The Trumpet Newspaper Issue 613 (December 27 2023 - January 9 2024)
The shameful truth about British colonial abuse in Kenya, and how it was covered up
The shameful truth about British colonial abuse in Kenya, and how it was covered up
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<strong>The</strong><strong>Trumpet</strong><br />
Africans now have a voice... Founded in 1995<br />
V O L 29 N O <strong>613</strong> D E C E M B E R <strong>27</strong> <strong>2023</strong> - JANUARY 9 <strong>2024</strong><br />
Man jailed<br />
for 22<br />
counts<br />
of rape<br />
British soldiers search Kenyans suspected of being Mau Mau terrorists (Photo - Imperial War Museum CC BY-NC 4.0 Deed)<br />
Kenya at 60: the<br />
shameful truth<br />
about British<br />
colonial abuse<br />
and how it was<br />
covered up<br />
By Aoife Duffy, University of Essex<br />
Continued on Page 2><br />
Kevarnie Queen<br />
Following a hearing at Inner<br />
London Crown Court, a 19-<br />
year-old man has been<br />
sentenced to 12 years’<br />
imprisonment with an additional<br />
four years on licence.<br />
Kevarnie Queen of Brixton in<br />
south London – a predatory<br />
offender who raped teenage girls he<br />
met on social media was jailed after<br />
detectives supported victims to<br />
come forward and give evidence<br />
against him.<br />
He was previously convicted of<br />
22 counts of rape following a trial<br />
at the same court.<br />
Detective Constable Jennie<br />
Seward, one of the investigating<br />
officers, said: “<strong>The</strong> six women in<br />
this case – five of whom were aged<br />
just 15 at the time of the offences –<br />
have shown incredible bravery, not<br />
only in initially coming forward to<br />
police but in giving evidence at<br />
court which proved vital in bringing<br />
Queen to justice.<br />
“No-one who heard their<br />
personal statements can fail to be<br />
horrified by the impact Queen’s<br />
crimes have had on their lives, and<br />
we do not underestimate the effect<br />
this will have on them in the years<br />
to come.<br />
“<strong>The</strong>re is no doubt their actions<br />
will have prevented similar crimes<br />
against other women. We are<br />
pleased Queen is now behind bars<br />
and unable to cause any further<br />
harm.”<br />
Queen had met all but one of the<br />
six victims on social media where<br />
he groomed the girls before going<br />
on to rape them. He was just 15<br />
when he carried out the first offence<br />
in 2019. On many occasions, Queen<br />
manipulated his victims, making<br />
them think the sexual abuse was a<br />
normal part of being in a<br />
Continued on Page 5
Page2 <strong>The</strong><strong>Trumpet</strong> DECEMBER <strong>27</strong> <strong>2023</strong> - JANUARY 9 <strong>2024</strong><br />
News<br />
Kenya at 60: the shameful truth<br />
about British colonial abuse and<br />
how it was covered up<br />
Continued from Page 1<<br />
It is fairly well known that the lives<br />
of hundreds of thousands of<br />
Kenyans were affected by terrible<br />
acts of violence under the British<br />
colonial administration. <strong>The</strong> British<br />
government and King Charles have<br />
acknowledged it, and some victims of<br />
violence have taken the British<br />
government to court for these crimes.<br />
Less-known is how much the<br />
British imperialist government tried to<br />
cover up these violations.<br />
My research reveals how harsh<br />
British detention camps in Kenya were,<br />
and the extremes to which the<br />
colonialists went to conceal<br />
information about this.<br />
Much of this violence happened<br />
during the state of emergency, which<br />
lasted between 20 October 1952 and 12<br />
<strong>January</strong> 1960.<br />
As militant nationalism, including<br />
the Mau Mau rebellion, grew against<br />
the colonial state, a state of emergency<br />
was declared in 1952. It introduced a<br />
raft of extraordinary regulations, akin<br />
to wartime powers.<br />
<strong>The</strong> regulations paved the way for<br />
mass arrests, detention without trial,<br />
excess capital punishment, summary<br />
executions, evictions, fines and the<br />
forced resettlement of entire villages.<br />
From 1953 to 1960, between 70,000<br />
and 150,000 Mau Mau suspects were<br />
detained without trial in an archipelago<br />
of camps. Conditions in the camps<br />
were dire and British colonials and<br />
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4th (Uganda) Battalion King's African Rifles 1956-1957<br />
(Photo- Lieutenant Roger Perkins, National Army Museum)<br />
loyalist warders meted out violence<br />
with impunity.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Kenya Human Rights<br />
A home-made gun used by Mau Mau forces<br />
A home-made Mau Mau pistol<br />
Commission estimates that more than<br />
100,000 Kenyans were killed, tortured<br />
and maimed during this time.<br />
Using declassified colonial files and<br />
government papers, my research<br />
reveals the pressure that was exerted by<br />
the Colonial Office in London to<br />
conceal evidence of violence against<br />
detainees. It shows how a highly<br />
sophisticated propaganda machine<br />
controlled the public narrative of<br />
violent incidents.<br />
It was a form of state-sanctioned<br />
amnesia that hid the victims’<br />
perspectives. It officially depicted the<br />
British colonials as rational actors<br />
doing a difficult job under the<br />
circumstances.<br />
Highlighting this colonial story<br />
enriches the present and sheds new<br />
light on these events.<br />
Violence in detention<br />
I identified flash-points of violence<br />
which revealed the brutality of the<br />
colonial detention regime.<br />
One of these, known as screening,<br />
occurred when an entire village or<br />
community was confined and<br />
interrogated about their political<br />
allegiances. Many were subsequently<br />
detained.<br />
To progress through the camp<br />
complex to eventual release, detainees<br />
(none of whom had been charged with<br />
or convicted of any crime) had to<br />
confess to their Mau Mau activities.<br />
Camp staff achieved this by using<br />
systematic brutality that had been<br />
sanctioned by the colonial<br />
administration.<br />
One example was the “dilution”<br />
technique. This occurred when a small<br />
number of non-cooperating detainees<br />
were housed with cooperating<br />
detainees who – through a concerted<br />
psychological and physical attack –<br />
would push them to accept the<br />
rehabilitation regime and confess to<br />
taking the Mau Mau oath.<br />
A variation of this, the Mwea<br />
procedure, used physical force to break<br />
“hardcore” detainees when they first<br />
arrived at the detention camp.<br />
Incoming detainees would be abused<br />
by prison staff and cooperating<br />
detainees until they submitted.<br />
Another form of sanctioned<br />
violence was the use of “overpowering<br />
force”. This was supposed to be<br />
executed by European rehabilitation<br />
and prison staff in the form of on-thespot<br />
punishment of no more than 12<br />
strokes using a regulation cane.<br />
From 1953, a policy to compel<br />
detainees to engage in work was<br />
introduced and disobedience was<br />
redefined as a major offence. So when<br />
detainees refused to work, they were<br />
subject to corporal punishment.<br />
<strong>The</strong> scene was therefore set for the<br />
sanctioned use of violence against<br />
detainees. And if people were injured<br />
or killed in defiance of a legal order,<br />
those consequences could more easily<br />
be justified by camp authorities.<br />
<strong>The</strong>se methods of corporal<br />
punishment resulted in many injuries<br />
and deaths because camp staff<br />
regularly exceeded the punishment<br />
Continued on Page 3
News<br />
DECEMBER <strong>27</strong> <strong>2023</strong> - JANUARY 9 <strong>2024</strong><br />
<strong>The</strong><strong>Trumpet</strong><br />
Kenya at 60: the shameful truth<br />
about British colonial abuse and<br />
how it was covered up<br />
Page3<br />
Continued from Page 2<<br />
specified in emergency ordinances.<br />
For instance, on 3 March 1959 at<br />
Hola detention camp in the north<br />
province, 11 detainees were killed and<br />
many more injured after being set upon<br />
by guards for “refusing to work.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> initial official account blamed<br />
the deaths on contaminated water.<br />
However, the local inquest magistrate<br />
revealed the deaths “were due to shock<br />
and haemorrhage due to multiple<br />
bruising caused by violence.” Still, no<br />
one was ever prosecuted for these<br />
killings.<br />
Memory and history<br />
<strong>The</strong> history that is remembered is<br />
no accident. Writing to the Governor<br />
and the Colonial secretary in 1953,<br />
Kenya’s Attorney-General advised, “if<br />
we are going to sin, we must sin<br />
quietly”. Thus, a version of British<br />
imperialism was projected that relied<br />
upon concealment of harsh facts.<br />
<strong>The</strong> violent architecture of the<br />
Continued on Page 4
Page4<br />
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<strong>The</strong><strong>Trumpet</strong>Team<br />
DECEMBER <strong>27</strong> <strong>2023</strong> - JANUARY 9 <strong>2024</strong><br />
News<br />
Kenya at 60: the shameful<br />
truth about British colonial<br />
abuse and how it was<br />
covered up<br />
Continued from Page 3<<br />
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camps was hidden behind complicated<br />
bureaucratic language that stripped<br />
away its real meaning.<br />
<strong>The</strong> British public were spun a<br />
narrative by the colonial government<br />
about the “rehabilitative” nature of the<br />
camps – a way to convert people away<br />
from Mau Mau allegiance.<br />
In addition to spin, there was a<br />
deliberate attempt to suppress<br />
information. I was able to pinpoint<br />
significant Colonial Office directives<br />
from the late 1950s, which I argue were<br />
central to official denial and amnesia.<br />
As British colonial territories were<br />
inching toward independence in the<br />
mid-20th century, the government in<br />
Whitehall redoubled its efforts to bury<br />
any evidence that implicated its<br />
colonial officials in violations that<br />
occurred in territories under British<br />
administration.<br />
All top secret classified materials<br />
were rapidly centralised in executive<br />
offices in Kenya and marked for<br />
“European eyes only”.<br />
Certain colonial files were given a<br />
particular classification in a “Watch”<br />
series prior to Kenyan independence in<br />
1963. This included “all papers which<br />
might be interpreted as showing racial<br />
discrimination against Africans on the<br />
part of the Government”.<br />
<strong>The</strong> files were then either destroyed<br />
or removed to the UK in the 1960s. We<br />
know about the classification directives<br />
and destruction mandates because a<br />
paper trail covering those particular<br />
processes survived.<br />
It is clear from these directives that<br />
evidence of serious human rights<br />
abuses would be destroyed in these<br />
document purges. Documents deemed<br />
to be safe were transferred to the new<br />
independent government.<br />
All of these acts meant that the<br />
colonial portrayal of the Mau Mau<br />
uprising as irrational could be<br />
Weapons of the Mau Mau included clubs, knives, spears and arrows<br />
Mau Mau Stone Age Cave in Kiambu, Kenya (Photo - Ishaku Mshelia, CCA 4.0 SA Int)<br />
legitimised.<br />
Selectivity over what could be<br />
mentioned was a successful colonial<br />
strategy, with resonance in how British<br />
colonial history is viewed today.<br />
Apology and reparations<br />
Those who continue to benefit from<br />
Britain’s historical violence are<br />
insensitive or unresponsive to the calls<br />
for acknowledgement, apology and<br />
reparations.<br />
Public statements by King Charles<br />
and former British foreign secretary<br />
William Hague recognise that Kenyans<br />
were subjected to torture and illtreatment<br />
at the hands of the colonial<br />
administration, but they fall short of a<br />
full apology.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re will be difficulty in<br />
examining and addressing historical<br />
harms. But my research reveals a need<br />
to reconcile the colonial narratives with<br />
historical facts. This holds the potential<br />
to foster genuine compassion and<br />
justice.<br />
• Aoife Duffy is a Senior Lecturer at<br />
University of Essex.<br />
• This article is republished from <strong>The</strong><br />
Conversation under a Creative<br />
Commons license. Read the<br />
original article.
Hair & Beauty<br />
DECEMBER <strong>27</strong> <strong>2023</strong> - JANUARY 9 <strong>2024</strong><br />
<strong>The</strong><strong>Trumpet</strong><br />
Vatika Naturals launches new<br />
curly hair range at Christmas gala<br />
Page5<br />
Amidst festive splendour, Vatika<br />
unveiled its Christmas<br />
extravaganza - ‘A Tress’Mas<br />
Affair’, setting ablaze the town with an<br />
unforgettable celebration! This Christmas<br />
celebration brought together influencers<br />
from diverse realms – makeup, hair care,<br />
travel, wellness, and more – all under one<br />
roof for an evening that celebrated beauty<br />
of all types - the very pillar of Vatika. <strong>The</strong><br />
heart of the affair was illuminated by the<br />
theme #GreenForRed, an ode to Vatika’s<br />
use of the essence of Natural Ingredients.<br />
<strong>The</strong> evening opened with an aura of<br />
excitement as Roshni Singh, the Group<br />
Marketing Manager of Dabur<br />
International, took the stage. Her speech<br />
heralded the grand unveiling of Vatika’s<br />
new range for curly hair. <strong>The</strong> spotlight<br />
then shifted to the celebrity hair care<br />
expert who expertly unravelled the<br />
mysteries of diverse hair types,<br />
enlightening the audience with<br />
personalised tips and tailored Vatika hair<br />
care routines. <strong>The</strong> hair care specialist<br />
dwelled on the profound link between<br />
inner well-being and hair vibrancy,<br />
stressing the impact of nutrition and<br />
mental serenity on hair health. Expanding<br />
beyond it, she shed light on external<br />
factors like climate and product choices,<br />
key players influencing hair appearance.<br />
At the heart of it all was Vatika’s unique<br />
ethos - rather than dictating norms, the<br />
brand passionately adapts to meet diverse<br />
hair care needs, emphasizing a<br />
personalized approach that evolves<br />
alongside its users, empowering them on<br />
their distinct hair care journeys.<br />
An engaging Q&A session ensued,<br />
leaving influencers armed with insights<br />
for nourished hair and personalised<br />
Vatika hair care routines for their unique<br />
hair type.<br />
With sparkling drinks, delicious food<br />
and tantalising tarot card readings taking<br />
place, the event was buzzing with<br />
excitement. <strong>The</strong> true star of the evening<br />
was the life-size advent calendar – a<br />
‘Rudolph’ in its own right – adorned with<br />
an array of Vatika hair care treasures.<br />
From indulgent hair oils, revitalising<br />
shampoos, and luxurious conditioners to<br />
masks and temporary hair colours,<br />
influencers were spoilt for choice,<br />
curating their personalised Vatika<br />
selection to take home.<br />
Amidst merry tunes and jubilant<br />
spirits, a karaoke bar set the rhythm,<br />
coaxing everyone into a joyous dance of<br />
Christmas cheer. However, the pinnacle<br />
of the night was the Christmas tree,<br />
lovingly adorned by influencers with<br />
their favourite Vatika baubles, igniting<br />
the season’s festive fervour.<br />
Zakir Mansoori, the Business Head at<br />
Dabur International UK, shared his<br />
thoughts about the event, stating, “<strong>The</strong><br />
Tress’Mas Affair along with launching a<br />
new hair care range for curly hair<br />
epitomized all that Vatika truly represents<br />
- the essence of natural ingredients found<br />
in our hair care, along with the<br />
celebration of diverse hair types. <strong>The</strong><br />
event was just the perfect Christmas gift<br />
wrapped up with warmth, love, and hair<br />
care galore. Here’s to many more<br />
splendid events that honour our ethos and<br />
bring us together for such delightful<br />
evenings.”<br />
Continued on Page 8<<br />
Man jailed for 22 counts of rape<br />
Continued from Page 1<<br />
relationship.<br />
On 7 June 2022, Queen was arrested<br />
on suspicion of rape after a report was<br />
made to police. This was not the first<br />
time that allegations had been made<br />
around Queen but it was only on this<br />
occasion that the victim had wanted to<br />
support a criminal investigation.<br />
Detectives went back to those they<br />
believed may have previously been<br />
victims, who then agreed to support the<br />
criminal case.<br />
<strong>The</strong> investigation included hundreds<br />
of hours analysing communications<br />
between Queen and the victims,<br />
providing an insight into how he treated<br />
them as well as his general lack of<br />
respect towards women.<br />
Multiple witness statements<br />
obtained from friends, family members<br />
and various third parties helped<br />
demonstrate the impact the offences<br />
had on the victims both at the time and<br />
now, years later.<br />
During the criminal process, each of<br />
the victims was assigned a specially<br />
trained officer to be their point of<br />
contact throughout the investigation<br />
and during the trial. This officer was<br />
responsible for keeping them up to date<br />
with the progress of the investigation,<br />
answering any questions they had, and<br />
making referrals to support agencies.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y were also offered special<br />
measures for the trial, such as prerecording<br />
their evidence, or giving<br />
evidence via live link or from behind a<br />
screen, to enable them to feel as<br />
comfortable as possible throughout the<br />
court proceedings.<br />
Detective Constable Lena Kraemer,<br />
who also worked on the investigation<br />
said: “We are doing everything we can<br />
to ensure that sexual predators who<br />
make our streets unsafe for women and<br />
girls are placed before the courts. We<br />
can’t do that alone. If you have been the<br />
victim of a sexual offence and have not<br />
yet spoken to police, we urge you to do<br />
so; at the very least so we can ensure<br />
that you are being supported.<br />
“We understand that supporting a<br />
police investigation for sexual assault<br />
is a daunting prospect but with police<br />
and professional support we can ensure<br />
your voice is heard.<br />
“If you have any information about<br />
sexual predators please inform police<br />
directly or anonymously via the<br />
independent charity Crimestoppers.<br />
This all helps us build a picture to<br />
prevent and detect crime.”
Page6 <strong>The</strong><strong>Trumpet</strong> DECEMBER <strong>27</strong> <strong>2023</strong> - JANUARY 9 <strong>2024</strong>
DECEMBER <strong>27</strong> <strong>2023</strong> - JANUARY 9 <strong>2024</strong> <strong>The</strong><strong>Trumpet</strong><br />
Page7
Page8 <strong>The</strong><strong>Trumpet</strong> DECEMBER <strong>27</strong> <strong>2023</strong> - JANUARY 9 <strong>2024</strong><br />
Hair<br />
& Beauty<br />
Vatika Naturals launches new<br />
curly hair range at Christmas gala<br />
Continued from Page 5<<br />
Vatika ingeniously joined the holiday<br />
festivities, swapping the traditional red<br />
for Vatika’s iconic green, a nod to their<br />
commitment to harnessing natural<br />
ingredients. This vibrant hue echoed their<br />
philosophy, ensuring top-notch quality<br />
for their consumers through the essence<br />
of natural ingredients in their products.<br />
Amidst delectable treats, effervescent<br />
conversations, and an air infused with the<br />
spirit of giving, ‘A Tress’Mas Affair’<br />
became a cherished memory for all who<br />
were part of the celebration.<br />
Vatika - Dabur’s subsidiary, has<br />
garnered a strong reputation for its<br />
commitment to harnessing the power of<br />
natural ingredients in their hair care<br />
products. It draws upon time-tested<br />
natural ingredients such as Coconut,<br />
Olive, Almond, Garlic, Black Seeds, and<br />
other natural extracts known for their<br />
nourishing properties. Beyond shampoos,<br />
conditioners, and oils, Vatika offers a<br />
comprehensive range of hair care<br />
products tailored for various needs,<br />
including hair masks, styling creams, and<br />
hair colours. <strong>The</strong>se products address<br />
issues like hair damage, dryness, frizz,<br />
and promoting hair health.
Opinion<br />
Dilemma of unending<br />
promises in democracy<br />
DECEMBER <strong>27</strong> <strong>2023</strong> - JANUARY 9 <strong>2024</strong><br />
<strong>The</strong><strong>Trumpet</strong><br />
Page9<br />
It is a glorious thing to have a<br />
tested leader as the President of<br />
a country. It is also a blessing<br />
when the President means what he<br />
says and when what he says is not<br />
just believable but also approved by<br />
the people. Such a society is bound<br />
to swim in an environment of<br />
enormous possibilities because the<br />
question of trust is taken care of.<br />
<strong>The</strong> question of purpose is also<br />
sorted. Be that as it may, it is a twoedged<br />
sword: the leader will have to<br />
be conscious of time and calculative<br />
of his achievements while the mass<br />
of the people must remain critical in<br />
terms of the goals and objectives of<br />
the government.<br />
As for the people, that’s what<br />
will give them the leverage in terms<br />
of the measurement of performance<br />
of the critical goals and objectives<br />
of the government. As for the<br />
government, to achieve its goal, no<br />
Ministry is sacrosanct; no policy is a<br />
no-go area. In other words, there<br />
should be no sacred cows. So, a<br />
leader worth his designation must be<br />
exceptionally bold.<br />
Promises are good when they are<br />
implemented. <strong>The</strong>y create an<br />
atmosphere of trust and a political<br />
capital that is difficult to deplete.<br />
But when promises are made but<br />
broken, they deplete the political<br />
capital faster than a bullet. It is like<br />
thunder and lightning.<br />
Integrity also wanes. <strong>The</strong> more<br />
the believability of a gladiator<br />
wanes, the faster the credibility and<br />
the ability to win elections fly away.<br />
If one tells the people something<br />
and that thing wanes, so is a certain<br />
percentage of one’s political capital<br />
waning. <strong>The</strong> more reason a leader<br />
has to guide the currency of his or<br />
her promises, because nobody wants<br />
to trade with a currency that’s under<br />
suspicion. In other words, once it<br />
gets to a point where the people are<br />
no longer eager to listen to their<br />
leader’s voice, trouble looms.<br />
It is no longer news that<br />
President Bola Tinubu has promised<br />
to let the poor breathe! He has<br />
promised to banish poverty! He has<br />
also promised to fight insecurity to a<br />
standstill! As a matter of fact,<br />
Nigerians have lost count of the<br />
promises made by this<br />
administration since May 29. Early<br />
this week, Tinubu vowed that no<br />
student would drop out of school on<br />
his watch! <strong>The</strong> point is: Nigerians<br />
are tired of unending promises from<br />
their leaders. In the 80s, Nigerians<br />
were promised houses, stable power<br />
supply, affordable and qualitative<br />
education and ‘everything for all’ by<br />
the Year 2020. This is <strong>2023</strong> and …<br />
here we are! So, Tinubu needs to<br />
prove to the world that he is<br />
different from the abnormal norms.<br />
Bola Ahmed Tinubu<br />
He should learn, especially from our<br />
recent past, because examples of<br />
people who started well but ended<br />
badly abound.<br />
Successive governments have<br />
taught Nigerians how to get weary<br />
of unending promises. It’s a bad<br />
experience which they don’t want to<br />
relive. On May 29, 2015,<br />
Muhammadu Buhari assumed office<br />
as Nigeria’s President. Buhari came<br />
into office standing on a tripod:<br />
security, fight against corruption and<br />
infrastructure development and job<br />
creation. By the time he was leaving<br />
office on May 28, <strong>2023</strong>, life in<br />
Nigeria as a Nigerian had become<br />
extremely hard. So, only God can<br />
rate the former President’s<br />
performance and thank him on<br />
behalf of Nigerians. For instance,<br />
BY ABIODUN<br />
KOMOLAFE<br />
Buhari had promised to recover<br />
every Chibok girl captured by Boko<br />
Haram. He had also promised to<br />
lead Nigeria ‘from the front.’ But<br />
that’s what they were: unfulfilled<br />
promises. Mention the economy<br />
under Buhari and Nigerians would<br />
be quick to recount how he acted<br />
King Rehoboam.<br />
On the war against corruption,<br />
some of those who were around<br />
between <strong>December</strong> 31, 1983 and<br />
August <strong>27</strong>, 1985 would have by<br />
now concluded that those who<br />
impishly said that Nigerians were<br />
being ruled by one funny ‘Jibrin<br />
from Sudan’ might not have been<br />
sincerely wrong. So, when Femi<br />
Adesina said that his principal<br />
fulfilled all his promises to<br />
Nigerians, one could not but marvel<br />
at the height of insult on the<br />
collective intelligence of Nigerians.<br />
‘If the foundation be destroyed<br />
…?’ <strong>The</strong> problem with Nigeria has<br />
been a dearth of forthright and<br />
insightful leaders; and that’s why<br />
dear country has been in this sorry<br />
pass. <strong>The</strong> late Obafemi Awolowo<br />
was too elitist in his time; and he<br />
ended up being sandwiched by antielitist<br />
elements! It was a serious<br />
issue but, even at that, Awolowo did<br />
some things which clearly<br />
distinguished him as a forthright<br />
leader. For example, when the then<br />
University of Ife was to be<br />
established, the Ikenne-Remo-born<br />
politician resolved to make it the<br />
best university on this part of the<br />
planet. To achieve this, he ordered<br />
the hiring of the best brains from<br />
across the globe, even if it would<br />
cost the Western Region a<br />
substantial amount of resources.<br />
Continued on Page 10
Page10 <strong>The</strong><strong>Trumpet</strong> DECEMBER <strong>27</strong> <strong>2023</strong> - JANUARY 9 <strong>2024</strong><br />
Wole Olanipekun<br />
at 72!<br />
By Abiodun Komolafe<br />
Chief Wole Olanipekun<br />
Opinion<br />
Dilemma of<br />
unending<br />
promises in<br />
democracy<br />
Glory be to God, Chief<br />
Oluwole Oladapo<br />
Olanipekun is two years<br />
above seventy!<br />
It is not due to his power or<br />
ability to plead cases in the court<br />
of law. It is purely the grace of the<br />
Strength of Israel.<br />
For decades, Olanipekun has<br />
been an amiable Watcher at the<br />
Bench. This personable individual,<br />
humanist extraordinaire and an<br />
indefatigable and undefeatable<br />
iconic silk has now carved a niche<br />
for himself in high-profile clientele<br />
by handling public political<br />
disputes.<br />
Unknown to him, the Senior<br />
Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) is a<br />
mentor to many people. Many<br />
Nigerians are looking up to him<br />
and are watching. So, history is<br />
recording whatever he says and<br />
how he weighs matters; and that<br />
will be his legacy, not what friends<br />
and other men-pleasers say.<br />
Olanipekun is no longer an<br />
ordinary man. He has paid his dues<br />
and God has placed him on a<br />
pedestal that is rare. Nigerians can<br />
only wish him well and have him<br />
around us for many years to come.<br />
Continued from Page 9<<br />
Reports had it that it was Awolowo<br />
who personally looked for Professor<br />
Hezekiah Oluwasanmi as the<br />
university’s pioneer Vice<br />
Chancellor. Decades after its<br />
establishment, the institution, now<br />
rechristened Obafemi Awolowo<br />
University (OAU), still retains even<br />
its powerful aesthetic appeal.<br />
Tinubu as an individual is<br />
determined and he’s working. But<br />
where are the Ministers? Where are<br />
the Ministers of Agriculture and<br />
Power for instance? <strong>The</strong> Minister of<br />
Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has not<br />
uttered a word or made a policy<br />
statement since his inauguration. On<br />
his part, the Minister of Agriculture<br />
and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari<br />
has refused to take advantage of the<br />
low-hanging fruits that the sector<br />
presents, both in terms of the<br />
massive food production advocacy<br />
and provision of employment<br />
opportunities to mitigate the stress<br />
on the economy. In fact, what is<br />
only known about ‘Penkelemesi’ is<br />
his running upandan, crisscrossing<br />
between Ibadan and Abuja; and it’s<br />
as if his destiny depends solely on<br />
the Governorship seat of Oyo State,<br />
come 20<strong>27</strong>.<br />
Without doubt, too many<br />
promises are a panacea for loss of<br />
focus. <strong>The</strong>refore, Tinubu should let<br />
Nigerians know which among his<br />
promises are achievable before this<br />
first term expires. For instance, if he<br />
is going to provide electricity, let it<br />
be that Tinubu has said that<br />
electricity is his main focus. In any<br />
case, two terms of eight years can’t<br />
even be enough to resolve the many<br />
challenges bedeviling the sector.<br />
But at the end of the day, Nigerians<br />
won’t have to go back to it again.<br />
<strong>The</strong> State of Israel once started as<br />
a subdued nation. But she went back<br />
to the drawing board to recalibrate<br />
the reasons for her existence. Now,<br />
woe betide any nation that thinks<br />
little of Eretz Yisrael. Even the<br />
United States of America takes<br />
Israel into consideration before<br />
taking any steps. So, wither Nigeria,<br />
the ‘Giant of Africa’?<br />
May the Lamb of God, who<br />
takes away the sin of the world,<br />
grant us peace in Nigeria!<br />
Komolafe wrote in from Ijebu-<br />
Jesa, Osun State, Nigeria<br />
(ijebujesa@yahoo.co.uk;<br />
08098514418 – SMS only)<br />
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Page11
Page12 <strong>The</strong><strong>Trumpet</strong> DECEMBER <strong>27</strong> <strong>2023</strong> - JANUARY 9 <strong>2024</strong><br />
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Page13
Page14 <strong>The</strong><strong>Trumpet</strong> DECEMBER <strong>27</strong> <strong>2023</strong> - JANUARY 9 <strong>2024</strong><br />
Opinion<br />
Surviving Nigeria’s Pan-<br />
Fulani President with<br />
Sunday Igboho<br />
After a house detention spanning<br />
two years, Nigeria’s Sunday<br />
Igboho recently finally secured<br />
his freedom from Benin Republic. He<br />
did not return to Nigeria. He jetted out to<br />
Germany.<br />
Igboho, 56, a Yoruba nation<br />
separatist and whose real name is Chief<br />
Sunday Adeyemo, ran afoul of that<br />
Francophone nation’s laws for<br />
attempting to secure its passport through<br />
the backdoor. <strong>The</strong>y arrested him.<br />
Worldwide pleas by Yoruba people were<br />
Muhammadu Buhari<br />
made for his release, with even the<br />
Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole<br />
Soyinka, paying Igboho a visit in<br />
custody May 2022. Perhaps reluctant to<br />
court the ire of President Muhammadu<br />
Buhari, Cotonou had dilly-dallied over<br />
Igboho’s case until the Fulani-born<br />
retired-Army General’s tenure expired<br />
on May 29.<br />
Igboho became a fugitive from<br />
Nigeria after the Department of State<br />
Services (DSS) raided his Ibadan, Oyo<br />
State home. This followed his effrontery<br />
in issuing a deadline to almighty Fulani<br />
herdsmen who for years had unleashed<br />
an orgy of kidnapping, murder and rape<br />
on rural communities in Sunday’s native<br />
Yoruba South-West. <strong>The</strong> Fulani pseudomonarch,<br />
Seriki Fulani, served as<br />
intermediating agent for ransom<br />
payment to the kidnappers, who slew<br />
several captives and frightened farmers<br />
away from farmlands. SOS cries to<br />
security agents went unheeded. Finally,<br />
Igboho led natives on a raid of the camp<br />
of this Fulani army of occupation in<br />
Igbo-Ora, Igangan, Ibarapa and environs<br />
in Oyo State.<br />
Reprisal came from an unexpected<br />
quarter. Clearly acting under the<br />
instructions of <strong>The</strong> Presidency and the<br />
agency’s Fulani-born CEO Yusuf<br />
Magaji Bichi, DSS operatives stormed<br />
Sunday Igboho’s home in a midnight<br />
invasion on July 1, 2021, unleashing<br />
sorrows, tears and blood in a rain of<br />
bullets. DSS slaughtered two unarmed<br />
occupants and arrested 12. <strong>The</strong> Yoruba<br />
activist himself escaped. Government<br />
froze all his bank accounts. While<br />
attempting to reach Europe through the<br />
West African country, Igboho fell into<br />
the hands of the gendarmes when he<br />
tried to arrange travel documents<br />
informally. Abuja mounted pressure for<br />
his repatriation back home. However,<br />
Buhari and his Fulani collaborators<br />
underestimated the centuries-old sociocultural<br />
ties between Benin Republic<br />
Yoruba and Nigerian Yoruba. Those ties<br />
saved Adeyemo.<br />
What offence did Igboho commit,<br />
except confront foreign Fulani killing<br />
Nigerians? <strong>The</strong> story began with the<br />
house-rat inviting the bush-rat to come<br />
and partake in the abundant food<br />
available at home. Perhaps because of<br />
climate change and shrinking grazing<br />
grounds in the Savannah, Fulani<br />
cowboys zeroed in on Middle-Belt and<br />
Southern Nigeria’s lush greenery.<br />
Buhari, a pan-Fulani bigot being in<br />
power, Fulani irredentism won. He<br />
threw the borders open. Unchecked, the<br />
itinerant herders arrived here in droves<br />
from all over Africa and filtered through<br />
the land. <strong>The</strong>y came with their AK47s,<br />
anti-aircraft propelled rocket launchers<br />
and unleashed a new brand of terrorism.<br />
Migrant Fulani militias unleashed terror<br />
everywhere the soles of their feet<br />
marched. <strong>The</strong>y still do. Videos have<br />
been seen of helicopters landing in thick<br />
forests to supply these militias with<br />
arms and provisions. This was Statebacked<br />
terrorism.<br />
Like the helplessness they displayed<br />
in Igboho’s neck of the wood in Ibarapa,<br />
security agencies made zero or halfhearted<br />
efforts to halt the Fulani<br />
militants’ evil activities nationwide. <strong>The</strong><br />
world termed them the second deadliest<br />
terror group in the world, but pro-Fulani<br />
Buhari’s regime held back. His<br />
government sold the official false<br />
narrative that herdsmen killing unarmed<br />
rural dwellers arose from axiomatic<br />
farmers-herdsmen clashes. Such<br />
rhetoric served as white-washing PR, if<br />
not justification, for the killings, even as<br />
their body counts mounted nationwide.<br />
Buhari’s government consistently sided<br />
with the foreign aggressors.<br />
It will not be forgotten, the ignoble<br />
role of Buhari’s spin-doctors and attack<br />
dogs: Femi Adesina, Garba Shehu and<br />
Lai Mohammed. Such names will go<br />
down in infamy as defenders of killer<br />
Fulani. Adesina once said those who<br />
failed to give up land to the Fulani<br />
should prepare to forfeit their lives -<br />
undoubtedly his pan-Fulani paymaster,<br />
Buhari’s veritable voice.<br />
Buhari came from a Fulani father<br />
BY FELIX<br />
OBOAGWINA<br />
and a half-Kanuri-half-Hausa mother.<br />
He hails from the Fulani stock in Daura,<br />
Katsina State. Also called Fulbe, the<br />
Fulani tribe originated from nomads in<br />
North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa,<br />
settling into Central and West Africa.<br />
Upon landing on Nigerian soil, and in<br />
order to secure population and<br />
numerical advantage, the Fulani heads<br />
formed a socio-political alliance with<br />
their Hausa hosts; and today, they are<br />
jointly tagged Hausa-Fulani. But when<br />
push comes to shove and competition<br />
for posts and resources becomes<br />
inevitable, Hausa and Fulani individuals<br />
resort to their separate ancient tents.<br />
Despite being less than 9 percent of<br />
Nigeria’s population, the Fulani wield<br />
much socio-political and socio-cultural<br />
superiority.<br />
In relationship to other Nigerians,<br />
Buhari and fellow Fulani irredentists<br />
rate their foreign cousins higher.<br />
Nigerian Fulani’s affinity with cousins<br />
from Mali, Niger, Chad, Cameroun,<br />
Guinea-Bissau and Libya gives these<br />
invaders licence to infiltrate the<br />
Nigerian space.<br />
Going by narratives from APC<br />
chieftains privy to the affair, foreign<br />
Fulani militants had been recruited to<br />
push Buhari into power in 2015.<br />
President Goodluck Jonathan saw the<br />
handwriting on the wall and quickly<br />
threw in the towel to prevent a<br />
bloodbath. <strong>The</strong> APC kingpins claimed<br />
that politicians reneged on agreements<br />
with the imported militants, which<br />
infuriated them and made them go wild.<br />
However, something else fuelled the<br />
foreigners’ daredevilry - a pan-Fulani<br />
agenda.<br />
In his eight years, President Buhari<br />
powered that pan-Fulani agenda. <strong>The</strong><br />
agenda drove his lopsided pro-Fulani<br />
appointments, especially in security and<br />
the entire Armed Forces. <strong>The</strong> agenda<br />
theoretically centred on rallying Fulani<br />
in Africa to migrate to Nigeria and<br />
Continued on Page 15>
Opinion<br />
DECEMBER <strong>27</strong> <strong>2023</strong> - JANUARY 9 <strong>2024</strong><br />
Surviving Nigeria’s Pan-Fulani<br />
President with Sunday Igboho<br />
<strong>The</strong><strong>Trumpet</strong><br />
Page15<br />
Continued from Page 14<<br />
create a monolithic nation that would<br />
subjugate other nationalities as<br />
minorities. Buhari gave the foreign<br />
Fulani traction in Nigeria. For all he<br />
cared, Nigeria’s other 370 tribes could<br />
go to hell, once the Fulani worldwide<br />
secured Nigeria as their homeland.<br />
Resultantly, Fulani foreigners flocked<br />
into Nigeria like locusts. Egged on by<br />
the likes of the then Kaduna State<br />
Governor, they unleashed a scorched<br />
earth policy on minorities in Southern<br />
Kaduna, Zamfara State, Benue State,<br />
Plateau State, Nasarawa State, Niger<br />
State and other places, and drove<br />
millions into IDP camps. Benue recently<br />
said it lost over 20,000 lives to these<br />
marauders.<br />
<strong>The</strong> regime supported the pan-Fulani<br />
campaign with policies. It floated the<br />
rejuvenation of North-South grazing<br />
routes that his spin-doctors said farmers<br />
had encroached upon and triggered<br />
clashes. But grazing routes were a<br />
colonial era convenience that no one<br />
wanted revived; hence, the move failed<br />
to fly.<br />
Undeterred, the government went<br />
ahead to float a malevolent Waterways<br />
Bill, which many saw as a ploy to give<br />
Fulani herdsmen unrestricted access to<br />
rivers and streams in the country. Other<br />
Nigerians collectively ensured their<br />
legislators killed what could have<br />
amounted to signing the death warrant<br />
of other sub-groups.<br />
Buhari went on to concoct plans for<br />
“Ruga” settlements. Thousands of<br />
hectares would be reserved in each of<br />
the 36 States solely for cattle grazers.<br />
Condemned as a scheme to “fulanise”<br />
the entire country, Ruga, to its<br />
antagonists, would ultimately turn into<br />
a veritable hideout for Fulani criminals<br />
and irredentists. That idea too died<br />
suffered nationwide rejection.<br />
Other Nigerians suspected Ruga was<br />
window-dressing Uthman-Dan-Fodio’s<br />
legendary mission to spread the Sokoto<br />
Empire throughout the Nigerian<br />
territory and “dip the Quran in the<br />
Atlantic.” Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa<br />
Balewa, Nigeria’s first Prime Minister,<br />
during the legislative council debates on<br />
March 24, 1947 openly asserted that, “If<br />
the British departed Nigeria, the<br />
Northern people would continue their<br />
interrupted conquest to the sea.”<br />
Nigeria’s history of political instability<br />
since Independence has its roots in this<br />
Fulani quest for permanent hegemony<br />
and the determination of the rest of the<br />
country to resist the Caliphate’s<br />
domination vision.<br />
However, Buhari himself had always<br />
shown signs of a Fulani irredentist. At<br />
the onset of the Fourth Republic, he<br />
once received a stiff rebuff from now<br />
Late Oyo State’s Governor Lam<br />
Adesina over an incident. <strong>The</strong>n usually<br />
reticent Buhari had travelled all the way<br />
from Daura to lodge a protest in Ibadan<br />
because Yoruba natives killed the cows<br />
of Fulani cattle herders. Actually, the<br />
herdsmen first unleashed an orgy of<br />
raping of women, grazing on farmlands<br />
and killing of indigenes. During<br />
Buhari’s inglorious visit, the Oyo State<br />
Police Commissioner and DSS Director<br />
vilified him for the bias displayed by<br />
someone expected to play the mediatory<br />
role of an elder Statesman.<br />
Today, Fulani incursion continues to<br />
pose an existential threat to others in the<br />
Nigerian space. And the apparent apathy<br />
and compromise of the security agencies<br />
forced the likes of Retired-General<br />
<strong>The</strong>ophilus Danjuma to voice their<br />
frustration. Danjuma, a former Fulani<br />
ally, urged other tribes to expect no<br />
protection from the “colluding”<br />
Military; and he urged them to arm<br />
themselves against the invaders.<br />
In fact, other sections have adopted<br />
protective policies. South-West<br />
Governors created “Amotekun.” As<br />
constituted authorities of the South-East<br />
dilly-dallied, the separatist group IPOB<br />
created the Eastern Security Network<br />
(ESN). Ultimately, Igbo Governors<br />
rallied themselves, jointly forming<br />
“Ebubeagwu” to secure their zone. Tired<br />
of waiting for Governor Godwin<br />
Obaseki to take a similar initiative, the<br />
long-suffering Esan people in Edo State<br />
unilaterally created the Atanakpa<br />
vigilante group. Benue State formed the<br />
Community Volunteer Guards.<br />
Additionally, States in the South and<br />
Middle-Belt have followed up with antigrazing<br />
laws, in an uncommon<br />
determination to enforce their<br />
sovereignty in the context of a Nigerian<br />
Federation. Ironically, some dominantly<br />
Fulani States, fearing the terrorism of<br />
their immigrant cousins, have enacted<br />
similar anti-grazing laws.<br />
Clearly, Buhari’s pan-Fulani<br />
predilection kept Nigeria divided like<br />
never before. This man divided Nigeria<br />
by choice. Like Buhari, Second<br />
Republic’s President Shehu Shagari rose<br />
from the Fulani stock; but Shagari never<br />
displayed the trappings of bigotry and<br />
led Nigeria in the path of cohesion and<br />
peace.<br />
To continue down the path of<br />
Buhari’s pan-Fulani hallucination will<br />
only devalue the Fulani themselves and<br />
make them inevitable victims. No group<br />
owns the monopoly of violence.<br />
Victims, fighting for survival, will likely<br />
resort to self-help and in time build<br />
corporate, collaborative resistance. Who<br />
does not dread the day that Nigeria’s<br />
remaining 370 tribes will be pushed to<br />
conclude that the only good Fulani is a<br />
dead Fulani? God forbid!<br />
Buhari and his cohorts probably<br />
forgot the transient power of power. His<br />
nightmarish eight years have ended with<br />
him, even if the bitter taste lingers in the<br />
raping, kidnapping and killings that<br />
foreign Fulani continue within Nigerian<br />
forests and highways. Like Sunday<br />
Igboho, millions of Nigerians thank God<br />
for surviving their inordinately pan-<br />
Fulani President. Goodbye to divisive<br />
bigotry and ethnic chauvinism.<br />
Goodbye to rubbish.<br />
Oboagwina is an Author, Journalist<br />
and Publisher, reachable<br />
via: foboagwina@gmail.com<br />
Insecurity: Time to heed Zulum’s warning<br />
Continued from Page 16<<br />
Nigeria’s seat of power. Are we going to<br />
wait until the Central Bank headquarters<br />
in Abuja gets robbed, or until a sitting<br />
Governor, even our President gets<br />
kidnapped before we take it seriously?<br />
Nigeria is in dire straits. <strong>The</strong> fear in<br />
society is not only palpable but also<br />
ubiquitous. Nigerians are thinking of<br />
economic problems without taking into<br />
consideration that social problems will<br />
make mincemeat of economic growth<br />
and development and that social<br />
problems will end up making a nullity of<br />
any administration’s efforts, if not<br />
challenged and defeated. So, one can<br />
only ask the State to reinvent itself<br />
because the sense of the State is no longer<br />
here. And it started with the coming of<br />
elected Governors. For example,<br />
Governor Ademola Adeleke is prominent<br />
in Osun State only by virtue of his long<br />
cap. He keeps shouting ‘Imole Osun’,<br />
forgetting that development is a thing of<br />
the mind, not fanciful themes. It is<br />
unfortunate but that’s the truth! But then,<br />
who do we blame? After all, symbolic<br />
interactionism is a serious problem with<br />
human beings. Anyway, that’s a matter<br />
for another day!<br />
It’s time the Bola Tinubu-led<br />
government took some proactive steps<br />
that’d send the right messages to extant<br />
terror groups and those who’re still<br />
imagining theirs for Nigeria to have<br />
peace. If Tinubu wants to act Presidential,<br />
he should just wake up and give certain,<br />
strange but necessary directives and let<br />
the terror gangs feel small. That will<br />
definitely go a long way in sending the<br />
right signals to the terrorists and their<br />
sponsors.<br />
For Nigeria to get out of the woods,<br />
those in Tinubu’s government who see<br />
governance as business as usual must<br />
become very serious; otherwise, the<br />
President owes Nigerians a duty to show<br />
them the way out. And let not the<br />
politicians treat this with levity because<br />
you must have a society before you can<br />
play your politics. If the society is<br />
fractured, politics becomes non-existent.<br />
Or where do we play politics if society is<br />
in trouble, under terror attack? You must<br />
have a society before thinking of a<br />
political system or contemplating the<br />
economy. You can only run an economy<br />
in a stable political society. In a<br />
disorganized society, nobody wears a<br />
‘Babanriga’ and says ‘I’m a Senator’. It<br />
doesn’t work that way! You’re a Senator<br />
because you have a State. You are a<br />
Governor because you have settled<br />
society. So, let all politicians drop their<br />
political ambitions and face the fixing of<br />
the society. Those who are running the<br />
system had better take note! Let them be<br />
warned!<br />
Nobody is saying that the government<br />
is not doing anything, but the truth is that<br />
its efforts, currently, are not enough. Or<br />
how on earth could some bastards hold a<br />
whole town to ransom for close to three<br />
hours in broad daylight, and still escape<br />
with their loot? Could that happen in<br />
South Africa, or Egypt? Can Boko Haram<br />
or ISWAP thrive in a country like Israel?<br />
For God’s sake, if we have to seek<br />
external help, the time is now! Nigeria is<br />
bleeding!<br />
May the Lamb of God, who takes<br />
away the sin of the world, grant us peace<br />
in Nigeria!
Page16 <strong>The</strong><strong>Trumpet</strong> DECEMBER <strong>27</strong> <strong>2023</strong> - JANUARY 9 <strong>2024</strong><br />
Opinion<br />
Insecurity: Time to heed<br />
Zulum’s warning<br />
Prof Babagana Umara Zulum<br />
Taraba States, which were never known<br />
for violence, came into the mix. So was<br />
the rest of the country. But all that has<br />
changed. Now, we all seem to be living<br />
with the fear of the unknown!<br />
Once upon a time in Nigeria,<br />
whenever the Nigeria Police came into a<br />
discussion, the first thing that’d readily<br />
come to mind was the horrible ‘Mark 4’<br />
rifle. At that time, that was all the Nigeria<br />
Police got; and it was when the entire<br />
policemen were almost totally decimated<br />
by local armed robbers that Nigeria<br />
reluctantly opted to buy some functional<br />
weapons; but they were neither adequate<br />
nor sufficiently able to address the<br />
security needs of Nigeria as at then.<br />
Entered the question of superiority<br />
between the police and the military and<br />
the situation relapsed to the Stone Age.<br />
Unfortunately, the gullible public kept<br />
quiet and … here we are!<br />
Through the distant to the recent past,<br />
Nigeria’s history of security challenges<br />
BY ABIODUN<br />
KOMOLAFE<br />
and the fight against the ugly trend has<br />
been that of insincerity and instability.<br />
Getting criminals arrested is one big<br />
battle. Establishing prosecutable cases is<br />
another big and arduous task while facing<br />
the courts and lawyers are also huge<br />
problems. Have we forgotten how Benue<br />
State was shaken to its foundation, when<br />
a high profile Bank robbery took the lives<br />
of several innocent Nigerians, including<br />
that of a Divisional Police Officer and<br />
some of his men? <strong>The</strong> Offa, Kwara State<br />
robbery incident is still fresh in our<br />
minds. Nearly on a daily basis, people are<br />
being kidnapped, even in Abuja,<br />
Continued on Page 15><br />
At a programme in honour of the<br />
reconstituted North-East<br />
Development Commission<br />
(NEDC) recently, Borno State Governor,<br />
Babagana Umara Zulum, warned that<br />
Nigeria risked being wiped off the map<br />
in the near future if no proactive steps<br />
were taken to stop young people and<br />
children from being recruited by Boko<br />
Haram and ISWAP terrorists.<br />
Zulum’s warning came at a time no<br />
fewer than 13 farmers were beheaded on<br />
their farmlands in the State by Boko<br />
Haram terrorists, with some unspecified<br />
number of farmers also kidnapped. This<br />
is also amidst reports of harvest tax by<br />
farmers to terrorists.<br />
Well, Governor Zulum was only<br />
being patriotic to have warned Nigeria of<br />
an imminent disaster, and for Nigeria to<br />
wake up and do something so that<br />
Nigerians would not be living in outright<br />
fear. Before the Governor’s damning<br />
warning, it’s a known fact that any<br />
security challenges might have caught the<br />
people napping. <strong>The</strong> truth of the case is<br />
that Nigeria is not prepared at all for any<br />
security emergencies. That Nigeria<br />
doesn’t have the orientation even as<br />
security apparatuses are neither sensitized<br />
nor equipped is no longer news. So, to<br />
debate whether we should heed the<br />
Governor’s warning is a sign of<br />
spinelessness and planlessness on the part<br />
of the country. It needs no debate but a<br />
total absorption of the plan and retrigger<br />
for the people to begin to think.<br />
Back in those days, the Yorubas<br />
would always say: ‘A kii gbe inu ile gba<br />
ofa lai re ogun’. Translated literally, it<br />
means: ‘One cannot be in the house and<br />
receive an arrow’s attack without going<br />
to the warfront.’ Current events in the<br />
land seem to have paled the adage into<br />
insignificance. Before our very eyes, the<br />
house is no longer safe and the farm is a<br />
no-go area. Police and Army Barracks<br />
have become a basket case of ‘if gold<br />
could rust…’ Some crimes are even<br />
annoying! Only last week, a neighbour<br />
gave a distress call, asking yours<br />
sincerely to assist with a specific amount<br />
of money so that he could use it to<br />
appease some hoodlums who were<br />
“threatening to kill” him if he’d not “find<br />
something for” them. <strong>The</strong> neighbour in<br />
question had no choice! When asked later<br />
why he didn’t seek assistance from the<br />
security agencies, he simply retorted:<br />
‘you think say gofment go fit help?’<br />
<strong>The</strong>re have been times and periods<br />
when notorious bandits or gangsters have<br />
ruled and ‘commanded’ respect from the<br />
society in some specific areas of Nigeria.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re was a time when Edo was a no-go<br />
area. Ibadan of the Southwest had its<br />
time. At a time in Ijebu of Ogun State,<br />
peace could not be taken for granted.<br />
Lagos State, for a long time, was the<br />
dread of everybody in Nigeria. We need<br />
not forget that it was then the nation’s<br />
seat of power, yet it was what it was!<br />
Even the remote and hitherto peaceful<br />
areas were not excluded. Ondo and<br />
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