Benue’s killing field… By Bolanle BOLAWOLE

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“Any insurgency that lasts more than 24 hours, a government official has a hand in it” – the vile dictator, Gen. Sani Abacha.

“Finally, Mr. President has moved out of his comfort zone in the Presidential villa…”

“That is not true! The president has moved on a countless number of occasions from the villa. He is not a recluse like his predecessor. I have even lost count of how many occasions he has travelled to France and London in just two years. That is not to talk of his incessant visits to Lagos…”

“That is not what I mean! I am not talking about medical tourism or visits to see one’s doctors camouflaged as state visit. We are used to that by now. And by the way, why should the president not touch home? Is he a prisoner?

“So you don’t know that presidents are prisoners? Even governors are! They see and hear only what the court jesters and praise-singers milling around them  want them to hear. They never can put their ears to the ground. Their eyes, too, no dey see road again, as they say”

“Pity! But that is not what I am talking about right now. What I mean is that Mr. President has finally decided to see things for himself…“

“Where?”

“Benue state, of course! Nigeria’s own Kosovo and Kigali! The havoc the Yankees wrecked on Cambodia and Vietnam is a child’s play compared to what is happening in these modern times in Benue”

“Okay. That is what you meant. Even then, they will only allow the president see what they want him to see. Government officials are something else. Unfortunately, the leaders are the ones who carry the can and bear the brunt”

“Thank God this president is smart. They will be unable to pull the wool over his eyes!”

“Believe me, they still will! No leader can ever be too smart for civil servants; especially in a mindlessly corrupt society like ours”

“You may be right, but my major concern are those military guys. How will they justify the gaping hole they have bored into the country’s coffers if the president is allowed to see the havoc that rag-tag insurgents and terrorists have wrecked on the country, right under the nose of how-many-stars Generals?”

“Bread-and-butter Generals… “

“No! Stop it! Don’t call them that! War is not a child’s play; any war for that matter. Will you go to the battlefield and teach them how best to do the fighting…”

“Why should I? I am not trained for that! Besides, I am contributing my own quota to national development in my own chosen career”

“See yourself! Talk-talk General! You did not even consider the challenges that confront those gallant soldiers of ours on the battle field…”

“I read of some of them like obsolete and malfunctioning equipment; even a total lack of arms and ammunition. But this is a funny country! How dare you send soldiers to the battlefield and deny them the requisite arms and ammunition?”

“It is corruption walking naked in the village square. Some people feed fat on the insecurity walloping the country. It is the pot of soup of people spread across the entire spectrum of civil servants, military officers, the soldiers themselves, traditional rulers, and even the citizens that are at the receiving end of the insurgency…”

“Heartless and wicked people! Blood money! But can’t the government fish them out and punish them?“

“That is, if the government itself is not complicit in the whole thing! Have you forgotten what Sani Abacha said?”

“The dictator?“

“Yes! It takes a thief to trace the foot marks of another thief on a rock. Abacha said if insurgency persists for more than one day, then, a government official has a hand in it”

“And this one has persisted for years…”

“Exactly! Meaning that more than a single government official is involved. It is a huge racket from top to bottom. The war effort is compromised right from the inside”

“And that will be tragic because our people say if the death that is inside the home does not kill, the one coming from outside cannot”

“That must be what the Bible means when it says a man’s enemies are the members of his own house…”

“Exactly! But you don’t even need to travel that far. The recent very embarrassing blow that Ukraine dealt Russia right inside Russia was said to have been aided by the fact that the superpower-nation was compromised right from inside”

“You are right! It is the same fate that Iran suffered lately at the hands of the Israelis. Enemies within are very potent indeed…”

“They determine whether you succeed or fail…”

“Then the starting point should be to fish them out and take them out…”

“Save your breath! They are all well known…”

“If they are known, why, then, have they not been brought to book?”

“They are sacred cows! They are untouchables!”

“How do you mean ‘sacred cows’? All cows are meant for the slaughter…”

“Not their own kind of cows! That is why they are called ‘sacred’. You see their hands making trouble, but you dare not hold or cut them off for fear they could cause greater damage…”

“Are you saying such things can happen in this country when we are not a banana republic?“

“JJC! We are worse than being one! Were you not in this country when Muhammadu Buhari, yet to be president, dared the sitting president, Goodluck Jonathan, to arrest him if he can? What did the Otuoke man do? He quickly recoiled into his shell and that further emboldened Buhari and his supporters”

“Some other presidents would have bit the bullet…”

“Maybe, but don’t blame Jonathan! President Shehu Shagari reportedly was told that a coup was afoot against him and names were named; yet, he felt like a lame duck and couldn’t move against the plotters until they struck. The Buhari-Idiagbon military junta knew a coup was afoot against it and knew the masterminds. Idiagbon reportedly vowed he would go to Mecca first, on the invitation of the highly-respected monarch there, and return to deal with the coup plotters. Unknown to him, the Mecca trip was a ploy to get him out of the way. Once he was out, Buhari was picked up like a cherry…”

“Are you kidding me! You mean some people could be crowned king of eagles and would still be too scared to snatch chicks from their mother?”

“Yes o! It has happened time and again in this country – and in other countries as well. The story is told that Thomas Sankara, the charismatic leader of Burkina Faso, was told that Blaise Compaore, his childhood friend, confidante, comrade and second-in-command, was plotting against him. He reportedly answered that if it was Blaise, then, he could do nothing about it…”

“Seriously serious?

“Yes, from what I heard. He sat there lame duck until Blaise struck, but rather than surrender and give his erstwhile comrade’s treachery the stamp of authority, he chose to fight to the death…”

“What a brave and principled man!’

“Today in the same country, Blaise Compaore is a villain and fugitive sentenced to life imprisonment in absentia while Sankara is venerated as a hero. The present populist president of Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Traore, is seen as the reincarnation of Sankara”

”How I wish our president here can be like that! The times that we are in need brave and principled leaders”

“Yes, but can this president bell the cat? To hold the bull by the horns, we must begin by questioning Buhari, former Kaduna State Gov. Nasir el-Rufai, sitting Gov. Bala Mohammed of Bauchi state and the Sultan of Sokoto himself”

“That is a mouthful! But why them?”

“For statements they made recently as well as in the past. And these names are just the tip of the iceberg. The president must also query why those he appointed to sensitive security positions have performed below par, as far as we can see judging by what is on our plate”

“We must also not leave out those in charge of intelligence gathering. Modern warfare relies as much on effective intelligence gathering as on arms and ammunition.”

“That is true. So you can see that we need a lion-heart president to tackle the insurgency ravaging the country. No lily-livered president can do it”

“In your own opinion, is our president up to the task? “

“Time will tell! But the problem is also systemic and structural. The Nigerian president is omnibus. He is expected to solve all problems, from the biggest to the smallest. He is frantically summoned and eagerly awaited in every nooks and crannies of the country, including places he will never hear of even if he spends a lifetime in office!”

“And why is this so? Aren’t there other layers of government? For instance we have state and local governments…”

“These were mostly constructed by the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to be lame duck. Too much power – and responsibilities – are entrusted in the president. On the security issues that we have been discussing, all powers are vested in the president. Whereas the Constitution describes a governor as the “chief security officer” of his state, he has no effective power to move troops. Even the police do not take orders from him!”

“Then, they are truly lame duck. Everyone waiting on Mr. President for everything! It cannot work that way. Why are the leaders not seeing the gaping hole in the present arrangement?”

“They will not because they enjoy the pleasure of gathering all the reins and levers of power in their own selfish hands…”

“Whether it is working or no?”

”It is working for them personally! The people are the grass that suffers.”

“Quite unfortunate! If restructuring the country is the antidote to its numerous problems, why not sacrifice selfish interest for the common good?”

“Abi o! And let everyone have peace of mind as well as make progress!”

“For how long will the president remain in Benue?”

“What did you mean? He has since returned to his cocoons! It was a whistle stop here and there”!

“Whaoh! Will he report to us what he saw, if at all he saw something or anything, and what actions he would take, if any”?

”His prerogative! Leaders hold their people no such responsibility or duty here! And the people lack the power to compel them! Besides, security matters are sensitive; they are not discussed in the market-place”

“Whaoh! How then do we know that the Benue trip is not just a jamboree or photo-op; a mere propaganda stunt and just fulfilling all ku prighteousness?”

“The results we begin to see after this visit will tell! If more attacks and killings follow, then …”

LAST WORD: When the President appeared at the new pope’s inauguration in an English suit and I complained that he looked lost in the outfit, adding that our “agbada” not only fits him better but also showcases our rich culture, someone said maybe he only respected an established dress code, which the US president, Donald Trump, flouted during the funeral of the late pope to world-wide indignation. Now, going to the theatre of war in Benue, I expected to see the president and commander-in-chief in military uniforms of the rank of a Field Marshall! Abi dem tailor never finish sewing the President’s military uniforms? All his predecessors, except, perhaps, Umaru Yar’Adua, donned military uniforms. That alone would have sent jitters down the spine of the terrorists: That the Commander-in-Chief don come! Level don change! That would have been proper and meet for the Jagaban, which means  “Leader of Warriors”, according to the Emir of Borgu, Halliru Dantoro, who bestowed the title on Tinubu. Or do warriors wear “agbada” to the battlefield?

* Former editor of PUNCH newspapers, Chairman of its Editorial Board and Deputy Editor-in-chief, BOLAWOLE was also the Managing Director/Editor-in-chief of the Westerner news magazine. He writes the ON THE LORD’S DAY column in the Sunday Tribune and TREASURES column in New Telegraph newspaper on Wednesdays. He is also a public affairs analyst on radio and television.

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