Terrorism ‘Émir’: Nigerian contraction

By  Emmanuel Onwubiko

“Excessive, unmatched greed is the oxygen of every abusive, manipulative, destructive, narcissistic Machiavellian power players of today’s kakistocracy, kleptocracy, injustice, corruption, and impunity.” ~ Angelica Hopes, Karmic Harvest Trilogy;

“For how long would you row in a boat of suffering, resiliency, despair, grief, pain, and loss, a fragile boat of apathy and fearful silence, as you sail along the huge waves of corruption, storms of kakistocracy and kleptocracy, the windy whiplash of painful injustice, the tumultuous, continuous waves of violence, and the bloody sea of impunity engulfing indefinitely the Pearl of the Orient Seas?” ~ Angelica Hopes, Karmic Harvest Trilogy.

What a way to begin this refreshing reflection than to educate ourselves basically with the above twin quotations. But I must admit that typically, after attending Holy Mass on Sundays which is an obligation for every Roman Catholic adherent, the next best thing to do is to unwind with my Children and play some games either indoors or outdoors.

Today’s is distinctive in the sense that I neither attended Holy Mass in physicality nor did I really and fully indulged in the pastime of unwinding with my beautifully designed Divine gifts from God known as my Children.

I had a little strolling around  but not so eventful. I busied myself basically and for most hours of the day indulging heavily not also in the good habit of gulping fresh Palm wine from Udi in Enugu as I would always do, but in contemplation regarding the most appropriate philosophical citation to adopt in doing a reflection on the many self-evident contradictory incidents happening in quick succession since President Muhammadu Buhari came on stream as the President of Nigeria- a Country whose founding is muddied up in contradictions.

The truth is that, if one embarks on an intellectual compilation of the contradictions that have occurred under the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, it may take 6-Volume books to capture the various ramifications of these human made tsunamis that at best can only happen in places where anarchy holds sway and whereby impunity and lawlessness are the guiding principles. They are so monstrous in texture and unprecedented in scale. In the last 7 years, Nigeria is like the killing fields of helpless and hapless members of the human family and the World is watching without interventions of any sort to arrest the insanity called politics practiced by President Muhammadu Buhari and much of the governors.

I will therefore not be-labour the readers of this article with the complete version of these contradictions but will dwell just on the few that have only just happened.

So whilst in deep contemplation, two main characters came up namely René Descartes and Immanuel Kant- some of the most erudite original thinkers to have ever happened on the planet Earth since creation. They were both Europeans like most notable philosophers of the many illustrious epochs.

I settled for René Descartes because of his signature saying that I THINK THEREFORE I AM. This decision by me to adopt René Descartes profound statement is because millions of Nigerians simply can’t take steps to halt the deterioration of governance and the rule of mobsters and terrorists so much so that terrorists sympathisers are at the top most echelons of the Federal government since the year 2015. So Nigerians behave as if they have no business with THINKING.

In a piece titled “I think therefore I am: Descartes’s Cogito ergo sum explained” published on www.philosophybreak.com, these are some of the basic issues raised in one of the most profound philosophical citation of René Descartes.

The reviewer said It’s a cool 1640 night in Leiden, Netherlands, and French philosopher René Descartes picks up his pen…⁣ “I am here quite alone,” he writes, “and at last I will devote myself sincerely and without reservation to the general demolition of my opinions.”

But, the reviewer maintained that the gentle thinking expert Descartes was not without reason: in his work as a mathematician, he worried that if the foundations of knowledge were not completely solid, anything built upon them would inevitably collapse. He thus decided that if there was reason to doubt the truth of something — no matter how slim the doubt — then it should be discarded as false.⁣

The reviewer stated that René Descartes, meaning business and that with this strict criteria for truth in mind, it’s not long before — as depicted with masterful drama in his Meditations on First Philosophy — Descartes struggles to feel convinced by the existence of, well, anything.

The fact we dream and hallucinate means, for Descartes, our senses aren’t always trustworthy. Indeed, have you ever woken from a dream and thought, “but my God, that seemed so real”? Have you ever hallucinated your socks off? Have you ever sworn to have witnessed something when someone else swears to have witnessed something else?

When our perception of the world fails us, it can be jarring. We take it for granted that our experience is authentic, so when it proves to be false it’s like a bucket of ice water to the face: “oh right,” you think, “my perception is not infallible — maybe I don’t always experience the real, true world.”

But, according to Descartes’s strict criteria for truth outlined above, where does that leave us? If the authenticity of our experience can occasionally be doubted, then that is enough for Descartes to dismiss it as absolutely false: that our senses can sometimes mislead us without our knowing suggests that they could mislead us all the time.

And, if we cannot trust information obtained from our senses, then how can we confirm the existence of an external world?

Maybe our brains are just in vats somewhere, hooked up to a load of computers, and all this ‘experience’ is mere simulation. Or maybe nothing physical exists at all and this is all just one big hallucination – everything is an illusion, a figment of the mental realm, or even the conjurings of an Evil Demon determined to mislead us about the true nature of reality…

Let us talk about his phrase “I think, therefore I am”. The reviewer aforementioned stated that a clearer translation of Descartes’ definitive statement might be, “I am thinking, therefore I exist.” Regardless, in his exultant declaration — cogito ergo sum! — Descartes assures himself of his own existence. Phew. Mop that brow, eh René. It is impossible to doubt the existence of your own thoughts, because in the act of doubting, you are thinking, the reviewer affirmed and challenged us thus: “Believe it or not, philosophers have been trying to bridge this explanatory gap ever since.”

I’m really not about to dwell on how sometimes in 1914 some two foreign adults one a male Lugard and the other his mistress a lady, sat down and dictated the name of a Country that the then British Colonial administrators were to set up for administrative convenience and to maximise their benefits of transportation of human and material resources to England to economically empower the British people and Empire builders- Nigeria.

That in itself is a contradiction that is self evident.

Our concern is on those contradictory developments that are unleashed by a democratically institutionalised government that we supposedly put in place in 2015 and then in 2019.

The most incredible of this cacophony of contradictions is the refusal of President Muhammadu Buhari to confront Islamic terrorists and armed Fulani insurgents who are at war with Nigeria but the same President has unleashed the might of the soldiers to the Igbo Speaking South East to crush the members of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra just for asking for an end to subjugation of the Igbo people.

And so the entire North Western Nigeria is a massive frontline of terrorists and bandits administered by terrorists of same Fulani ethnicity like President Muhammadu Buhari who was also attacked last week by these monstrous terrorists that he tolerates based on their Ethno-religious affiliatiations with him.

Another of the contradictions is that all heads of the Internal security institutions are Fulanis like President Muhammadu Buhari which contradicts the constitutional nobility of observance of the Federal Character principles in appointments as provided for in section 14(3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.

However, this government has so mismanaged national security to the toxic extent that in Kaduna recently locals hailed terrorists for coming to their rescue and the few lines that follows are the narratives of the clear contradictory incident of the last week.

Media says heavy casualties were reportedly recorded on Wednesday evening when Ansaru terrorists engaged bandits in a gun duel in Birni-Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

The confrontation as reported ensued when bandits numbering about 200 on motorcycles and wielding sophisticated weapons attacked Damari town in Kazage Ward in the eastern part of the local government. Mind you, this show of shame happened just some few metres away from the Nigeria Defence Academy and Kaduna which is the location of over 40 percent of strategic National security assets belonging to all of Nigeria supposedly but housed just in one section of Nigeria.

Before the bandits’ arrival, the Ansaru terrorists were already in the town preaching to the locals with a view to establishing an Islamic state in the region where they would be in authority and also advising the locals to acquire arms to defend themselves against their enemies.

The bandits on their part usually came to attack and plunder the communities, killing and kidnapping for ransom and rustling cattle before retreating into the forests. If these terrorists have no government’s support and backing, they wouldn’t be this bold and foolish.

The bandits who too are Fulanis therefore stormed the town even though they knew the terrorists were on ground.

Ishaq Usman Kasai, Chairman of Birnin-Gwari Emirate Peoples Union,BEPU, told newsmen that on hearing the sporadic gunshots from the bandits, the Ansaru members moved towards them and started exchanging fire.

“They clashed for about an hour. The Ansaru members who were also heavily armed overpowered the bandits who had to retreat and ran away,” he said.

According to him, “during the clash, there were some damages in the town. One shop, two vehicles and  one private hospital were burnt down. Two locals who were returning from their farms were also killed by the armed bandits who were running away to the  forest.” He said the private hospital got burnt by accident as a result of the fire that spread from the second vehicle being burnt nearby.

He added that,”as a result of this, most of the community members appreciated and hailed the Ansaru members for defending the town from the bandits’ attack, otherwise it could have been worse.

“Hundreds of persons including women and children migrated from the town as a result of the attack which was a very organized one because the armed bandits knew that the Ansaru members were covering the town. Hence, it was countered by the Ansaru members.

“However, the casualty figure between the armed bandits and the Ansaru members could not be ascertained.

“The Ansaru members continued to preach and to administer Sharia Justice system to the  locals and also advised them to acquire arm to defend themselves against enemies as well as fight government in order to establish what they refered to as Islamic State.”

The police were yet to issue a statement on the clash between the Ansaru terrorists and the rampaging bandits. The Nigeria Police Force  is headed by an Islamist too.

Take note that between January and May, many communities in Birnin Gwari Local Government  have come under attacks by armed bandits. Though the number of cases reported by the media stands at 11 within less than five months, villagers said there are many more unreported ones.

The attackers appear to pick villages at random, as there appears to be no pointer as to what informs their choice. Both thickly and sparsely populated communities have been attacked, and some were looted, while for some, nothing was taken. Some have had their houses burnt, while some were spared.

On April 1, bandits attacked Tsohuwar Gwari village, killed two men and abducted nine persons. While the people were yet to get over their plight, the bandits struck at a nearby village called Sarari the next day, and killed the village head, and five others.

The casualty rate in all these attacks within less than five months, has equally been alarming, as within this year alone, no less than 112 persons have been killed, shot or stabbed to death. This includes 11 soldiers, some weeks back, in which case about 18 persons were abducted. The killing of soldiers is now a regular pastime of terrorists.

The Emir of Birnin Gwari, Malam Zubairu Jibril Mai Gwari II also  believes the number of attacks and casualty rate are higher than the ones the public is aware of saying that over 30 communities in his emirate have come under attack in the past one year, while more than 64 have been killed within three months.

Then in the neighbouring state of Zamfara, it was reported that an Emir conferred a traditional title to a wanted terrorists and that this event was attended by government officials. This is the biggest of the contradictions but not much bigger than the withdrawal of soldiers protecting Kuje prisons a day before 200 armed terrorists of boko haram elements invaded and destroyed the prison facility and released over 800 hardened criminals including all of the detained Islamic terror gangsters.

Report says the banditry kingpin known as Ado Aleiro was on Saturday turbaned as Sarkin Fulanin Yandoto by the Yandoton Daji Emirate in Zamfara State, it was gathered.

The turbaning ceremony was held hours after the emirate announced the suspension of the process.

Aleiro was billed for the turbaning by the Emir of Yandoto Alhaji Aliyu Marafa on Saturday. However, few hours to the ceremony, the process was halted on the orders of the state government.

The decision to confer the title on the banditry kingpin was premised on the pivotal role he played during a recent peace process locally arranged between the emirate and the bandits terrorizing Tsafe Local Government Area.

It was said that the state government had ordered the halting of the conferment of chieftaincy title on the bandits’ leader for fear of backlash from the public after the process was leaked to the media.

“The Secretary of the Emirate told me this morning that the process has been suspended till further notice. It was not in the interest of the emirate council but that of a politician in the area,” the source said.

The turbaning ceremony was held at the palace of the Emir of Yandoton Daji and was attended by the council chairman of Tsafe Local Government and the state Commissioner of Security and Home Affairs, DIG Ibrahim Mamman Tsafe (rtd).

“The bandits’ leaders and lieutenants on dozens of motorbikes also graced the occasion. They rode along Gusau-Funtua highway and had a stopover at Gidan Dawa community where residents donated cartons of soft drinks to them,” said a source from the town who did not want to be named.

“It was not clear whether Aleiro spoke at the turbaning ceremony or not but one of frontline lieutenants who spoke at the ceremony lamented how people are calling them armed criminals.”

“We are not armed robbers neither are we terrorists. But for the peace process to be sustained, government at the federal and state levels must do the needful by providing grazing lands, schools and hospitals for herdsmen,” he was quoted as saying.

During the botched 2019 peace deal between the state government and the armed men, a government delegation had met with Aleiro at Munhaye, a community located 15km west of Gusau-Funtua highway.

The terror kingpin had promised to lay down arms and give peace a chance but later reneged on his promise and renewed his deadly attacks on communities in Tsafe Local Government Area of the state as well as Faskari and Kankara local government areas in neighbouring Katsina State.

The bandits’ leader was the arrowhead of a deadly raid on Kadisau, a community in Faskari Local Government Area of Katsina State, where about 52 people were killed.

Shortly afterwards, the Katsina State Police Command placed a N5 million bounty on his head. Since then, he has masterminded several assaults on communities in Tsafe and Faskari local government areas of Zamfara and Katsina states.

Armed bandits have escalated attacks and abductions in communities across the state, the latest being an attack on Mada community in Gusau Local Government Area of the state.

About three weeks ago, the armed men had invaded the community, looted shops and dispossessed traders and other individuals of their valuables. The criminals had earlier shot dead 3 farmers in the community.

The bandits had also orchestrated series of abductions in Zurmi town, Furfuri in Bungudu local government and Gidan Dawa in Tsafe Local Government Area of the state.

Since the start of the rainy season, several farmers have been shot dead or abducted while tending their farmlands. Majority of such farmers in the state’s rural communities have also been blocked from accessing their farms.

In the same vein, Tsafe Local Government Area has also suffered series of attacks by the criminals since the beginning of this year. Dozens of residents had to flee Magazu, a community located 5Km south of Tsafe town and along Gusau-Funtua highway following incessant bandits’ incursions.

However, following attacks on Mada, a community situated 10km north of Yandoton Daji town, Ado Aleiro was engaged in peace talks a couple of weeks ago.

“Aleiro attended the peace talks himself. The meeting took place at the outskirts of Mada community. He was there with some of his boys and promised to halt the attacks. Government representatives, local chiefs and some community leaders were at the meeting. I personally attended the meeting also,” a resident Lawal Mada said.

What contradiction is bigger than the illegality and criminality of sabotaging national security interests to allow Islamic terrorists in large numbers to invade the FCT and effectively free their detained members in addition to the contradictory practice by President Muhammadu Buhari of releasing boko haram terrorists as repentant terrorists?

Dear Nigerians, please THINK so we exist meaningfully.

*EMMANUEL ONWUBIKO is head of the HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA and was NATIONAL COMMISSIONER of the NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION OF NIGERIA.