The Wazobia Trifecta and the Rest of the Citizens: Is One Nigeria a Myth?

By

Helene Alade

&

Terna Akambe NENGE
revnengeterna@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

One Nigeria is a myth! This conclusion is drawn from the various failed attempts at national integration. Being a product of colonial fiat, Nigeria is an amalgam of over 300 ethnic groups that live largely for the pursuit of their ethnic interests at the expense of the numerically disadvantaged ethnicities. The framers of the constitution bequeathed a document that is so much lope-sided with its winner-takes-all enormous powers arrogated to a single person – the president, who decides who gets what. Policies like the Quota System or Federal Character and Wazobia could be best described as charade that was used as façade for the feudalistic tendencies of the wazobia trifecta – Yoruba, Hausa-Fulani and Igbo – the so-called majority ethnicities. Using exploratory, analytical and phenomenological methods, the paper argues that the quota system is only used to benefit the core north in areas of education and civil service where they come short on merit. They deny federal character when it comes to who becomes the president; they take advantage of their numbers. These ethnic groups are the cause of national disharmony with their ethnic chauvinism. The paper concludes that until the trifecta work towards using their numbers in favour of the rest of us – the minorities, one Nigeria will be impossible. It is recommended that to have national integration, every ethnic group must be given the opportunity at the presidency, a new constitution drafted and ratified through a referendum and religion should not be used as a means for the attainment of selfish ethnic goals.

Keywords: Wazobia trifecta, National integration, Religion, Ethnic chauvinism, Nigeria

INTRODUCTION

Nigeria is a mix of cultures and religions. Instead of this multivalence to be its impetus for national integration and development, it has turned out to be its undoing. Its abundant natural wealth unequally yoked with a rent seeking, feeding bottle economy in a system of government that the winner of the election takes all, the country has been rife with strife that has always ended up in bitter ethno-religious carnage that leads to colossal loss of lives and properties. 

While some Nigerians strongly believe in ‘one ‘Nigeria,’ at least in theory, practically it seems to be a myth.

According to Otedo News, the name WAZOBIA was given by the late musician, Roy Chicago. The concept behind this acronym, was to enable the translation of news in the three major languages namely Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo from which dialects the word “come” was used for the coinage hence “wa,” “zo,” “bia,” are Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo respectively. In the light of this development, Otedo News further pointed out that by picking only these three ethnic groups, called in this paper “the wazobia trifecta,” the country discriminated against the other ethnic groups: 

And then Nigeria embarked on radio and television translation of news in what they called the three major languages, and sent all the other languages into the cooler, for them to groan and get lost, as if the country did not belong to them as well. This single action is what has led the country into its present doom of the “Federal Character syndrome,” (you must come from any of those three major languages and ethnic groups) to be heard, recognized and given reasonable political appointment no matter your talent and accredited professionalism. 

The above quote serves this paper like a sniper’s rifle lens from which to see the vista of our thesis namely that the wazobia trifecta is a gross form of injustice that is meted out to the other very many ethnic groups in the country. The Federal Character is designed to serve the needs of the trifecta while the others groan. While this is concerning, it is even more worrying that even within the trifecta there has always been a raging supremacy battle that has distressed and disunited the country over the years thereby making the notion of one Nigeria a mere myth. It is safe to say that national integration will remain a cerebral infrastructure or concept that may not be realized anytime soon as indices show.

CONTEXTUAL FRAMEWORK

Wazobia trifecta: The term trifecta has many shades of meanings but the one in line with the aim of this paper is that which defines it “as a set of three related things, often things that cause problems.” In the context of this paper, wazobia is a representative coinage for the three so-called major ethnic groups in Nigeria namely Yoruba, Hausa/Fulani and Igbo. Needless to say that they are the cause of Nigeria’s problems that has made national integration seemingly unattainable.

One Nigeria: One Nigeria is a concept that hopes for national unity, cohesion, harmony and integration. Being a country of over 350 ethnic groups, it is only natural that the citizens hope for unity and national integration for progress, development and prosperity. This is significant and of colossal magnitude especially given the fact the all these ethnic groups were amalgamated by a colonial fiat for ease of imperial governance. This means that Nigeria was conceived and birthed in selfish circumstances hence the need for oneness and togetherness. But can the rogue activities of the wazobia trifecta yield one Nigeria?

The rest of the Citizens: This is a representation of the minority ethnic groups. Of the more than 350, when the trifecta is subtracted, then the rest of us is what remains. Accordingly, wherever this phrase is used in the paper, it means the minority groups and wherever the trifecta is used, it means the majority groups. How do the activities of the trifecta affect the rest of us? Is there any possibility for one Nigeria, as a consequence of these activities and how can national integration be achieved?

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this paper is to:

1. Interrogate if “one Nigeria” or national integration is a myth based on the activities of the trifecta.
2. To ascertain the level of disintegration in Nigeria as it concerns ethnicities.
3. To proffer solutions for national cohesion, harmony and integration.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Tess Onwueme, a Nigerian playwright, uses wazobia as a personification, or the protagonist character, in one of her plays titled ‘Wazobia.’ Wazobia was nonconformist to her community customs that she feels engender injustice against her female gender and became the voice of the voiceless in the process. While this character in the play symbolizes what the concept of wazobia could have been, it is pertinent to state that the contrary is the case. Rather than serve as the centre of gravity to pull other ethnicities together for justice and equity, the trifecta has been in the front burner of injustice and annexation of other minority ethnic groups within their catchment areas.

Agbajileke pointed this out in his article “Losing our identities to major ethnic groups in Nigeria” when he argued that the wazobia trifecta has succeeded in subsuming other ethnic groups under their hegemony. For example, in the south-south, the Urhobo, Isoko, Edo/Bini, among others are culturally subsumed under the Yoruba ethnic group as many of them bear Yoruba names. In the Middle Belt, efforts are still on for the religious and political annexation of the very many ethnic groups here under the Hausa/Fulani hegemony. One of the authors, as a Tiv man, traveled to Adamawa state few years ago, upon introducing himself, his host immediately called him the ethnic slur “nyamiri,” a derogatory reference to the Igbo ethnic group. While in the East, he was called “onye Hausa.” This points to the fact that the Middle Beltan and other minority peoples are fast losing their ethnic identities to the wazobia trifecta.

Kalu argued that in Africa, especially Nigeria, people tend to pay allegiance to their ethnic group rather than the country and this has succeeded in eroding or depriving the country of national integration or cohesion even as political parties are formed based on ethnic ideologies. Nigeria is known for its notorious gravitation towards ethnic and religious cleavages, the trifecta exploit this for their advantages. Whenever an election cycle comes in, it is common to hear them argue that this time Nigeria must produce a president of “Igbo, Hausa/Fulani or Yoruba extraction.” Nobody seems to argue for a “Nigerian president.”

For example, the 2023 presidential election, all the aspirants were members of the trifecta – Yoruba (wa), Hausa/Fulani (zo) and Igbo (bia). The minorities are always at the receiving end of the activities of the wazobia trifecta and because, the rest of the citizens are subsumed under their hegemony, it is difficult for us to be heard. Our voices are drowned amid the raucous clamour of the three. When will someone from the rest of us become the president of Nigeria based on merit and the fact of national integration  and not a recourse to ethnic bullying?

The trifecta is also the problem of this country and the reason one Nigeria is a myth. Adamu and Ocheni disarmingly postulated that the struggle for recognition and survival the ethnic groups in Nigeria influenced by the fear of domination by another ethnic group is a threat to national unity, integration and peaceful coexistence. According to them, “ethnic virus has been a dangerous cancer causing social crisis, political instability and threat to peaceful coexistence, unity and national integration of Nigeria as a nation.” 

This scenario had already been described and decried by Chinua Achebe in his book, There was a Country. Achebe pointed out the pettiness of the trifecta emphasizing the unprecedented rapidity in economic and educational attainment of the Igbo and Yoruba ethnic groups in the late 19th and early 20th centuries which led to their dominance in both the education ministry and civil service. This elicited uneasiness from the other majority ethnic group and what followed was lamentable:

The ply in the Nigerian context was simple and crude: Get the achievers out and replace them with less qualified individuals from the desired ethnic background so as to gain access to the resources of the state. This bizarre government strategy transformed the federal civil service, corporations, and universities into centers for ethnic bigotry and petty squabbles. 

Achebe further expressed dismay when he stated ethnic persecution, hate and resentment was created and sanctioned by unscrupulous self-serving politicians resulted to terminations and dismissal of Nigerian citizens from civil service based on their ethnicity. According to him “in Nigeria it bred resentment and both subtle and overt attempts to dismantle the structures in place for meritocracy in favor of mediocrity, under the cloak of a need for “Federal Character” – a morally bankrupt and deeply corrupt…” 

Achebe was right to describe the federal character as “morally bankrupt and deeply corrupt” because this has tended to favour only one of the trifecta – the Hausa/Fulani of the far north. Over the years, employment, appointments and admissions into federal government establishments and schools have clearly showcased this. For example, in this present Buhari’s administration, all the security heads are Fulanis or some far north indigenes at the expense of other ethnic groups.

Adegbami and Uche expressed the same sentiments when they asserted that despite the fact that Nigeria is a state of multiple nationalities it is “still be seen peripherally as a nation with tripodal ethnic structure with the trio of Yoruba, Hausa/Fulani and Igbo constituting a pole each in the unceasing struggle for political and economic resources of the nation. The existing cleavages… metamorphosed into a… hydra headed monster tormenting and straining the nation’s political developments” adding that “the alliances and coalitions between/among political parties to have overall majority needed to win election(s) are based on ethnic sentiments and ethnic gang-up.” 

This is exactly what is happening concerning the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) where both the presidential, Bola Tinubu and the vice presidential, Shettima are both Muslims and from the trifecta. The same can be said of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket on which Abubakar Atiku, a Fulani is running as the presidential candidate with Okowa, vice presidential candidate of Igbo extraction from the south. All these alliances do not take into cognizance the plight of the minorities who are only used as pawns to win a political chess game.

Nigeria is deeply enmeshed in the unfortunate dichotomy of otherliness – “them” and “us,” which find expression in “our own,” or “our time.” These sentiments have gone to extreme lengths in supporting mediocrity and corruption as long as the one perpetrating it belongs to “our ethnic group.” For example, during the Goodluck Jonathan administration, there were serious resentment that morphed into agitations, protests and strikes that were organized by the members of the trifecta against his politics especially concerning security and energy.

During his administration, fuel pump price was N65, subsidy was to be removed; about 200 Chibok secondary school girls were abducted by Boko Haram and other insecurity situations. National protests were organized some held at Ojota in Lagos led by Wole Soyinka, Tunde Bakare of Yoruba stock and others against fuel subsidy removal; at Abuja was the Bring Back Our Girls sit in protests that even attracted international ridicule of the Jonathan administration. This led to Jonathan losing his reelection bid in 2015 ushering in the Buhari administration.

Today, fuel pump price is over ₦600 naira; insecurity is rife as bandits and Boko Haram are terrorizing major cities, killing, sacking villages and kidnapping for ransom all over Nigeria. Herdsmen believed to be Fulani militia taking over ancestral farmlands in the North Central and other regions, Unknown gun men in the eastern part of the country; fuel subsidy is said to be removed, yet there is no single agitation or protest against these. The only explanation is that Muhammadu Buhari belongs to the trifecta while Jonathan was one of “the rest of us” – a minority.

Similarly, Umezinwa, in his deposition, tied Nigeria’s underdevelopment to a handful of factors, prominent among them is ethnicity. In the vista of his paper, he gravitates towards the conclusion that development will continue to be elusive to Nigeria because of the lack of cohesion, harmony and integration among the ethnic groups. This implies that the mantra of one Nigeria is a myth; as the unity that could have influenced its attainment is buried in the bottomless pit of sticky clay of ethnic strife orchestrated by the trifecta against the rest of us. He magisterially concluded, like others that this problem is caused by “the desire to dominate or the fear of being dominated by other ethnic groups.” 

Rindap, writing from the perspective of the rest of the citizens – as a minority herself, asserted that even though the out-cry of the minorities concerning political, ethnic and economic marginalization by the trifecta had led to the creation of states and local government areas as a solution, the problem has continued to veer its head and remains till today. This is so because the trifecta has not relented in their efforts at dominating the polity and reaping everything for themselves. She contended that “at the vortex of the ethnic minority question is the disenchantment with the structure of the Nigerian federation perceived by the ethnic minorities to be skewed in favour of the three dominant ethnic groups by the three ethno-regional blocs: Hausa in the North, Yoruba in the West and the Igbo in the East. For the ethnic minorities, the federation is not inclusive and this results in political, economic and cultural marginalization.” 

It is believed that the seed for this ethnic strife was sown in the first republic when political parties and regions were built around religions and leaders that were selfish and naïve. In the 1964 elections, three major regionally based and tribally sustained political parties came existence. The major competitors were the Northern People’s Congress (NPC), Hausa in the North, the Yoruba and Action Group Party (AG) in the West, and the National Convention of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC) and the Ibo in the East. There were also the virile but minority ethnic groups such as the Bini and Urhobo in the Mid –West, the Tiv and Idoma in the Middle Belt and others in the Calabar-Ogoja-Rivers (COR) area. (The main-stay of the NPC whose motive was the consolidation of Northern hegemony) .The United Progress Grand Alliance (UPGA) formed by the National Council for Nigeria and Cameroon (NCNC) and Action Group (AG), Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU), and the United Middle Belt Congress (UMBC) was to halt hegemony. This trend still continues today.

While the trifecta seek to dominate at the national level, at the states level, there are some ethnic groups that dominating others. Benue state is a classical example. The Tiv people have dominated other ethnic groups since the creation of the state in 1976. The office of the governor of the state rotates between the two senatorial districts of the Tiv people while the Idoma take the deputy. The Idoma in turn dominate the Igede ethnic group as the vicious cycle continues.

 In the same vein, Emoghene and Okolie having conceded that Nigeria’s problem emanates from its multiple ethnic nationalities argued that “federalism is arguably the suitable framework for addressing ethnic, cultural and religious pluralism in a complex society like Nigeria. In such system, each region or state is allowed to control its resources and develop at its own pace. However, Nigeria who claims to run a federal system of government operates the opposite and does not recognize the identities, interest and needs of the people especially the minorities. The nation’s constitution does not reflect the wishes of the people; most government policies are anti-people and do not engender national integration and cohesion.” 

METHODOLOGY

This paper adopted exploratory and analytical method. The authors explored extant literature that included online journals, newspaper articles, news bulletins, campaign releases among others. The choice of these methods is because the area of study for the paper is still a progressive one and because they best describe the existential realities of the people for their lived experiences, the authors inclusive. Personal experiences and observations of the authors were also put into use.

FINDINGS

Findings show that Nigeria has a problem. This problem is lack of national integration. And this problem is largely perpetuated by the wazobia trifecta. The trifecta is afraid being dominated by one of them. This fear has made them employ and deploy all sorts of tactics to stay in power and control the rest of the ethnic groups. Other ethnic minorities are subsumed under some of them. The example of Edo people bearing Yoruba names and even living the Yoruba culture, comes to heart. In the so-called North Central region, many of the ethnic minorities have even lost their identities. People from other regions think that Tiv, Nupe, Berom, Igala, Ebira among others are all Hausa tribes and all Muslims. 

The unbridled desire of the trifecta to always have access to and control national resources, they threateningly make alliances among themselves to a point that could be described as a gang-up. They brag about their numbers. For now, it is obvious that in the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Yoruba have allied with the North in order to secure votes to win the presidential elections. That is why their ticket is even religiously insensitive as their presidential and vice presidential candidates are all Muslims. The calculations are that because Bola Tinubu is from the West – Yoruba and Kashim Shettima is a northern Muslim, they are sure to get the numbers to win their election. Abubakar Atiku, who is a Fulani man just like Muhammadu Buhari, wants to succeed Buhari even though they are from the same ethnic group. How can there be national integration when this type of unmindful and total disregard to other ethnic groups is perpetrated?

The quota system is another way of legalizing selfishness and entrenching hatred, resentment and national disintegration. The north uses it every time to manipulate and cheat other ethnic group, confirming magisterially that Nigeria is built on the foundation of malfeasance. When it comes to political power, like the president, the north brags about their numbers and employ every subtlety to win. They tell everyone that it is all about competence and not religion or ethnic group, but when it is employment or admission into federal colleges or establishments, they invoke federal character or quota system.

No doubt, this has caused resentment and hatred among Nigerians and the divisions are becoming wider and wider by the day. Interactions among Nigerians are filled with angst, anger and indescribable hatred. Ethnic and religious slurs are directed at one another in a way that betrays deep rooted hatred for each other. The trifecta cares little about the harmonious coexistence of Nigerians because they benefit from the divisions. They get to power through pitching Nigerians against themselves and this is why one Nigeria will continue to be a myth. It will continue to be a concept and an ideology the trifecta will continue to reference when they want to exploit the rest of us to satisfy their lust for power.

RECOMMENDATIONS/SUGGESTIONS

All said, this paper makes the following recommendations/suggestions:

1. Given that the colonialists brought Nigerians together without their say so and since then there not been national unity, it will serve the country better if a referendum is held to decide how this country will move forward. A referendum will set the parameters and define rule by rule and line by line how we are going to live together in this country. The present constitution is not people oriented but designed to benefit some tribes among the trifecta at the expense of the rest of us. A referendum should produce a constitution enacted by the people’s representatives.
2. The present system of government, the so-called federal system of government in which the winner of election, especially the president, takes all and given maximum powers to a point of being like a god, should be discarded for ethnic federalism. By ethnic federalism, ethnic groups will be autonomous and will control the resources within their borders and pay corresponding taxes to the government at the national level. If this is implemented, it is our belief that religious and ethnic strife will be history. 
3. Power should reside with the people not a chosen few who hang on to it and manipulate their ways to continue to milk the country’s resources for their personal aggrandizement. If this happens, citizens will learn to be patriotic. It will not be about “us” against “them” but “us” for “us.” Every one of us will see Nigeria as our project, our country and not from the selfish perspective of it is our time, Tinubu’s emi l‘okan. 
4. The quota system or federal character should be abolished. This is used for the benefit of only the north, a policy that is carried out due to the fear of the north being dominated by other ethnic groups. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Achebe, Chinua (2012) There was a Country: A Personal History of Biafra. London: Penguin 

Books Ltd.

Adamu, Abdulrahman and Ocheni, Danladi. “Ethnic Politics and the Challenges of 

National Integration in Nigeria.” International Journal of Politics and Good Governance Volume VII, No. 7.2 Quarter II 2016 ISSN: 0976 – 1195, 2016

Adegbami,  Adeleke and Uche, Charles I. N. “Ethnicity and Ethnic Politics: An 

Impediment to Political Development in Nigeria.” Public Administration Research journal,  Vol. 4, No. 1 (2015) (https://ccsenet.org/journal/index.php /par/issue/view/1202, DOI:10.5539/par.v4n1p59 (https://doi.org/10.5539/par.v4n1p59)

Adetiba, Toyin Cotties and Rahim, Aminur. “Between ethnicity, nationality and 

development in Nigeria.” International Journal of Development and Sustainability Online ISSN: 2186-8662 – www.isdsnet.com/ijds Volume 1 Number 3 (2012): 656-674 ISDS Article ID: IJDS12092603

Agbajileke, Owede. “Losing our identities to major ethnic groups in Nigeria.” thecable.ng, 2022

Diamond, Larry. Class, Ethnicity and Democracy in Nigeria: The Failure of the First 

Republic. Houndmills: The Macmillan Press LTD, 1988

Emoghene, Aghogho Kelvin and Okolie, Ugo Chuks. “Ethnicity, Religion, Politics and the 

Challenges of National Development in Nigeria.” Journal of Public Administration, Finance and Law,  Issue 18/2020

Kalu, Peters. “Political Parties and Ethnic Politics in Nigeria.” NG-Journal of Social 

Development, Vol. 5, No. 2, January 2016, www.arabianjbmr.com/NGJSD_index.php 

Otedo News “Origin of WAZOBIA as Majority Language in Nigeria.” Radio Oseghe 

Edo, otedo.com, 2009

Rindap, Manko Rose. “Ethnic Minorities and the Nigerian State.”   An International 

Journal of Arts and Humanities (IJAH) Bahir Dar, Ethiopia Vol. 3 (3), S/No 11, July, 2014: 89-101 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ijah.v3i3.8

Umezinwa, Cletus. “Ethnicity and Nigeria’s Underdevelopment.” 

http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/og.v9i1.11 

Worugji, GE. “Redefinition of the Position of Women in Osonye Tess Onwueme’s Play 

“the Reign of Wazobia.” Lwati: A Journal of Contemporary Research, Vol. 7 No. 2 (2010). DOI: 10.4314/lwati.v7i2.61070

Imprisonment and Release of Rhoda Jatau Highlights Deep Injustices in Nigeria’s Blasphemy Laws

By

Steven Kefas

The recent release of Mrs. Rhoda Jatau from prison is a welcome relief after the Christian mother of five spent 18 agonizing months jailed under Nigeria’s controversial blasphemy laws. However, her ordeal highlights the deep injustices that persist due to legal loopholes that allow religious extremists to carry out extrajudicial killings with impunity.

Mrs. Jatau’s only “crime” was allegedly sharing a video condemning the brutal murder of Deborah Samuel, a young Christian college student who was beaten, stoned and burned to death by Muslim mobs in Sokoto in May 2022 over unproven allegations of blaspheming the Prophet Muhammad. For daring to speak out against the merciless killing of Deborah, Mrs. Jatau was swiftly arrested and imprisoned in Bauchi state under the same problematic blasphemy statutes.

Mrs Jatau during a court session in Bauchi

The very existence of blasphemy laws in Nigeria’s constitution is concerning, as they violate basic human rights to freedom of speech and thought. But more alarming are the ways these laws enable radicalized mobs to become judge, jury and executioner, murdering anyone deemed to have transgressed Islamic teachings without any evidence or due process.

The blasphemy law is contained in section 204 of the Nigerian criminal code and has been a subject of debate and controversies over the years but the big question is; who determines what constitute blasphemy and in what circumstances should such be determined?

While the provision of section 204 stipulates a two year imprisonment for ‘anyone who commits an act any class of persons consider as public insult on their religion’, in northern Nigeria the punishment is instant execution according to Shariah law for anyone who is perceived to have committed blasphemy. Victims have often met with instant death by stoning without trial. This also contradicts the provisions of the Shariah law which allows blasphemers to be tried before execution.

“Any person who does an act which any class of persons consider as a public insult on their religion, with the intention that they should consider the act such an insult, and any person who does an unlawful act with the knowledge that any class of persons will consider it such an insult, is guilty of a misdemeanour and is liable to imprisonment for two years.” Section 204 of the Nigerian Criminal Code.

The Shariah law originally is supposed to be applicable to only Muslims but because of the ambiguity of the Nigerian constitution and by extension the legal system, non Muslims have often come under outright attacks and sometimes murder for accusations of blasphemy.

Deborah’s case is the latest in an ongoing string of tragic violence and loss of life suffered by religious minorities under blasphemy allegations. In 2007, Christian teacher Christiana Oluwatoyin Oluwasesin was beaten and burned to death for allegedly desecrating the Quran by her Muslim students in Gombe state. Over the past decade, multiple cases have emerged of Christians being brutally assaulted or killed over unfounded claims of insulting Islam. In 2016, 74 year old Bridget Agbahime was murdered and beheaded by Muslims in Kano for allegedly commuting blasphemy.

Yet seldom do the perpetrators face justice for so casually extinguishing innocent lives. Deborah’s murderers were arrested, but a judge ruled there was insufficient evidence to prosecute. By failing to fully enforce the law to protect victims, Nigeria’s institutions have fostered a culture of impunity that grants extremists a license to kill.

Nigeria’s constitution claims to uphold principles of justice, liberty and the sanctity of human life. But in allowing ambiguous blasphemy statutes to remain in place, it contradicts itself. These laws directly endanger the country’s Christian minorities living in the north and other vulnerable groups, enabling violence against the very people the government has a duty to protect.

The Middle Belt Times calls upon the Nigerian government to take active steps to prevent future tragedies unfolding as they did for Deborah and Mrs. Jatau. Blasphemy laws must be decisively repealed, religious extremism mitigated through education and dialogue, and institutions reformed to apply the law justly wherever malicious incidents occur.

Above all, the fundamental human rights and dignities of ALL Nigerians must be upheld, regardless of religious affiliation. Only then can the dangerous climate of fear and impunity stoked by blasphemy allegations be extinguished for good. The time is now to let reason, compassion and the rule of constitutional law prevail.

Steven Kefas is a Human Rights Defender, a Citizen Journalist and Minority Rights Advocates. He is a former Kaduna former prisoner of conscience now living in exile.

Middle Belt: A Region of Rich History & Unique Identity

By

Kingsley Gadani

The Middle Belt of Nigeria, often referred to as the “Middle Belt Region,” is a diverse and historically significant part of the country. Encompassing a vast expanse of land. This region has played a crucial role in the socio-cultural and political tapestry of Nigeria.

The history of the Middle Belt is rich and multifaceted, shaped by various ethnic groups, migrations, and interactions. Historically, the Middle Belt has been home to a mosaic of ethnicities, including the Berom, Tiv, Idoma, Nikyob, Ninzom, Nupe, Gbagyi, Atyap,Egede, Igala, Bassange, Siyawa, Afizare, Chawai, Adara, Bajju, Ham, Eggon, Mada, Gwong, Gure, and many others. These groups have distinct languages, traditions, and cultural practices that have contributed to the region’s unique identity.

The geographical location of the Middle Belt, sandwiched between the predominantly Muslim North and the largely Christian South, has further influenced its cultural and religious diversity. The belt cut across Southern Bauchi, Southern Borno, Gombe, Adamawa, Southern Kaduna, Niger, Southern Kebbi and the entire central parts of present-day Nigeria. The people of the Middle Belt practice various religions such as Islam, Christianity and African Traditional religions (ATRs). The region is adjudged one of the most hospitable regions in Nigeria which informed its accommodating nature to all other Nigerians from different parts of the country. One unique feature of the people of the Middle Belt is their way of life. Style of farming, mode of dressing, hair styles, marriage and other traditional ceremonies follow similar pattern across the belt, lending credence to the argument that the people of the area are siblings from one ancestry.

The pre-colonial era saw the emergence of powerful kingdoms and chiefdoms in the Middle Belt. The Nok civilization, one of the earliest Iron Age cultures in West Africa, flourished in what is now Southern Kaduna and Plateau State. The Kororofo Kingdom is another powerful kingdom that reigns in the Middle in the pre-colonial era. These ancient societies engaged in agriculture, iron smelting, and artistic endeavours, leaving behind intricate terracotta sculptures that serve as archaeological treasures.   

The arrival of colonial powers in the late 19th century marked a transformative period for the Middle Belt. The British administration, in its quest to establish control and facilitate trade, introduced indirect rule, relying on local chiefs and traditional institutions. This strategy often exacerbated existing tensions between different ethnic groups, as the colonial authorities favoured certain communities over others.

Post-independence, the Middle Belt continued to experience social and political dynamics. The region has witnessed episodes of communal and ethnic tensions, partly fuelled by competition for resources, political power, and religious differences. The quest for autonomy and self-determination has been a recurring theme, with various groups advocating for recognition and representation.

The Middle Belt has also played a significant role in Nigeria’s political landscape. Several prominent political figures have emerged from the region, contributing to the country’s military, governance, and development. However, political instability and challenges persist, reflecting the complex interplay of factors within the region. In recent times, issues such as killings of genocidal proportion blamed on armed Fulani herdsmen, resource competition, and ethno-religious tensions have brought the Middle Belt to the forefront of national discourse. The region’s strategic importance, both geographically and culturally, underscores the need for sustainable solutions to address historical grievances and foster inclusive development.

In conclusion, the history of the Middle Belt of Nigeria is a captivating narrative of diversity, cultural richness, and resilience. Shaped by ancient civilizations, colonial influences, and contemporary challenges, the region continues to evolve, contributing significantly to the mosaic of Nigeria’s identity. Understanding the historical complexities of the Middle Belt is crucial for fostering unity, addressing grievances, and building a more harmonious future for this vital part of the country.

Kingsley Gadani is a public affairs commentator, and researcher. He writes from Kaduna Nigeria

Kaduna civilians bombed with bandits to protect ‘key infrastructure’ -Military

In a remarkable change of official narrative, the Nigerian military on Tuesday said its aerial bombardment that left at least 126 killed in Kaduna on Sunday night was a calculated operation to take out bandits that inevitably involved civilian fatalities.

Defence Headquarters spokesman Edward Buba said the military decided to engage after observing movements of bandits near an unnamed but “key infrastructure” in Ligarma Village at about 10:00 p.m. on Sunday, despite prior knowledge of the high prospect for civilian casualties.

“Aerial surveillance captured movement of groups of persons synonymous with the terrorist tactics and modus operandi,” Mr Buba said. “The observed advance of the terrorists that were gathered posted a threat to key infrastructure within reach of the ontoward activities.”

“Accordingly, the threat was eliminated to prevent the terrorists from unleashing terror on innocent civilians,” Mr Buba added, while accusing the villagers of harbouring sympathising with bandits. 

The statement from Defence Headquarters contradicted the initial claim of an army general in Kaduna, who told state officials on Monday that the airstrikes followed a precision error by combat drones deployed against armed bandits operating in the area. 

Kaduna government spokesman Samuel Aruwan said Valentine Okoro, a major-general leading the Nigerian Army 1 Division headquartered in Kaduna, had admitted at a meeting that the drone operators mistook the villagers for bandits, who have been terrorising the region. Those bombed had gathered for the Maulud celebration at about 9:00 p.m. Sunday, during which the army said terrorists were also suspected to be moving across the borders between Zamfara and Kaduna.

Yet the military headquarters in Abuja said the drone command observed the bandits mixed with villagers but dropped the bombs nonetheless.

“The NA UAV (Nigerian Army Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) detachment observed the movement of terrorists at Ligarma, a terrorist-infested area of Kaduna State,” he said. 

The DHQ did not say how many bandits were included in the death toll, which military sources placed at 126 as of Monday afternoon. Villagers maintained all the people killed were civilians.

President Bola Tinubu left Nigeria on November 29 for a global climate conference in Dubai, and his spokespersons have not issued a statement about the development, which has driven nationwide uproar. 

However, Mr Buba expressed regrets over civilian casualties and warned residents of hostile regions to be. 

The airstrikes marked the first public knowledge about the army’s use of unmanned bombers outside the Nigerian Air Force, which had long been associated with repeated bombings of civilians, all of which were promptly attributed to operational mistakes. It was not immediately clear how long the Nigerian Army has been using drones without the knowledge of the Nigerian Air Force, which said it did not conduct any operation in the affected area over the past 24 hours. 

“The NAF has not carried out any air operations within Kaduna State and environs in the last 24 hours,” Air Force spokesman Edward Gabkwet said in a statement to The Gazette. “Also, note that the NAF is not the only organisation operating combat armed drones in the North-Western region of Nigeria.”

In 2021, Peoples Gazette reported that the Nigerian Air Force Alpha jet, in an ariel attack on armed bandits in Niger State, mistakenly killed wedding guests. A similar bombing claimed over 100 civilians in January 2023.

Before then, the Nigerian Air Force, in an airstrike, killed some Nigerian soldiers, mistaking them for insurgents. A soldier in a video published by The Gazette was seen reporting the incident and called for help.

Read the Defence Headquarters’ full statement below: 

PRESS RELEASE ON AIR STRIKE ON LIGARMA VILLAGE  IN KADUNA STATE

1. On 3 Dec 2023, at about 2200hrs and based on ontoward activities by terrorist. The NA UAV detachment observed the movement of terrorists at Ligarma, a terrorist-infested area of Kaduna State. Aerial surveillance captured the movement of groups of persons synonymous with terrorist tactics and modus operandi.

2. The observed advance of the terrorists that was gathered posed a threat to key infrastructure within reach of the onward activities. Accordingly, the threat was eliminated to prevent the terrorists from unleashing terror on innocent civilians. 

3. It should be noted that terrorist often deliberately embed themselves within civilian population centres in order for the civilian population to bear the consequences of their atrocities. Nevertheless, the Nigerian military does its best at all times to distinguish between civilians and terrorists. 

4. The military views every civilian death in the cause of operations as a tragedy. Such tragedies are needless and unwanted that cause the armed forces to take measures to avoid them. 

4. One such measure taken by the military is to continually give precise instructions to communities. For instance, communities are to always alert troops of their activities, particularly when such a community is known to be infested with terrorist and their sympathisers. These instructions are intended to enable the military to distinguish between friendly and untoward activities.  

5. The armed forces will continue to operate consistent with international law as it always has done. It will also continue its determined and cautious progress in eradicating terrorists from our land.

6. These terrorists, as part of their tactics, disguise themselves as civilians to perpetrate terror.  Accordingly, they will continue to find innovative solutions to the challenges faced in the conduct of operations.

EDWARD BUBA

Major General

Director Defence Media Operations

Credit: Peoples Gazette

Independence Special Report: Inside Nigeria’s Islamic State

…unearthing the ethnoreligious conquest of Africa’s largest democracy from Dan Fodio’s 1804 jihad to Tinubu’s 2023 jihad

In 2014, terrorist group Boko Haram’s infamous schoolgirl mass abductions spawned the trendy #BringBackOurGirls campaign but it had even more seismic unexpected effects in the global jihadi spectrum.

First, Al Qaeda, still the world’s top terror group, condemned the northern Nigerian Islamists for the mass kidnaps of almost 300 Chibok schoolgirls. Next, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) began to emulate and then compete with Boko Haram for ruthlessness. Then in 2016, Boko Haram and ISIS merged creating ISWAP (Islamic State in West Africa Province), a marriage of two groups that had alternately been ranked deadliest terrorists in the world!

My visit to Islamic State in Nigeria (ISIN) in 2023 was not to the non-state actors’ territory on the fringes of Nigeria’s border with Chad.

It was to a new and disturbing “merger and acquisition” political alliance that placed Nigeria’s democracy, the world’s largest country with an equal population of Christians and Muslims, on the precarious path to Islamization.

In February’s presidential elections, President Muhammadu Buhari found himself in the best position he could possibly hope for.

Ex-dictator Gen. Buhari ignited religious politics when he declared in 2002 that an infidel should never again rule Nigeria which was his only ideology for his subsequent serial runs for office.

Once finally in power in 2015, he perpetrated not just Islamization but “Fulanization” of the government, even to the exclusion of other northern and southwestern Muslims who’d turned an admitted “unelectable religious bigot” (their prior descriptor) to Nigeria’s worst misruler.

His ruling party’s succession candidate Bola Tinubu helped Buhari achieve his ideology of non-infidel rule by running on a Muslim-Muslim ticket (as a SW Muslim with a NE VP) which was celebrated in the north by Governors and clerics as fulfilling their jihad quest in Nigeria.

Buhari had thus set up a Muslim-to-Muslim 8yrs+8yrs succession hegemony rather than a southern Christian power rotation as was the convention in national politics.

If main opposition party PDP won, a Fulani Muslim Atiku from his paternal tribe would continue 16 unbroken years of Fulani presidential rule. If his ruling party APC won, a Kanuri Muslim from his maternal tribe would be Vice President and continue 16 unbroken years of Muslim APC rule.

Both Buhari’s parental Fulani and Kanuri stock spawned jihadi militia whose gruesome atrocities simultaneously earned them first and fourth deadliest global terrorists by the Global Terrorism Index.

Although Peter Obi was the main non-Muslim outlier who shocked the system with a third-party run, even the remote possibility of his emergence would have given Buhari another Fulani VP in power providing an unbroken Northwestern Fulani in the Presidency/VP for 33 years (from Pres Yar’adua in 2007) or an unbroken Fulani rule for 40 years (from re-inception of democracy in 1999 with NE Fulani Atiku.)

In the end, under extremely dubious circumstances, Bola Tinubu, the SW Muslim candidate of Buhari’s party was declared elected in an election that terribly divided the country’s fragile unity even further.

It would have seemed that the solitary Fulani nomadic tribe that used and abused religion to conquer fellow Muslims in jihad in 1804 and is again abusing it still to dominate other tribes they couldn’t conquer precolonialism has temporarily lost power but the reality is more sinister.

The same Southwest-North coalition that starved 1Million Southeastern Christian Igbos to death during the Biafran civil war of 1967-1970 was essentially reestablished by Tinubu (without the Christian middlebelt mostly) as an Islamic political alliance/hegemony – the ruling APC.

Ironically, the predominantly Christian Igbos who were bombed and starved to death are more developed today than the north who bombed and starved them! Power has done nothing for the north but yet the Islamic political alliance once again foreclosed the Igbos’ aspirations for the presidency via Peter Obi in 2023.

Igbos have been great contributors to national development in contrast with the north. The Fulani imperialists brought little development. Till date their militia kill and pillage infidels like they did 200 years ago except they now use bikes instead of horses and AK47s. Pillaging and looting is not a sustainable development model.

The British imperialists brought systems and institutions along with reasonable looting. Yet the Igbos who never colonized Nigeria, were egalitarian and not imperialists, have produced more value added communal and national wealth and enterprise than the Fulani colonizers.

The Igbos are a naturally prescient group whom the country has failed to optimally leverage for national upliftment. If not that SE governors have generally been the worst-performing, their region would be unmatched but still individual drive and industry has made more millionaires out of the region the rest of the country starved to death (One day that story will be told to an amazed world.)

Nevertheless it should be clear that one invading tribe cannot dominate a nation of over 500 ethnic groups like that forever. The Dan Fodio invasion of 1804 was reprised in 2014 with another invasion orchestrated by Gen. Buhari. Dan Fodio was a great tactician and Nigeria’s highly educated elite being subservient to his 200 year old expansionist playbook and his less brilliant acolytes is a testament to his enduring legacy. Buhari was incompetent to achieve his Islamist takeover until Tinubu gave him legs.

The Fulani Islamic jihad of 1804 and the British economic invasion subsequently were two sides of the same colonial/imperialist/supremacist ideologies masqueraded in religion and noble garbs.

Britain completed the failed annexation of non-Muslim tribes by the Fulanis and donated said unconquered tribes to them at the faux independence in 1960.

This faulty foundation is attributable to both the Fulani and British conspiring colonialists which contrived this country contraption. When the first Prime Minister, Ahmadu Bello vowed to dip the Koran in the Atlantic, the British were his main facilitators post-jihad and Tinubu merely brought the Atlantic to the jihadists via his political merger thus bypassing the formidable middlebelt and southeast bulwark buffering them for centuries. Who would have thought that in this day and age, the path forward for Nigeria emanating from Lagos of all places would be the ethnoreligious alliance called APC?

Hundreds of Buhari’s killer mobs during the 2011 Post-Election Violence were arrested and prosecuted. However, when Buhari came into office in 2015, they were freed from prison.

Before the 2015 elections, Buhari and co had brought in significant Fulani reinforcements from the west African subregion to saturate Nigeria and violently overtake her if he didn’t win the election. Tinubu’s Islamic alliance and President Jonathan’s conceding the elections averted the violent plan but it left hordes of armed killers deployed around the country with no war to fight.

Tinubu has now appointed another Fulani as National Security Adviser who had publicly justified their killing of Nigerians.

“Former EFCC Chairman and former Presidential candidate of the ACN, Nuhu Ribadu has stated that the Fulanis in Nigeria feel marginalised and are not happy with Buhari.

Ribadu said the Fulanis are landless and are not well respected politically. He further revealed that the tribe feels abandoned by President Buhari and are completely out of everything.

“We forget that people who are landless will continue to be a problem and part of the problem we are facing today is these people fighting to say we are part of this country. They want a place of their own where they will be taken care of, but there is resistance. That is why you see what is going on in Zamfara, Birnin Gwari and most of the places,” he said.

“You can hardly see any nomadic Fulani man that is part of state assembly or the national assembly and they form about 15 to 20 million of the population and they are marginalised. They are not in any way benefiting from what is happening in the country today.” “ https://politicalstewng.com/fulanis-feel-marginalised-are-angry-with-buhari-ribadu/

Ribadu made these claims despite the fact that at the time 90% of Buhari’s National Security Council members were northern Muslims and predominantly Fulani.

We must never forget that at his inauguration in 2015, Buhari declared that Dan Fodio was the “founding father” of Nigeria – a historic anachronism because Nigeria did not exist in 1804 jihad.

Tinubu should be blamed for sacrificing the great Oduduwa and Oyo empires to an extraneous caliphate. Excoriating Igbos simply because they celebrated election victory against him in Lagos is nothing compared with the northernization of Lagos ports etc seen over the years (Of course it’s always easier to blame the victim than the real villain.)

Additionally, Tinubu’s people deployed witchcraft, fetish and juju against Igbos and non-Yorubas in the elections in Lagos alongside violence.

Given this background, I was unsure what to expect on my visit to Nigeria’s new Islamic state weeks after inauguration. Here’s what I saw:

• the new government in Kano state demolished a prominent sculptured roundabout built by the predecessor claiming it contained a Christian cross which is “anti-islamic.” The prior government made Kano the most extreme islamist state in the north with blasphemy lynchings and death sentences.
• the new government of Sokoto state justified the blasphemy lynching of a Muslim man from a rival sect. Barely a year before, his predecessor had condemned the blasphemy lynching of Christian Schoolgirl Deborah Emmanuel even though her killers’ charges were recently dropped.
• In Plateau state, 346 people were killed in three months and 32 villages destroyed by Fulanis but security forces disarmed local hunters and killed village watchmen claiming they were bandits. The prior government had appeased the killers who it appeared were now targeting the Mangu community of the new governor who succeeded them.
• In Benue state, 25 youths were slaughtered in a massacre by Fulanis even though the new state government is from the ruling APC party. The former governor had been blamed for massacres in the state because of his opposition to the APC’s mishandling of the insecurity.
• A Libyan-trained Nigerian jihadi convert, addressed the media from Tinubu’s presidential villa claiming that his “forces” were responsible for security more than the army. His Niger Delta militants had previously been disarmed and granted amnesty under a prior government.

It got worse. Days after winning election petition, Tinubu announced the carving out of indigenous lands in the states for building of Fulani enclaves – even where millions of victims of Fulani massacres are still displaced! His political state capture was rapidly following with physical “states capture”.

It is unclear how things will go from here but the security situation in the new Islamic State in Nigeria has not improved. This is despite the fact that Tinubu has consolidated power unlike anyone ever in Nigeria’s history.

Tinubu has co-opted Muslim mujahid Asari Dokubo’s South South Niger Delta militants, influencers of North East jihadi Boko Haram terrorists, cross country islamist Fulani militia, his Southwestern thugs & legitimate Nigerian federal security forces under his control – a massive consolidation of legitimate state and illegitimate non-state coercive forces. Only IPOB and ISWA are outside his control.

If Buhari’s 2015 influx of foreign Fulani fighters into Nigeria was the second invasion after the 1804 jihad, then Tinubu’s power consolidation in 2023 is the second amalgamation after the British colonialists’ of 1904. Tinubu imposed a Muslim Muslim ticket that even Buhari did not do and building Fulani rugas cross country that even the fanatical Fulani bigot Gen. Buhari didn’t do!

Tinubu was not good for Lagosians as Governor- a global cosmopolitan city ruled by thugs mafia-style – the same way the amalgamation of north and south Nigerian colonies into one nation was not good for Nigeria.

British imperialism, for all its pretensions versus intentions did do some basic good but what does Tinubu’s Islamo-mafia coalition portend and intend for Nigeria?
As Nigeria marks 63 years of faux independence, it is clearer now more than ever that the once proud and noble Oyo empire has been conquered and surrendered to northern caliphates that never conquered Yorubaland by a mafiosi who conned his way to power.

Emmanuel Ogebe, Esq, is a prominent US-based international human rights lawyer and Nigeria pro-democracy advocate with the US NIGERIA LAW GROUP in Washington. Last month, he marked the 27th anniversary of his abduction and torture by Gen. Abacha for demanding an investigation of the assassination of pro-democracy icon Kudirat Abiola over the June 12 election annulment. His advocacy led to the naming of Kudirat corner by Nigeria house in New York, the US designation of Boko Haram as a foreign terrorist organization and International Criminal Court Prosecutor’s determination of crimes against humanity in Nigeria amongst others.

Kukah @71: Still Standing Tall Against All Odds

By Simon Reef Musa

Last Thursday, August 31, 2023 marked the 71st birthday of the Bishop of the Sokoto Catholic Diocese, Dr Matthew Hassan Kukah. What is there left to be told of a man whose footprints have ignited public consciousness on the raging injustice and discrimination, thereby forcing national leadership to quake anytime he speaks or writes?

After three scores and a half, plus a year, still counting and growing stronger, this noble cleric, robed in astounding cerebral power, remains a conscience irritant devoted for interrogating our gloomy present and frightening future, using the past as the starting point in determining source of our dilemma. Presently, he is more seen, and rightly so, as a consummate intellectual of national and global reputation, than a religious leader engaged in bringing the gospel of Christ and denouncing the manipulation of ethnicity and religion for political power.

Coming from nowhere!

His emergence on the national and world scene is far less important than the miracle of someone coming from nowhere and arriving at the mountain top of his calling. Armed with knowledge that attests to his scholarly excellence, His Lordship has continued to offer irrefutable truths on how to survive the many curves of Nigeria’s numerous challenges, thereby demonstrating the quintessence of his status as an unquestionable cerebral power house.

His village, Anchuna, in the southern part of Kaduna state, would still have remained an invisible dot somewhere in the middle of nowhere, if not for his footprints on the sands of both religion and intellectualism that have refused to be diminished.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo had, during one of his visits to Kaduna State, I was told but yet to verify, requested then Governor Mohammed Ahmed Makarfi, to pass through the Bishop’s village. The governor, according to the story, told his guest that the road to Anchuna was not motorable and getting there could affect the official schedule of the then president.

Shocked at the response of his host, Obasanjo asked: “Then, what are you doing about it?”

That probably was one of the reasons why Makarfi embarked on massive construction of roads all across the southern part of the state. Sadly, after the Makarfi-led administration, no major construction of such magnitude has been witnessed. Nearly 20 years after, one needs to drive a truck to survive the suffocating ordeal involved in traveling through southern Kaduna bad roads.

If Bishop Kukah’s prominence came as a gift; his commitment to academic excellence and projecting the cause of humanity enabled him to become one of our nation’s greatest public intellectual. As a truly God-called cleric of an outstanding status, the Bishop continues to hold the Bible firmly in the quest for a better country where all are equal partners in nation-building. The cerebral excellence that is possessed by the Founder of The Kukah Centre has turned him into an anvil against forces promoting injustice and corruption unleashed on poor citizens.

Unafraid of criticisms

Despite his relentless advocacy for an equitable nation, some of his critics, overwhelmed by his ceaseless calls for transparent leaderships at all level, have challenged him to quit the pulpit and join politics. Sadly, those close to him know that he is neither a politician. His lordship knows where he is coming from, and is irreversibly resolved to make his nation warmer for the voiceless and powerless of our society.

Without wealth and political power, this religious leader of national and global standing, has deployed his brain power in galvanising the populace and tasking the conscience of leaders to install a fair society.

Former editors of media, who once mounted pressure on reporters to get interviews with the Bishop, now ask: “Who listens to him again?”. It is strange that men and women of the pen profession, who are supposed to serve as comforters of the afflicted, wrote their ways to power and became comfortable with men and women of power, after becoming turncoats and armour bearers of oppressive leaders. Indeed, many, if not all critics and writers, have their price tags. Little wonder, most of the times, our country has been left to the mercy of the preying leaders, while the task of demanding leaders to be accountable relegated.

It is the yawning gap caused by the failure of those mandated to demand accountability from leadership that has paved the way for the rise of Bishop Kukah. Anyone with a conscience, and the Reverend Father from Anchuna has it in bags, must be in a state of shock at the incredible speed our nation has decayed and cascading down the slippery slope of frightening uncertainties.

Always in the public interest

Blessed with an unquestionable capacity for both written and oral delivery, the erudite priest has traversed our nation’s inquest laboratory in exploring challenges confronting our country. Those endowed with incomparable academic prowess rarely laugh at the inanities and follies of people involved in the promotion grotesque injustice. It is an astonishing fact that Bishop Kukah, though not a stranger to the tribulations of his nation, is still excitedly hopeful that the sun of prosperity will still rise over Nigeria.

Though misunderstood by many and admired by millions of his countrymen and women who believed in the worthiness of his cause, Bishop Kukah’s commitment for the common good sets him apart as a priest, devoted humanist and public intellectual who is never afraid of the debating the blustery entity called Nigeria.

Notwithstanding the many troubles shredding our country, the Bishop has continued to stand tall in the midst of raging storms and providing illumination on issues unsettling Nigeria’s quest for unity and development. He is always up in arms against those opposed to the emergence of an egalitarian society devoid of injustice for all groups. As our Bishop walked past 71 years, the Bishop must not lower his guard against those who are benefiting from our debauched and depraved systems. I join my faith with his in the hope that someday, and not in the distant future, Bishop Kukah’s dream for an equitable country he loves so much shall come to pass in his life time.

Military neutralizes 39 terrorists, arrests 157, rescues 109 hostages

Troops of the armed forces eliminated 39 terrorists, apprehended 159 others and rescued 109 hostages in different operations in the last two weeks

Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba, said this on Thursday in Abuja at a bi-weekly news briefing on military operations across the country.

He said troops of Operation Hadin Kai ambushed and arrested Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists in Gwoza and Tarmuwa Local Government Areas of Borno and Yobe, respectively in the Northeast.

He said that the offensive led to the surrender by some terrorists at Gwoza area of Borno and resulted in the elimination of some others; the rescue of hostages and the recovery of arms and ammunition.

He added that in another operation, troops neutralised 11 terrorists, arrested 45 others and rescued 34 hostages within the period and recovered a large cache of arms and ammunition.

According to him, troops recovered six AK47 rifles, one HK21 gun, one GPMG, one fabricated gun, 11 AK47 magazines and 34 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition.

They also recovered 17 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, one bandolier, and seven empty cases of 7.62mm special, five motorcycles, eight mobile phones and N368, 950.

Buba said the air component of the operations acquired and engaged terrorists’ enclaves at Wulde in Borno, adding that the outcome was being monitored.

He said that in the North Central, troops of Operation Safe Haven neutralised two gunmen, rescued three hostages and arrested 15 crime suspects during the period.

He added that the troops arrested two suspects in Jema’a Local Government Area of Kaduna State, one of whom was a notorious armed robber on the wanted list of a security agency.

According to him, troops recovered three AK47 rifles, one fabricated AK47 rifles, one fabricated pistol, one Dane gun and 41 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition in the state.

Operation Whirl Stroke the North Central also arrested a member of notorious violent extremist group in Ukum Local Government Area of Benue, neutralised terrorists and rescued hostages.

Buba said troops recovered one FN rifle, five rounds of 7.62mm NATO, and neutralised two terrorists, arrested 11 suspects and rescued six hostages.

The defence spokesman said troops of Operation Hadarin Daji in the Northwest neutralised 12 terrorists, arrested 33 others, rescued 40 hostages and recovered three AK47 rifles, 18 motorcycles and three mobile phones.

Buba also told newsmen that the air component of the military operations conducted an interdiction of terrorists at Sububu Forest in Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina State and degraded terrorists at the location.

Credit: Zagazola

Stop Talking Too Much And Let Me Beg Tinubu To Reconsider Your Ministerial Nomination: Sanusi Tells Elrufai

Faced with the prospect of life outside the corridors of power, Nasir El-Rufai, the ex-Governor of Kaduna State, is applying pressure on influential figures in a bid to secure a ministerial position in President Bola Tinubu’s administration. Despite initially signalling a lack of interest in the role, El-Rufai has reportedly sought the advocacy of traditional and religious leaders to facilitate his nomination for ministerial confirmation in the Senate.

Prominent among those El-Rufai is soliciting is the former Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II. Last week, Sanusi met with President Tinubu, requesting the resubmission of El-Rufai’s name to the Senate for ministerial confirmation. He urged Tinubu to overlook opposition from certain figures within the Presidency, including the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.El-Rufai’s renewed ambition comes in the wake of the Senate’s previous rejection of his nomination due to security concerns and other allegations.

Before Sanusi agreed to intervene, another source averred, the former Emir cautioned the loquacious ex-governor and advised him to desist from making public comments on controversial issues so as to see if President Tinubu would assist in confirming his ministerial nomination.

“You made a mistake when you rejected the ministerial nomination and made it public that day. You must keep quiet henceforth and allow me to talk to the president on the matter,” Sanusi was quoted to have told remorseful el-Rufai.

The ex-governor, feeling publicly embarrassed, briefly left the country and did not attend his son’s wedding. Sanusi suggested to Tinubu that El-Rufai’s initial rejection of the ministerial nomination was a result of his public humiliation.

El-Rufai’s determination to secure a ministerial position may also be linked to scrutiny over his previous administration’s handling of over 300 abandoned projects in Kaduna State. As Kaduna struggles with financial woes partly attributed to El-Rufai’s tenure, an appointment into power might provide him with a necessary lifeline.

Source: New Era

Operation Safe Haven arrests 17 kidnappers, others in Plateau

In a remarkable display of their commitment to public safety, troops from Operation SAFE HAVEN (OPSH) conducted Operation HAKORIN DAMISA IV from August 21 to 28, 2023, resulting in the apprehension of 17 criminal suspects involved in cases of murder, kidnapping, and armed robbery. Additionally, the operation led to the recovery of illegal arms and ammunition, as well as illicit drugs.

Five suspects were apprehended in connection with the murder of Mr. Joshua Deme, who tragically lost his life on his farm in Kassa village, located in the Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State. Simultaneously, a meticulously planned sting operation was executed at Jagindi Tasha village in Jema’a LGA, Kaduna State, leading to the arrest of Mr. Baba Yusuf Habu, a suspected kidnapper who had long been sought by OPSH.

An attempted kidnapping was also thwarted by the rapid response of the troops at Angwan Takai village in the Bokkos Local Government Area, following a prompt distress call. The operation’s scope extended to Gwash and Kamantan villages in Jos North/Zango Kataf LGAs of Plateau and Kaduna States, where a cache of arms, including 1 pistol, cartridges, and 7.62mm special rounds, were recovered.

A significant arrest was made in Kafanchan town, where a notorious armed robber, Mohammed Lawal, was apprehended. In the wake of his capture, two fabricated rifles and a pistol were seized. Adding to the operation’s achievements, a truck transporting vandalized railway tracks was intercepted along Gidan Ado village in Riyom LGA of Plateau State.

Further reinforcing their commitment to community safety, the troops carried out a sting operation in Waye Foundation Du, Jos South LGA, leading to the arrest of Maxwell Dusu Davou, a suspected drug kingpin. The operation yielded substances believed to be illicit drugs.

Amidst these successes, a combat patrol yielded a confrontation in the Alaghom and Mangu areas, ultimately neutralizing several bandits. The recovered items included an AK-47 rifle and a fabricated rifle. Additionally, 237 cows were rescued from farm destruction and cattle rustling activities in various areas, including Mangu, Barkin Ladi, Fas, and Riyom.

During the operation period, a total of 17 arrests were made, 9 kidnapping victims were rescued, 6 armed robbery attempts were foiled, and 4 potential attacks on vulnerable communities were thwarted. Operation SAFE HAVEN remains steadfast in its promise to provide unwavering protection to the residents of Plateau, Bauchi, and Southern Kaduna. The operation vows to continue its swift response to distress calls, ensuring the eradication of criminal elements from these communities.

Captain OYA JAMES, Media Information Officer of Operation SAFE HAVEN, reiterated these accomplishments to the public, underlining the operation’s resolute commitment to maintaining security and order in the region.

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION & INTERNET REGULATION: NAVIGATING THE GOVERNMENT HERRINGBONE.

BEING A PRESENTATION BY GLORIA MABEIAM BALLASON ESQ AT THE MEDIA DEFENCE SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA LITIGATORS CONVENING, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH-AFRICA, AUGUST, 2023.

INSIGHT:

Freedom of speech has been recognized in international, regional and national laws as fundamental to individuals and democracy.

Where freedom of speech and free press are not upheld, lies and misinformation contend with truth.The rights are relevant even in the Military where the norm is obedience before complaint because usurping the right to free speech can be lethal to both the violator and the violated. If humans are to be precluded from offering their sentiments on a matter – which may involve the most serious and alarming consequences that can invite the consideration of mankind, reason is of no use to us; the freedom of speech may be taken away, and, dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep, to the slaughter.

A world without freedom of speech is a world of slavery and tyranny.
Some proponents have argued that freedom of speech is freedom to learn as all education is continuous dialogue of questions and answers. The Nigerian Court for instance, upheld this argument in 1981 in the Archbishop Olubunmi Okogie V. Lagos State case where the Plaintiff, whose school was confiscated by the Lagos state government, argued that his right to expression through the impartation of learning and the exchange of ideas were violated when the state confiscated his schools. The Court upheld his arguments and entered judgment in favour of the Plaintiff.

ARE GOVERNMENTS AND CITIZENS AT CROSS PURPOSES ON THE RIGHTS TO FREE SPEECH & FREE DIGITAL EXPRESSION?

Let us examine some pivotal international, regional and national laws on free speech and expression.

International Laws:

Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) enshrines the right to freedom of expression.
Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) guarantees the right to hold opinions without interference (i.e freedom of opinion), right to seek and receive information (i.e Access to Information) and freedom of expression in any art or form.

Article 10 of the Human Rights Act protects freedom of expression.
These rights are not absolute and can be limited by the state on certain grounds such as national security, public order, public health and public morals. The limitations must however be necessary and proportionate to the legitimate aim pursued. The State by law is also compelled to justify the limitation and show that it does not violate other human rights.

African Regional Laws:

Article 9 of the African Charter guarantees the right to receive information as well as the right to express and disseminate information. Furthermore, the Declaration of Principle of Freedom of Expression and Access to information in Africa which was adopted in 2019 establishes and affirms the principles for anchoring the right to freedom of expression and access to information in conformance with Article 9 of the African Charter.

National Laws:

Article 33, 34 & 35 of the 2010 Constitution of Kenya protects the rights to freedom of expression, the media and protects access to information. The Kenyan Constitution is one of the most elaborate when it comes to protections and disaggregates for the sake of clarity and unambiguity the protections and freedoms guaranteed including artistic creativity, academic freedom and scientific research.

Article 31 of the 2018 Constitution of Burundi guarantees freedom of expression. The right is subsumed with rights to freedom of religion, thought, conscience and opinion.

Article 29 of the 1995 Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia guarantees the right of thought, opinion and expression.

Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria guarantees the right to freedom of expression and the Press.

Indeed almost all countries in the African Continent and the world recognize the importance of the right to freedom of expression.

Please note that international and regional laws are ratified or assented to by heads of governments while national laws are made by parliamentary arms of government. In other words, governments lead in the law making processes of human and fundamental rights. If that is the case – as we have found it is, why are governments often the violators of the rights to freedom of expression offline and online? I am glad you asked.

FREEDOM OF OFFLINE & ONLINE EXPRESSIONS: THE GOVERNMENT HERRINGBONE.

It would appear that everybody : Government and citizens, are in favour of free speech. Nonetheless, some ‘powerful people’ and government’s idea of it is that they are free to say what they like but others cannot. This is where the aberration lies and where impunity takes its root. With the advent of the internet, the right to free speech is now both visual and virtual. However, the primacy to which freedom of visual speech is given appears to differ from virtual speech. There is still an ongoing debate on whether internet right should be recognized as human right, fundamental right or no right at all.

The proponents of declaring internet access as a right (also known as the right to broadband or freedom to connect) hold the view that in the 21st century all people must be able to access the internet in order to fully exercise and enjoy their rights to freedom of expression and opinion and other fundamental human rights. In practise, an American during President Donald Trump’s, tenure could argue along this line as President Trump was famous for expressing and engaging on national policies via Twitter.

Those who argue against making digital rights a human or fundamental right curate in favour of their argument, that internet is a right enabler not a right. They hold to the reasoning that the meaningful exercise of the right to freedom of speech and expression over the media or internet is dependent invariably and inextricably upon the access to the availability of infrastructure and that infrastructure depends upon social and economic factors such as the distribution of resources, the policies of the state and its intervention in the nature of provision of the resources. In other words, they argue that the right is non-justiciable.

It may perhaps help to put the question on the tarmac in more literal and clearer perspective:

(i) Is there a difference when an expression is verbal from when it is digital?

(ii) Can the right to freedom of speech and expression be same online as offline?

(iii) Is there a parity in responsibility where the violation of right to freedom of expression leads to the violation of human rights offline as distinct from online ?

Put in other words, the debate is now between the proponents of Data is Life Vs. Data is Connection. Where does the law and the balance hang? Let’s explore it.

DATA IS LIFE Vs. DATA IS CONNECTION.

There are instances where the expression : ‘data is life’ is literal and at other times data is just ‘mere’ connection. To illustrate how data can be life, I will cite two examples from two jurisdictions: India and Nigeria.

• Case 1* Bhasin v. Union of India case, No 103, 2019, In this case, the Supreme Court of India declared that access to the internet is a fundamental right under Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution and that the right to be able to access the internet has been read into the fundamental right to life and liberty as well as privacy under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution- adding in the same breath that internet constitutes an essential part of infrastructure. The brief facts of the Bhasin case are as follows: Jammu and Kashmir is an Indian territory bordering Pakistan and has been the subject of decades-long dispute between the two countries. Under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, the territory enjoyed special status, had its own Constitution and Indian citizens from other states were not allowed to purchase land or property there. On August 5, 2019, the Indian Government issued Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 2019, which stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its special status that it had enjoyed since 1954 and made it fully subservient to all provisions of the Constitution of India.
  In the days leading up to this Constitutional Order, the Indian government began imposing restrictions on online communications and freedom of movement. On August 2, the Civil Secretariat, Home Department, Government of Jammu and Kashmir, advised tourists and Amarnath Yatra pilgrims to leave the Jammu and Kashmir area in India. Subsequently, schools and offices were ordered to remain close until further notice. On August 4, 2019, mobile phone networks, internet services, landline connectivity were all shutdown in the region. The District Magistrates imposed additional restrictions on freedoms of movement and public assembly citing authority to do so under Section 144 of the Criminal Penal Code.
  The internet shutdown and movement restrictions (hereafter “restrictions”) limited the ability of journalists to travel and to publish and accordingly were challenged in court for their violations of Article 19 of India’s Constitution which guarantees the right to freedom of expression.

Delivering its judgment, the Court of India did not lift the internet restrictions but acknowledged fully the rights that were violated and directed the government to review the shutdown orders against the tests outlined in its judgment and lift those that were not necessary or did not have a temporal limit. The Court reiterated that freedom of expression online enjoyed Constitutional protection but could be restricted in the name of national security. The Court further held that though the Government was empowered to impose a complete internet shutdown, any order(s) imposing such restrictions had to be made public and was subject to judicial review.

Case 2: Gloria Mabeiam Ballason v. Governor of Kaduna State & 5 Others FHC/ABJ/C5/1554/2021

On September, 29, 2021, the Governor of Kaduna state in Nigeria, Mallam Nasir Ahmad Elrufai, shut down phone and internet telecommunications connections for two months. The Government’s argument was that they needed to combat terrorism, kidnapping and insecurity. Security, internet and telephone are under the exclusive legislative list of Nigeria’s Constitution which means the Federal Government is directly responsible as against the state government. There was also no national or state parliamentary resolution, a state of emergency was not declared and during the period, an unprecedented case of a train terrorist attack which had over 200 people in the train and another sets of killings of over 200 people in the state occurred. Furthermore people lost means of livelihood and earnings and the ban was counterproductive as people could not report terrorist attacks nor could security agents connect to scenes of crime.
Ballason filed at the Federal High Court of Nigeria alleging that the action taken by the government of Kaduna state was not backed by law and that the government did not satisfy the constitutional exception of any law reasonably justifiable in a democratic society in the interest of defence, public safety and public order as more lives who could not call for help from security agents perished while businesses and means of livelihood of citizens suffered astronomic loses without a commensurate improvement in the security situation in Kaduna State.’ Judgment has now been reserved for 11 October, 2023.

The two cases of India and Nigeria illustrate how the facts of the case can determine whether the right to internet access can be non-justiciable or justiciable. Typically, none justiciable rights can be justiciable where they intersect. In Nigeria for instance, although the rights in Chapter 2 of the 1999 Constitution are non-justiciable, they can be justiciable where they impact and infringe on the rights in Chapter 4 which are the fundamental human rights.

Let us at this point examine a few international, regional and national cases as determined by the Courts.

Some International & Regional Decisions on the Rights to Freedom of Expression & Internet.

International Decisions

Nagla versus Latvia (16 July 2013)

The case concerned the search by the police of a well-known broadcast journalist’s home, and their seizure of data storage devices. Her home was searched following a broadcast she had aired in February 2010 informing the public of an information leak from the State Revenue Service database.The Court found a violation of Article 10 (Freedom of expression) emphasizing that the right of journalists not to disclose their sources could not be considered a privilege, dependent on the lawfulness or unlawfulness of their sources, but rather as an intrinsic part of the right to information.  

Sunday Times Vs. United Kingdom (no. 1) (26 April 1979)
The case concerned the injunction served on the Sunday Times restraining publication of news about the pending civil proceedings brought by parents of children born with severe deformities through the taking of thalidomide by women during pregnancy.
The Court found a violation of Article 10 (freedom of expression).

Regional Decisions:

SERAP & 176 ORS V. Federal Government of Nigeria ECW/CCJ/APP/23/2 The Plaintiffs approached the ECOWAS Court to declare as unlawful the Twitter ban by President Muhammadu Buhari who banned the social media platform after Twitter deleted his tweet for violating its rules.
ECOWAS Court declared Nigeria’s government’s Twitter ban unlawful and ordered Nigeria to put in place a legal framework that is consistent with international human rights standards. The Court further ordered Nigeria not to block the social media platform again.

ii. Amnesty International Togo & 6 Others Vs. Togolese Republic

In this case the plaintiffs filed before the ECOWAS Court claiming the right to seek and receive information and disseminate opinion under Article 1 and 2 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, the Court entered judgment in favour of the Plaintiffs.

It can therefore be seen that there is a positive movement towards the recognition of rights offline as same online – and for obvious reasons, as global statistics would prove: The 2022 Global Development Report showed that 35 countries restricted internet services 187 times in 2022 with India, Iran and Myanmar repeatedly enforcing blackouts. India was the biggest offender with 84 out of the 187 internet blackouts in the region of Jammu Kashmir, Russia accounted for 22 internet blackouts against Ukraine when it launched offensives of missile strikes and cyber attacks; Ethiopia shut down phone and mobile internet against Tigray while Iran turned off internet due to anti-regime protests. Armed with these grim statistics, the signs in the sky are not too good.

NAVIGATING THE GOVERNMENT HERRINGBONE AGAINST FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION ONLINE & OFFLINE.

Across the world, trust in political governments and satisfaction with democracy is at a historic low. The discontent has inspired an authoritarian populism that challenges democracy. There is therefore the need for a coherent ethical and ideological framework for judicial intervention that keeps the fundamental question of justice, democratic legitimacy and balance for the demands and protection of rights to expression online and offline.To these and more, this presentation makes the following recommendations:

1. Litigation strategy for the protection of rights to expression must reimagine not just the recognition of expression rights but a reinforcement of democratic values as a way of organizing states and regions towards a wider project of realizing universal rights and values.
2. It is important to note that although government is powerful, what is politically achievable is not predetermined but relies on what people believe in and what lawyers, activists and citizens are willing to demand for by advocacy and in the pleadings lawyers file. A slavish adherence to precedence will therefore be inimical. Our pleadings should be progressive Arts not static Science.
3. Our litigation should be embedded with advocacy that highlight the truism that government officials and the people have equal claim to a fully adequate scheme of equal basic rights, liberties and responsibilities.
4. Our filings should be framed to demand respect for the rule of law which requires governments to act in accordance with laws and respect equality before the law in a regular, impartial and consistent manner ; this should inspire justice that is not just personal to plaintiffs but is institutional, intergenerational and sustainable.
5. Pleadings in Freedom of speech and expression cases should be curated in a manner that demonstrates the role of the state as not just to enforce rights contracts but includes the maintenance of the conditions that are the basis for freedom and equality of citizens of the state. In any case, government is a revolving door; those in power today will be ‘ordinary citizens’ tomorrow. The law should therefore speak the same language at all times.
6. Democracy is about the contestation of ideas and the triumph of superior ideas. If democracy thrives, everyone benefits. The African Union is now dealing with the Niger military take over jitters and we must be concerned about what this means to the region and to fundamental human rights. There is for instance, a straight line that runs from Military rule to the suspension of the right to freedom of speech and expression online and offline. Therefore, there must be a commitment to move beyond platitudes to a precise interpretation of what freedoms deserve special protection and the nature of their obligations. The facts of the case should reflect the impact on individuals and African states as against statistics in court dockets.
7. The office of the Attorney General needs to be invited through legal filings to define whether he is counsel to the client or government and must be persuaded to lead in the respect of rights including but not limited to the enforcement of judgments.
   Countries which have ratified international and regional treaties and government officials who swear to uphold the rights and constitution of their countries should be estopped from violating the rights. They cannot go to the international and regional communities and commit to uphold the rights and return to violate them. The styles in which we craft our pleadings and our litigation strategy must ensure governments are made to lead in the respect of fundamental human rights and International Laws and Conventions, including,but not limited to the right to freedom of expression and the imperative to not wilfully deny citizens access to the internet through draconian regulations and arbitrary use of power.
8. Litigation filings need to demonstrate how respect for freedom of expression is mutually beneficial for both citizens and the governments and should highlight the hope it holds for democracy. It is important that we move from litigation that is merely academic to arguments that are humanely persuasive, forcefully egalitarian and sustainably propagating in judicial ideology.

Finally, our litigation strategy must ensure that the Court of Law is always the Court of Justice. Some lawyers across the African continent tend to be skeptical about how the Court dispenses justice and the independence of the judiciary, without discounting some of the realities, it must also be re- emphasized that the Court is not ‘Santa Clause ‘ and so cannot give what is not asked. Filings must therefore be robust, arguments succinct and the need for three-way justice: justice for the victim, the accused and all of society should be the goal of our litigation. The court, the litigants and counsel must all connect at that human intersection and craving for democratic ideals if we are all to be the better for it.

GRATITUDE
It is a gracious thing to be thankful and so thank you Media Defence for this opportunity to engage on this topical topic and I thank you dear learned colleagues for your kind engagement and attention.