Right of self defence Category: Friday column Published on Friday, 21 November 2014 Written by Adamu Adamu adamuadamu@dailytrust If, as Bernard Shaw said, democracy “is a form of government that substitutes election by the incompetent many, for appointment by the corrupt few,” there may be much that is familiar in this, but little to cheer; since, according to Jarod Kintz, these so-called democratic people are but merely competing between themselves to find out who will be the most incompetent. “Well, guess what? They’re all winners to me. And by winners I mean losers.” But if you think that, now that they know, change may be on its way, you cannot be ‘wronger’; because, the “problem with incompetence is its inability to recognize itself.” And, verily, verily, unfortunately for all of us and especially for our beleaguered national enterprise, Orrin Woodward was totally and utterly right. And, yes, if ours is a democracy—and, they insist, it is—what should worry us is not the incompetence as such but the fact of the public’s right to know, their right to act in their own interest and, indeed, their very right to life, that are now on the verge of being made the casualties of a situation not of their own making. Last Saturday, His Highness Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II, the Emir of Kano, urged Nigerians to brace up to defend themselves against the attacks of Boko Haram. The Emir called on religious leaders to provide leadership, and in particular to supervise the reinvention of manly courage in their people; and he called on the people to always stay in a state of preparedness, and be full of readiness to sacrifice, for, without this readiness to sacrifice, the entire society will be in great peril. In particular, he called on the youth to take a stand and fight to defend their honour, and not to even think of abandoning their families and places of abode. Since the liberation of Maiha, Little Gombi and Mubi towns by hunters earlier in the week, after Federal troops had precipitately changed scene to avoid capture by insurgents, there have been calls for people to rise up and face Boko Haram terror without relying solely on government troops who throw away their guns and take to their heels at the sound of gunfire. What His Highness said, as relayed by BBC Hausa Service, was exactly what the beleaguered people of the North East had been expecting, praying, hoping and crying for—that some leader, especially a traditional leader, would publicly show and courageously voice fraternal concern for their suffering and give direction for saving life and property. Allah Yaja zamanin San Kano! And for those Northern leaders who have access to the president, it would not just do for them to give counsel privately when their people are being killed, and are daily dying publicly. In such a situation, deference and business as usual courtesies will breed nothing but impunity; and that never gets results. On the other hand, if, for instance, at the time it started to become clear to some that there was something fishy going on in the Boko Haram phenomenon, His Eminence the Sultan had called for a meeting with the following Emirs and Chiefs in attendance: Shehu of Borno, Emir of Gwandu, Emir of Kano, Emir of Bauchi, Emir of Katsina, Lamido of Adamawa, Etsu Nupe, Emir of Ilorin, Tor Tiv and Aku Uka of Wukari—and publicly demanded to know from government just what was going on, this matter would have long ago stopped. Or whoever was responsible would then have known that the game was up; and in the search for the culprit, they would have to contend with a leadership in the North not tied to the aprons of government, and one that would not accept a level of incompetence in it that had created or allowed the rise of such a violent phenomenon with all the makings of genocide. But it is really doubtful if the government is interested in probing into the Boko Haram affair to find out exactly what is going on, either because it knows only too well, or it doesn’t know enough. When recently the searchlight came close to illuminating unchartered territory, it was the government that stepped in to wave it away. When Australian hostage negotiator, Stephen Davis, named former Borno State Governor Ali Modu Sheriff and immediate past Chief of Army Staff Lt-Gen Azubuike Ihejirika as sponsors of Boko Haram, this should have evoked universal national consternation, and merited the institution of the highest- powered, credible and open investigation. Here, nothing of the sort happened; and in no country would it have been possible for an interested government to clear these accusations by executive fiat. The army is in freefall. About a fortnight ago, and with all sense of seriousness, a retired senior army officer, who had risen to the pinnacle of all levels of leadership in the North, offered me his pension, because, he said, he was too ashamed to use it; and he requested me to tell General TY Danjuma to kindly consider putting back his uniform on, because his professional descendants have failed to measure up to his, or any known respectable, standard of courage. And I deliberately chose to deliver this message to General Danjuma at a public function in Kano to see how the public receives it; and people there wildly cheered. But despite the applause, General Danjuma’s face remained pokerfaced. It was as if those who have bastardised the military profession, discredited the soldier’s uniform had tumbled and plummeted from the highest calling to the lowest falling, and taken away all the sweetness that such a sincere commendation will have meant to an old soldier. I tried to laugh but it was no laughing matter. In fact, Nigeria should be grateful that it is surrounded by relatively friendly neighbours; otherwise this show of vulnerability would not have gone untested. In other contexts, these escapades of capitulation to Boko Haram by men and officers of the Nigerian army would have been enough to call bottled up irredentist tendencies in our neighbours into play. If a 3000-odd ragtag army would terrorise and occupy the best of the nation’s three big states, national armies across the border could set their sights higher— and they would not lack extra-African encouragement. Niger Republic might seek to grab the Caliphate, as Benin Republic grabs the old Oyo Empire, while Cameroon repossesses Northern Cameroon. Obviously, with this type of soldiery, only self defence can see us through these difficult times. And the example of the youths of Katagum—these bare-handed, dare-devil soldiery of Mallam Zaki, the bullet-seeking lookouts of Dan Kauwa, and bomb-defying civil troops of Liman Adandaya and the ultimate defenders for any town —should be made the norm for all communities in the North. These boys do not care whether the government or anybody is there for them or not; because they will always defend themselves and their town, no matter how thick the hail of bullets or heavy the rain—or loud the blast—of bombs. I do not say this because I come from Azare; I say this because, coming from there, I do know—and, for good measure and eyewitness certainty, this latest blast took place only a few hundred metres from where I sat last Saturday afternoon. Before I could rise to go and have a look, from every direction and out of the door of every house, a sea of youthful humanity had emerged and flooded the three streets and all the adjoining alleys that led to the blast site. Everybody was running, not for dear life, but towards the bomb. And the police and other long-distance runners were nowhere to be found. It is this presence on the scene—this concern for the safety of one’s home and environment, this defiance against overwhelming odds, this readiness to defend and sacrifice, this resilience in the face of government’s lack of concern, this mass of humanity and its lack of fear, and the boys’ consciousness that ultimate responsibility or liability rests on what it does today or don’t—that no money can buy and which the youths of this town must at all costs preserve. And this is something all others—youths, hunters, vigilantes, town-toughs, all able-bodied men and women—must learn to copy, as His Highness Muhammadu Sanusi enjoined. Instead of wasting his time finding fault with the Emir’s counsel, the Inspector-General of Police should waste it finding fault with— and setting aright—the conduct of his forces. Every law in the world recognises the right of self defence or the defence of those who are defenceless. Indeed, the fact of this right is so obvious that it really stands in no need for any legal or moral justification. And in the current circumstances in the North Eastern part of Nigeria, there is more than enough justification to invoke that law. In fact, not invoking it will have been the cowardly crime; for, whoever cannot lay down his life for his own honour or his people—or for any other similarly noble, higher cause—doesn’t deserve to live it. Meanwhile, people are tired of this insecurity without end; they are tired of checkpoints and sandbags on highways; they are tired of being killed and displaced and their towns occupied; they are tired of being brutalised; they are tired of being deceived and lied to by their own government; they are tired of government telling them it is on top of the situation; and they are tired of leaders—political, religious, military and traditional—who are cowardly, frightened and compromised; and they are tired of leaders who will not speak on their behalf. And they are tired of being tired. Source: Daily Trust
Posted on: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 09:20:22 +0000
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