…Says Justice, Fairness, Equity Are Building Blocks of a Diverse, Fragile Country

…Asks FG to Pay More Attention to Daunting Challenges Posed by Bandits, Kidnappers, Insurgents

Former Military Governor of Kaduna State, Col Abubakar Dangiwa Umar (retd), has blamed the poor management of the country’s diversity by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari as responsible for the rising separatist agitations by self determination groups, counseling that government needs to deploy non-violent means in addressing the problem.

“It is self-evident that justice, fairness and equity are the best means of building a united and virile nation, particularly one as diverse and fragile as Nigeria,” Umar counsels.

He also advised the government to pay more attention to the challenges posed by bandits, kidnappers and insurgents rather than being unduly obsessed with the activities of separatist movements.

Miffed by the wide jubilations that attended the arrest of leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mr Nnamdi Kanu and last week’s siege to the Ibadan home of Mr Sunday Adeyemo (aka Igboho), a leading advocate of O’dua Republic by the Department of State Security Service (DSS), the former helmsman of old Kaduna State, posits that, “It is quite strange and disturbing that the Federal Government is according undue attention to the threats of separatist movements in contrast to the more daunting ones posed by bandits, kidnappers and insurgents in the North-West, some parts of North-Central and North-East.”

In a statement on Wednesday, Umar, who served as Military Governor during the Gen Ibrahim Babangida regime, urged the Federal Government to be more discerning and broadminded in its consideration of what constitutes security threat to Nigerians.

According to him, the rearrest of Nnamdi Kanu, is an exaggeration of the security threat Kanu, IPOB and separatist movements pose to Nigeria’s security and unity as compared to the grave audacity and criminality posed by bandits, kidnappers and insurgents in the North-West, some parts of North-Central and North-East.

In a statement titled, “Nigeria: Nation Challenged”, Umar says the lack of a sense of insecurity among the federating units should worry the authorities as the real source of separatist agitations in parts of the country.

The statement reads: “The recent re-arrest of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu was greeted with a loud sigh of relief and celebration in some sections of the country.

“It also elicited congratulatory messages to the Federal Government which appears overwhelmed by the intractable security challenges and in dire need of any redeeming act.

“This is clearly an exaggeration of the security threat Nnamdi Kanu and indeed IPOB pose to our nation’s security and unity.

“It is quite strange and disturbing that the Federal Government is according undue attention to the threats of separatist movements in contrast to the more daunting ones posed by bandits, kidnappers and insurgents in the North-West, some parts of North-Central and North-East.

“Activities of those criminals have resulted in the evacuation of over 20 per cent of the villages in North-West and North-East. Hundreds are being murdered and maimed every week.

“Many more are kidnapped for ransom. Millions have been rendered internally displaced, facing disease and starvation.

“Over 1,000 school children were abducted in the past eight months with over 300 still in the hands of the bandits and kidnappers demanding humongous ransom payments. Rape of women and young girls has become a daily occurrence.

“Most economic activities, particularly farming, which is the mainstay of the people in these areas, are now all but impossible.

“Government’s earlier claim of having technically defeated the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East has turned out to be empty propaganda. Contrary to this claim, the enemy has morphed into a more determined and deadly force, threatening to overrun the whole of the North-East.

“For the average Northerner living in these zones, who is barely aware of the activities of separatists, banditry, kidnappings and insurgency are of greater threat and concern to him.

“The arrest of Nnamdi Kanu is of no serious consequence, since it does nothing to ameliorate his harsh and brutal condition.

“In recognising or reasserting the right of every citizen or group to express their desire for self-determination, one does not support or condone the use of violence for such purpose. IPOB and its leader may well be responsible for some of the violence, including the murder of security personnel, arson and destruction of public and private properties for which they should be held to account.

Calling for “dialogue and inclusive policies that unite,” Umar who resigned his commission in the Army as a result of the annulment of the June 12, 1993 election, assumably won by acclaimed businessman, Mr Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, says, “violent and militant postures and means being currently adopted to address issues of obvious injustice and malicious intent” are particularly far fetched.

“We must however be honest enough to identify the cause of the current growing restiveness in the South-East. By all means, government needs to deploy non-violent means in addressing the problem. It is self-evident that justice, fairness and equity are the best means of building a united and virile nation, particularly one as diverse and fragile as Nigeria.

“lt is my long held belief that this country is more beneficial to all the federating units if only because it provides a security umbrella to all its units. None of them will fare better in a balkanised Nigeria due to their similar diversities.

“The recognition of Nigeria as the giant of Africa is not on account of its huge oil wealth, but its size, diversity as well as other potential. These notwithstanding, the nation can only remain united and prosperous when all its citizens and the component parts feel a true sense of belonging.

“Without it, the nation’s unity will be in serious jeopardy similar to what Nigeria is currently experiencing.

Blaming the administration of President Buhari for what he called “poor management skills in managing Nigeria’s diversity,” he says, “Truth be told, the Buhari’s government has so far exhibited poor skills in its management of our diversity. Yet it has the benefit of great examples by past administrations and statesmen which should guide it.”

Recalling the post Civil War efforts at reconciliation, Umar argues that Buhari should have taken a cue from this rather than an offensive stance that puts the Igbo asunder,

“After our bitter Civil War, the then Head of the Federal Military Government, General Yakubu Gowon, declared a no victor, no vanquished reconciliation and reintegration policy.

“Its implementation may not have been perfect but it produced a guiding vision which served as a template for the reintegration of the nation.

“In 1978, eight years after the Civil War, the NPN presidential candidate, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, a former Commissioner for Finance in the Gowon government, picked his running mate, Dr Alex Ekwueme, from the South-East.

“They won the 1979 presidential election and enjoyed an enviable brotherly relationship as President and Vice President. They won a second term in 1983. President Shagari’s government pardoned the former Biafra secessionist leader, Chief Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, which permitted him to return from exile in 1982. He went on to contest a senatorial seat under the NPN.

“These are in sharp contrast to the declaration of President Buhari after his election in 2015 in which he promised not to treat, on equal terms, those who gave him only five per cent of their votes with those who gave him over 97 per cent of theirs.

“This may account for his government’s refusal to appoint an Igbo as head of any of the security services. A review of this ill-advised policy will go a long way to neutralise the growing influence of IPOB among Ndigbo, both at home and in diaspora.

“The Federal Government must go beyond the arrest of Kanu and pay greater attention to the more serious security challenges threatening to cripple the country completely.

“The apparent failure of our security forces to deal decisively as the President so often commands them to do, with these security threats is obviously due to the acute shortage of manpower and equipment.

“These deficiencies have resulted in the thin spread of our forces and lack of timely rotation in areas of conflict. Government must massively increase security manpower and equipment. As we have seen, mere change of service chiefs would appear far from being the solution,” he contends.