna State Nigerians will be rendered foreigners in their own country. Imagine the chaos if this law is replicated in all thirty-six States of Nigeria and the FCT with the 774 Local Governments as the points of filing applications for Preaching Licenses. El-Rufai himself has said that a few State governors have asked for copies of his Bill for their consideration and possible enactment.

The proposed legislation questions the very foundations of our peaceful co-existence in one country as a multi-religious, multi-ethnic and multi-cultural people. The Bill also does not recognise the existence of African Traditional Religionists (ATR) who abound in Kaduna State and other parts of Nigeria. It therefore discriminates against them.  

The Bill provides that State Sharia and Customary courts shall entertain cases emanating from reported violations of the new law. However, it fails to elaborate on this. If a Muslim witnesses a Christian violating the law, should the Muslim report the Christian to a Sharia court or a Customary court? Shall such cases terminate at the Sharia Appeal and Customary Appeal Courts or can they reach the Supreme Court of Nigeria? Finding qualified judges at all these levels will be herculean and impracticable. Everyone knows that the Sunnis (Darika in the Bill) and the Shiites (Izala in the Bill) do not see eye-to-eye on quite a few things. Were the two sects consulted and did they agree to cooperate in this matter?

Opposition: Opposition voices to the Bill from both Muslims and Christian clergy and ordinary Nigerian citizens are mounting. Governor El-rufai’s good friend and Senator representing Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani, is reported to have said that the Bill will lead to religious violence and that he advised the Governor to withdraw it.  The Kaduna State CAN Secretary, Rev. Sunday Ibrahim, is reported to have said that the Bill only attempts to unnecessarily duplicate extant laws which are in place to take care of the issues in question. The Vanguard reported that SA to former Kaduna Governor Yero, as having said that the Bill is unnecessary and would strip Muslims of their constitutional rights to practice their religion. He believes that in Islam, Allah has already licensed his preachers and no other licensing is required again.  The Vanguard also reported that the Enugu State PFN Chairman, Dr. Godwin Madu, has written President Buhari asking him to caution El-Rufai as his Bill was capable of throwing the country into chaos. Prof. Femi Ehinmidu, Chairman, Kaduna State Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) said his organisation is opposed to the proposed legislation in its entirety and will do everything to protect the rights of Christians to preach. The Catholic Archbishop of Kaduna, Most Reverend Dr. Matthew Man-Oso Ndagoso asserted that the proposed law as unnecessary and that there were already laws in place to handle religious affairs. Rev. Chris Okotie, who is the Chairman of Fresh Democratic Party, has also advised El-Rufai to backpedal on it because it could adversely affect the image of his (El-Rufai’s) political party, the APC, as it could cause an outrage. The Northern Christian Elders’Forum (NCEF) expressed shock at the bill as it violates Section 38(1) of the 1999 Constitution. The Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), through their national officers, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and Zainab Yusuf, cautioned Governor El-Rufai to amend his leadership style because he could ignite socio-religious warfare in his State. They said his proposed preaching legislation was unconstitutional and a threat to democracy and asked his party, the APC, to call him to order.

Conclusion: From the foregoing, we can only conclude that the proposed legislation is unconstitutional, impracticable and obnoxious to majority of Nigerians.

Suggestions: I would like to urge all Nigerians not to shy away from expressing their opinions on the Bill so that Kaduna State legislators may be guided in their decisions on it. CAN leadership has a major moral responsibility to articulate the feelings and opinions of its members and make these known to Kaduna State government. Best of all, His Excellency, Governor El-Rufai, should save all of us further anguish by withdrawing the Bill forthwith.

Rev. James Pam, Faith City Church, Jos.

Jamespam2004@yahoo.com

April 09, 2016