The Trumpet Newspaper Issue 613 (December 27 2023 - January 9 2024)

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Africans now have a voice... Founded in 1995 

V O L 29 N O 613 D E C E M B E R 27 2023 - JANUARY 9 2024 

Man jailed 

for 22 

counts 

of rape 

British soldiers search Kenyans suspected of being Mau Mau terrorists (Photo - Imperial War Museum CC BY-NC 4.0 Deed) 

Kenya at 60: the 

shameful truth 

about British 

colonial abuse 

and how it was 

covered up 

By Aoife Duffy, University of Essex 

Continued on Page 2> 

Kevarnie Queen 

Following a hearing at Inner 

London Crown Court, a 19- 

year-old man has been 

sentenced to 12 years’ 

imprisonment with an additional 

four years on licence. 

Kevarnie Queen of Brixton in 

south London – a predatory 

offender who raped teenage girls he 

met on social media was jailed after 

detectives supported victims to 

come forward and give evidence 

against him. 

He was previously convicted of 

22 counts of rape following a trial 

at the same court. 

Detective Constable Jennie 

Seward, one of the investigating 

officers, said: “The six women in 

this case – five of whom were aged 

just 15 at the time of the offences – 

have shown incredible bravery, not 

only in initially coming forward to 

police but in giving evidence at 

court which proved vital in bringing 

Queen to justice. 

“No-one who heard their 

personal statements can fail to be 

horrified by the impact Queen’s 

crimes have had on their lives, and 

we do not underestimate the effect 

this will have on them in the years 

to come. 

“There is no doubt their actions 

will have prevented similar crimes 

against other women. We are 

pleased Queen is now behind bars 

and unable to cause any further 

harm.” 

Queen had met all but one of the 

six victims on social media where 

he groomed the girls before going 

on to rape them. He was just 15 

when he carried out the first offence 

in 2019. On many occasions, Queen 

manipulated his victims, making 

them think the sexual abuse was a 

normal part of being in a 

Continued on Page 5

Page2 TheTrumpet DECEMBER 27 2023 - JANUARY 9 2024 

News 

Kenya at 60: the shameful truth 

about British colonial abuse and 

how it was covered up 

Continued from Page 1< 

It is fairly well known that the lives 

of hundreds of thousands of 

Kenyans were affected by terrible 

acts of violence under the British 

colonial administration. The British 

government and King Charles have 

acknowledged it, and some victims of 

violence have taken the British 

government to court for these crimes. 

Less-known is how much the 

British imperialist government tried to 

cover up these violations. 

My research reveals how harsh 

British detention camps in Kenya were, 

and the extremes to which the 

colonialists went to conceal 

information about this. 

Much of this violence happened 

during the state of emergency, which 

lasted between 20 October 1952 and 12 

January 1960. 

As militant nationalism, including 

the Mau Mau rebellion, grew against 

the colonial state, a state of emergency 

was declared in 1952. It introduced a 

raft of extraordinary regulations, akin 

to wartime powers. 

The regulations paved the way for 

mass arrests, detention without trial, 

excess capital punishment, summary 

executions, evictions, fines and the 

forced resettlement of entire villages. 

From 1953 to 1960, between 70,000 

and 150,000 Mau Mau suspects were 

detained without trial in an archipelago 

of camps. Conditions in the camps 

were dire and British colonials and 

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4th (Uganda) Battalion King's African Rifles 1956-1957 

(Photo- Lieutenant Roger Perkins, National Army Museum) 

loyalist warders meted out violence 

with impunity. 

The Kenya Human Rights 

A home-made gun used by Mau Mau forces 

A home-made Mau Mau pistol 

Commission estimates that more than 

100,000 Kenyans were killed, tortured 

and maimed during this time. 

Using declassified colonial files and 

government papers, my research 

reveals the pressure that was exerted by 

the Colonial Office in London to 

conceal evidence of violence against 

detainees. It shows how a highly 

sophisticated propaganda machine 

controlled the public narrative of 

violent incidents. 

It was a form of state-sanctioned 

amnesia that hid the victims’ 

perspectives. It officially depicted the 

British colonials as rational actors 

doing a difficult job under the 

circumstances. 

Highlighting this colonial story 

enriches the present and sheds new 

light on these events. 

Violence in detention 

I identified flash-points of violence 

which revealed the brutality of the 

colonial detention regime. 

One of these, known as screening, 

occurred when an entire village or 

community was confined and 

interrogated about their political 

allegiances. Many were subsequently 

detained. 

To progress through the camp 

complex to eventual release, detainees 

(none of whom had been charged with 

or convicted of any crime) had to 

confess to their Mau Mau activities. 

Camp staff achieved this by using 

systematic brutality that had been 

sanctioned by the colonial 

administration. 

One example was the “dilution” 

technique. This occurred when a small 

number of non-cooperating detainees 

were housed with cooperating 

detainees who – through a concerted 

psychological and physical attack – 

would push them to accept the 

rehabilitation regime and confess to 

taking the Mau Mau oath. 

A variation of this, the Mwea 

procedure, used physical force to break 

“hardcore” detainees when they first 

arrived at the detention camp. 

Incoming detainees would be abused 

by prison staff and cooperating 

detainees until they submitted. 

Another form of sanctioned 

violence was the use of “overpowering 

force”. This was supposed to be 

executed by European rehabilitation 

and prison staff in the form of on-thespot 

punishment of no more than 12 

strokes using a regulation cane. 

From 1953, a policy to compel 

detainees to engage in work was 

introduced and disobedience was 

redefined as a major offence. So when 

detainees refused to work, they were 

subject to corporal punishment. 

The scene was therefore set for the 

sanctioned use of violence against 

detainees. And if people were injured 

or killed in defiance of a legal order, 

those consequences could more easily 

be justified by camp authorities. 

These methods of corporal 

punishment resulted in many injuries 

and deaths because camp staff 

regularly exceeded the punishment 

Continued on Page 3

News 

DECEMBER 27 2023 - JANUARY 9 2024 


Kenya at 60: the shameful truth 

about British colonial abuse and 

how it was covered up 

Page3 


specified in emergency ordinances. 

For instance, on 3 March 1959 at 

Hola detention camp in the north 

province, 11 detainees were killed and 

many more injured after being set upon 

by guards for “refusing to work.” 

The initial official account blamed 

the deaths on contaminated water. 

However, the local inquest magistrate 

revealed the deaths “were due to shock 

and haemorrhage due to multiple 

bruising caused by violence.” Still, no 

one was ever prosecuted for these 

killings. 

Memory and history 

The history that is remembered is 

no accident. Writing to the Governor 

and the Colonial secretary in 1953, 

Kenya’s Attorney-General advised, “if 

we are going to sin, we must sin 

quietly”. Thus, a version of British 

imperialism was projected that relied 

upon concealment of harsh facts. 

The violent architecture of the 

Continued on Page 4

Page4 


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News 

Kenya at 60: the shameful 

truth about British colonial 

abuse and how it was 

covered up 


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camps was hidden behind complicated 

bureaucratic language that stripped 

away its real meaning. 

The British public were spun a 

narrative by the colonial government 

about the “rehabilitative” nature of the 

camps – a way to convert people away 

from Mau Mau allegiance. 

In addition to spin, there was a 

deliberate attempt to suppress 

information. I was able to pinpoint 

significant Colonial Office directives 

from the late 1950s, which I argue were 

central to official denial and amnesia. 

As British colonial territories were 

inching toward independence in the 

mid-20th century, the government in 

Whitehall redoubled its efforts to bury 

any evidence that implicated its 

colonial officials in violations that 

occurred in territories under British 

administration. 

All top secret classified materials 

were rapidly centralised in executive 

offices in Kenya and marked for 

“European eyes only”. 

Certain colonial files were given a 

particular classification in a “Watch” 

series prior to Kenyan independence in 

1963. This included “all papers which 

might be interpreted as showing racial 

discrimination against Africans on the 

part of the Government”. 

The files were then either destroyed 

or removed to the UK in the 1960s. We 

know about the classification directives 

and destruction mandates because a 

paper trail covering those particular 

processes survived. 

It is clear from these directives that 

evidence of serious human rights 

abuses would be destroyed in these 

document purges. Documents deemed 

to be safe were transferred to the new 

independent government. 

All of these acts meant that the 

colonial portrayal of the Mau Mau 

uprising as irrational could be 

Weapons of the Mau Mau included clubs, knives, spears and arrows 

Mau Mau Stone Age Cave in Kiambu, Kenya (Photo - Ishaku Mshelia, CCA 4.0 SA Int) 

legitimised. 

Selectivity over what could be 

mentioned was a successful colonial 

strategy, with resonance in how British 

colonial history is viewed today. 

Apology and reparations 

Those who continue to benefit from 

Britain’s historical violence are 

insensitive or unresponsive to the calls 

for acknowledgement, apology and 

reparations. 

Public statements by King Charles 

and former British foreign secretary 

William Hague recognise that Kenyans 

were subjected to torture and illtreatment 

at the hands of the colonial 

administration, but they fall short of a 

full apology. 

There will be difficulty in 

examining and addressing historical 

harms. But my research reveals a need 

to reconcile the colonial narratives with 

historical facts. This holds the potential 

to foster genuine compassion and 

justice. 

• Aoife Duffy is a Senior Lecturer at 

University of Essex. 

• This article is republished from The 

Conversation under a Creative 

Commons license. Read the 

original article.

Hair & Beauty 



Vatika Naturals launches new 

curly hair range at Christmas gala 

Page5 

Amidst festive splendour, Vatika 

unveiled its Christmas 

extravaganza - ‘A Tress’Mas 

Affair’, setting ablaze the town with an 

unforgettable celebration! This Christmas 

celebration brought together influencers 

from diverse realms – makeup, hair care, 

travel, wellness, and more – all under one 

roof for an evening that celebrated beauty 

of all types - the very pillar of Vatika. The 

heart of the affair was illuminated by the 

theme #GreenForRed, an ode to Vatika’s 

use of the essence of Natural Ingredients. 

The evening opened with an aura of 

excitement as Roshni Singh, the Group 

Marketing Manager of Dabur 

International, took the stage. Her speech 

heralded the grand unveiling of Vatika’s 

new range for curly hair. The spotlight 

then shifted to the celebrity hair care 

expert who expertly unravelled the 

mysteries of diverse hair types, 

enlightening the audience with 

personalised tips and tailored Vatika hair 

care routines. The hair care specialist 

dwelled on the profound link between 

inner well-being and hair vibrancy, 

stressing the impact of nutrition and 

mental serenity on hair health. Expanding 

beyond it, she shed light on external 

factors like climate and product choices, 

key players influencing hair appearance. 

At the heart of it all was Vatika’s unique 

ethos - rather than dictating norms, the 

brand passionately adapts to meet diverse 

hair care needs, emphasizing a 

personalized approach that evolves 

alongside its users, empowering them on 

their distinct hair care journeys. 

An engaging Q&A session ensued, 

leaving influencers armed with insights 

for nourished hair and personalised 

Vatika hair care routines for their unique 

hair type. 

With sparkling drinks, delicious food 

and tantalising tarot card readings taking 

place, the event was buzzing with 

excitement. The true star of the evening 

was the life-size advent calendar – a 

‘Rudolph’ in its own right – adorned with 

an array of Vatika hair care treasures. 

From indulgent hair oils, revitalising 

shampoos, and luxurious conditioners to 

masks and temporary hair colours, 

influencers were spoilt for choice, 

curating their personalised Vatika 

selection to take home. 

Amidst merry tunes and jubilant 

spirits, a karaoke bar set the rhythm, 

coaxing everyone into a joyous dance of 

Christmas cheer. However, the pinnacle 

of the night was the Christmas tree, 

lovingly adorned by influencers with 

their favourite Vatika baubles, igniting 

the season’s festive fervour. 

Zakir Mansoori, the Business Head at 

Dabur International UK, shared his 

thoughts about the event, stating, “The 

Tress’Mas Affair along with launching a 

new hair care range for curly hair 

epitomized all that Vatika truly represents 

- the essence of natural ingredients found 

in our hair care, along with the 

celebration of diverse hair types. The 

event was just the perfect Christmas gift 

wrapped up with warmth, love, and hair 

care galore. Here’s to many more 

splendid events that honour our ethos and 

bring us together for such delightful 

evenings.” 

Continued on Page 8< 

Man jailed for 22 counts of rape 


relationship. 

On 7 June 2022, Queen was arrested 

on suspicion of rape after a report was 

made to police. This was not the first 

time that allegations had been made 

around Queen but it was only on this 

occasion that the victim had wanted to 

support a criminal investigation. 

Detectives went back to those they 

believed may have previously been 

victims, who then agreed to support the 

criminal case. 

The investigation included hundreds 

of hours analysing communications 

between Queen and the victims, 

providing an insight into how he treated 

them as well as his general lack of 

respect towards women. 

Multiple witness statements 

obtained from friends, family members 

and various third parties helped 

demonstrate the impact the offences 

had on the victims both at the time and 

now, years later. 

During the criminal process, each of 

the victims was assigned a specially 

trained officer to be their point of 

contact throughout the investigation 

and during the trial. This officer was 

responsible for keeping them up to date 

with the progress of the investigation, 

answering any questions they had, and 

making referrals to support agencies. 

They were also offered special 

measures for the trial, such as prerecording 

their evidence, or giving 

evidence via live link or from behind a 

screen, to enable them to feel as 

comfortable as possible throughout the 

court proceedings. 

Detective Constable Lena Kraemer, 

who also worked on the investigation 

said: “We are doing everything we can 

to ensure that sexual predators who 

make our streets unsafe for women and 

girls are placed before the courts. We 

can’t do that alone. If you have been the 

victim of a sexual offence and have not 

yet spoken to police, we urge you to do 

so; at the very least so we can ensure 

that you are being supported. 

“We understand that supporting a 

police investigation for sexual assault 

is a daunting prospect but with police 

and professional support we can ensure 

your voice is heard. 

“If you have any information about 

sexual predators please inform police 

directly or anonymously via the 

independent charity Crimestoppers. 

This all helps us build a picture to 

prevent and detect crime.”

Page6 TheTrumpet DECEMBER 27 2023 - JANUARY 9 2024

DECEMBER 27 2023 - JANUARY 9 2024 TheTrumpet 

Page7


Hair 

& Beauty 

Vatika Naturals launches new 

curly hair range at Christmas gala 


Vatika ingeniously joined the holiday 

festivities, swapping the traditional red 

for Vatika’s iconic green, a nod to their 

commitment to harnessing natural 

ingredients. This vibrant hue echoed their 

philosophy, ensuring top-notch quality 

for their consumers through the essence 

of natural ingredients in their products. 

Amidst delectable treats, effervescent 

conversations, and an air infused with the 

spirit of giving, ‘A Tress’Mas Affair’ 

became a cherished memory for all who 

were part of the celebration. 

Vatika - Dabur’s subsidiary, has 

garnered a strong reputation for its 

commitment to harnessing the power of 

natural ingredients in their hair care 

products. It draws upon time-tested 

natural ingredients such as Coconut, 

Olive, Almond, Garlic, Black Seeds, and 

other natural extracts known for their 

nourishing properties. Beyond shampoos, 

conditioners, and oils, Vatika offers a 

comprehensive range of hair care 

products tailored for various needs, 

including hair masks, styling creams, and 

hair colours. These products address 

issues like hair damage, dryness, frizz, 

and promoting hair health.

Opinion 

Dilemma of unending 

promises in democracy 



Page9 

It is a glorious thing to have a 

tested leader as the President of 

a country. It is also a blessing 

when the President means what he 

says and when what he says is not 

just believable but also approved by 

the people. Such a society is bound 

to swim in an environment of 

enormous possibilities because the 

question of trust is taken care of. 

The question of purpose is also 

sorted. Be that as it may, it is a twoedged 

sword: the leader will have to 

be conscious of time and calculative 

of his achievements while the mass 

of the people must remain critical in 

terms of the goals and objectives of 

the government. 

As for the people, that’s what 

will give them the leverage in terms 

of the measurement of performance 

of the critical goals and objectives 

of the government. As for the 

government, to achieve its goal, no 

Ministry is sacrosanct; no policy is a 

no-go area. In other words, there 

should be no sacred cows. So, a 

leader worth his designation must be 

exceptionally bold. 

Promises are good when they are 

implemented. They create an 

atmosphere of trust and a political 

capital that is difficult to deplete. 

But when promises are made but 

broken, they deplete the political 

capital faster than a bullet. It is like 

thunder and lightning. 

Integrity also wanes. The more 

the believability of a gladiator 

wanes, the faster the credibility and 

the ability to win elections fly away. 

If one tells the people something 

and that thing wanes, so is a certain 

percentage of one’s political capital 

waning. The more reason a leader 

has to guide the currency of his or 

her promises, because nobody wants 

to trade with a currency that’s under 

suspicion. In other words, once it 

gets to a point where the people are 

no longer eager to listen to their 

leader’s voice, trouble looms. 

It is no longer news that 

President Bola Tinubu has promised 

to let the poor breathe! He has 

promised to banish poverty! He has 

also promised to fight insecurity to a 

standstill! As a matter of fact, 

Nigerians have lost count of the 

promises made by this 

administration since May 29. Early 

this week, Tinubu vowed that no 

student would drop out of school on 

his watch! The point is: Nigerians 

are tired of unending promises from 

their leaders. In the 80s, Nigerians 

were promised houses, stable power 

supply, affordable and qualitative 

education and ‘everything for all’ by 

the Year 2020. This is 2023 and … 

here we are! So, Tinubu needs to 

prove to the world that he is 

different from the abnormal norms. 

Bola Ahmed Tinubu 

He should learn, especially from our 

recent past, because examples of 

people who started well but ended 

badly abound. 

Successive governments have 

taught Nigerians how to get weary 

of unending promises. It’s a bad 

experience which they don’t want to 

relive. On May 29, 2015, 

Muhammadu Buhari assumed office 

as Nigeria’s President. Buhari came 

into office standing on a tripod: 

security, fight against corruption and 

infrastructure development and job 

creation. By the time he was leaving 

office on May 28, 2023, life in 

Nigeria as a Nigerian had become 

extremely hard. So, only God can 

rate the former President’s 

performance and thank him on 

behalf of Nigerians. For instance, 

BY ABIODUN 

KOMOLAFE 

Buhari had promised to recover 

every Chibok girl captured by Boko 

Haram. He had also promised to 

lead Nigeria ‘from the front.’ But 

that’s what they were: unfulfilled 

promises. Mention the economy 

under Buhari and Nigerians would 

be quick to recount how he acted 

King Rehoboam. 

On the war against corruption, 

some of those who were around 

between December 31, 1983 and 

August 27, 1985 would have by 

now concluded that those who 

impishly said that Nigerians were 

being ruled by one funny ‘Jibrin 

from Sudan’ might not have been 

sincerely wrong. So, when Femi 

Adesina said that his principal 

fulfilled all his promises to 

Nigerians, one could not but marvel 

at the height of insult on the 

collective intelligence of Nigerians. 

‘If the foundation be destroyed 

…?’ The problem with Nigeria has 

been a dearth of forthright and 

insightful leaders; and that’s why 

dear country has been in this sorry 

pass. The late Obafemi Awolowo 

was too elitist in his time; and he 

ended up being sandwiched by antielitist 

elements! It was a serious 

issue but, even at that, Awolowo did 

some things which clearly 

distinguished him as a forthright 

leader. For example, when the then 

University of Ife was to be 

established, the Ikenne-Remo-born 

politician resolved to make it the 

best university on this part of the 

planet. To achieve this, he ordered 

the hiring of the best brains from 

across the globe, even if it would 

cost the Western Region a 

substantial amount of resources. 

Continued on Page 10


Wole Olanipekun 

at 72! 

By Abiodun Komolafe 

Chief Wole Olanipekun 

Opinion 

Dilemma of 

unending 

promises in 

democracy 

Glory be to God, Chief 

Oluwole Oladapo 

Olanipekun is two years 

above seventy! 

It is not due to his power or 

ability to plead cases in the court 

of law. It is purely the grace of the 

Strength of Israel. 

For decades, Olanipekun has 

been an amiable Watcher at the 

Bench. This personable individual, 

humanist extraordinaire and an 

indefatigable and undefeatable 

iconic silk has now carved a niche 

for himself in high-profile clientele 

by handling public political 

disputes. 

Unknown to him, the Senior 

Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) is a 

mentor to many people. Many 

Nigerians are looking up to him 

and are watching. So, history is 

recording whatever he says and 

how he weighs matters; and that 

will be his legacy, not what friends 

and other men-pleasers say. 

Olanipekun is no longer an 

ordinary man. He has paid his dues 

and God has placed him on a 

pedestal that is rare. Nigerians can 

only wish him well and have him 

around us for many years to come. 


Reports had it that it was Awolowo 

who personally looked for Professor 

Hezekiah Oluwasanmi as the 

university’s pioneer Vice 

Chancellor. Decades after its 

establishment, the institution, now 

rechristened Obafemi Awolowo 

University (OAU), still retains even 

its powerful aesthetic appeal. 

Tinubu as an individual is 

determined and he’s working. But 

where are the Ministers? Where are 

the Ministers of Agriculture and 

Power for instance? The Minister of 

Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has not 

uttered a word or made a policy 

statement since his inauguration. On 

his part, the Minister of Agriculture 

and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari 

has refused to take advantage of the 

low-hanging fruits that the sector 

presents, both in terms of the 

massive food production advocacy 

and provision of employment 

opportunities to mitigate the stress 

on the economy. In fact, what is 

only known about ‘Penkelemesi’ is 

his running upandan, crisscrossing 

between Ibadan and Abuja; and it’s 

as if his destiny depends solely on 

the Governorship seat of Oyo State, 

come 2027. 

Without doubt, too many 

promises are a panacea for loss of 

focus. Therefore, Tinubu should let 

Nigerians know which among his 

promises are achievable before this 

first term expires. For instance, if he 

is going to provide electricity, let it 

be that Tinubu has said that 

electricity is his main focus. In any 

case, two terms of eight years can’t 

even be enough to resolve the many 

challenges bedeviling the sector. 

But at the end of the day, Nigerians 

won’t have to go back to it again. 

The State of Israel once started as 

a subdued nation. But she went back 

to the drawing board to recalibrate 

the reasons for her existence. Now, 

woe betide any nation that thinks 

little of Eretz Yisrael. Even the 

United States of America takes 

Israel into consideration before 

taking any steps. So, wither Nigeria, 

the ‘Giant of Africa’? 

May the Lamb of God, who 

takes away the sin of the world, 

grant us peace in Nigeria! 

Komolafe wrote in from Ijebu- 

Jesa, Osun State, Nigeria 

(ijebujesa@yahoo.co.uk; 

08098514418 – SMS only) 

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Page11


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Opinion 

Surviving Nigeria’s Pan- 

Fulani President with 

Sunday Igboho 

After a house detention spanning 

two years, Nigeria’s Sunday 

Igboho recently finally secured 

his freedom from Benin Republic. He 

did not return to Nigeria. He jetted out to 

Germany. 

Igboho, 56, a Yoruba nation 

separatist and whose real name is Chief 

Sunday Adeyemo, ran afoul of that 

Francophone nation’s laws for 

attempting to secure its passport through 

the backdoor. They arrested him. 

Worldwide pleas by Yoruba people were 

Muhammadu Buhari 

made for his release, with even the 

Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole 

Soyinka, paying Igboho a visit in 

custody May 2022. Perhaps reluctant to 

court the ire of President Muhammadu 

Buhari, Cotonou had dilly-dallied over 

Igboho’s case until the Fulani-born 

retired-Army General’s tenure expired 

on May 29. 

Igboho became a fugitive from 

Nigeria after the Department of State 

Services (DSS) raided his Ibadan, Oyo 

State home. This followed his effrontery 

in issuing a deadline to almighty Fulani 

herdsmen who for years had unleashed 

an orgy of kidnapping, murder and rape 

on rural communities in Sunday’s native 

Yoruba South-West. The Fulani pseudomonarch, 

Seriki Fulani, served as 

intermediating agent for ransom 

payment to the kidnappers, who slew 

several captives and frightened farmers 

away from farmlands. SOS cries to 

security agents went unheeded. Finally, 

Igboho led natives on a raid of the camp 

of this Fulani army of occupation in 

Igbo-Ora, Igangan, Ibarapa and environs 

in Oyo State. 

Reprisal came from an unexpected 

quarter. Clearly acting under the 

instructions of The Presidency and the 

agency’s Fulani-born CEO Yusuf 

Magaji Bichi, DSS operatives stormed 

Sunday Igboho’s home in a midnight 

invasion on July 1, 2021, unleashing 

sorrows, tears and blood in a rain of 

bullets. DSS slaughtered two unarmed 

occupants and arrested 12. The Yoruba 

activist himself escaped. Government 

froze all his bank accounts. While 

attempting to reach Europe through the 

West African country, Igboho fell into 

the hands of the gendarmes when he 

tried to arrange travel documents 

informally. Abuja mounted pressure for 

his repatriation back home. However, 

Buhari and his Fulani collaborators 

underestimated the centuries-old sociocultural 

ties between Benin Republic 

Yoruba and Nigerian Yoruba. Those ties 

saved Adeyemo. 

What offence did Igboho commit, 

except confront foreign Fulani killing 

Nigerians? The story began with the 

house-rat inviting the bush-rat to come 

and partake in the abundant food 

available at home. Perhaps because of 

climate change and shrinking grazing 

grounds in the Savannah, Fulani 

cowboys zeroed in on Middle-Belt and 

Southern Nigeria’s lush greenery. 

Buhari, a pan-Fulani bigot being in 

power, Fulani irredentism won. He 

threw the borders open. Unchecked, the 

itinerant herders arrived here in droves 

from all over Africa and filtered through 

the land. They came with their AK47s, 

anti-aircraft propelled rocket launchers 

and unleashed a new brand of terrorism. 

Migrant Fulani militias unleashed terror 

everywhere the soles of their feet 

marched. They still do. Videos have 

been seen of helicopters landing in thick 

forests to supply these militias with 

arms and provisions. This was Statebacked 

terrorism. 

Like the helplessness they displayed 

in Igboho’s neck of the wood in Ibarapa, 

security agencies made zero or halfhearted 

efforts to halt the Fulani 

militants’ evil activities nationwide. The 

world termed them the second deadliest 

terror group in the world, but pro-Fulani 

Buhari’s regime held back. His 

government sold the official false 

narrative that herdsmen killing unarmed 

rural dwellers arose from axiomatic 

farmers-herdsmen clashes. Such 

rhetoric served as white-washing PR, if 

not justification, for the killings, even as 

their body counts mounted nationwide. 

Buhari’s government consistently sided 

with the foreign aggressors. 

It will not be forgotten, the ignoble 

role of Buhari’s spin-doctors and attack 

dogs: Femi Adesina, Garba Shehu and 

Lai Mohammed. Such names will go 

down in infamy as defenders of killer 

Fulani. Adesina once said those who 

failed to give up land to the Fulani 

should prepare to forfeit their lives - 

undoubtedly his pan-Fulani paymaster, 

Buhari’s veritable voice. 

Buhari came from a Fulani father 

BY FELIX 

OBOAGWINA 

and a half-Kanuri-half-Hausa mother. 

He hails from the Fulani stock in Daura, 

Katsina State. Also called Fulbe, the 

Fulani tribe originated from nomads in 

North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, 

settling into Central and West Africa. 

Upon landing on Nigerian soil, and in 

order to secure population and 

numerical advantage, the Fulani heads 

formed a socio-political alliance with 

their Hausa hosts; and today, they are 

jointly tagged Hausa-Fulani. But when 

push comes to shove and competition 

for posts and resources becomes 

inevitable, Hausa and Fulani individuals 

resort to their separate ancient tents. 

Despite being less than 9 percent of 

Nigeria’s population, the Fulani wield 

much socio-political and socio-cultural 

superiority. 

In relationship to other Nigerians, 

Buhari and fellow Fulani irredentists 

rate their foreign cousins higher. 

Nigerian Fulani’s affinity with cousins 

from Mali, Niger, Chad, Cameroun, 

Guinea-Bissau and Libya gives these 

invaders licence to infiltrate the 

Nigerian space. 

Going by narratives from APC 

chieftains privy to the affair, foreign 

Fulani militants had been recruited to 

push Buhari into power in 2015. 

President Goodluck Jonathan saw the 

handwriting on the wall and quickly 

threw in the towel to prevent a 

bloodbath. The APC kingpins claimed 

that politicians reneged on agreements 

with the imported militants, which 

infuriated them and made them go wild. 

However, something else fuelled the 

foreigners’ daredevilry - a pan-Fulani 

agenda. 

In his eight years, President Buhari 

powered that pan-Fulani agenda. The 

agenda drove his lopsided pro-Fulani 

appointments, especially in security and 

the entire Armed Forces. The agenda 

theoretically centred on rallying Fulani 

in Africa to migrate to Nigeria and 

Continued on Page 15>

Opinion 


Surviving Nigeria’s Pan-Fulani 

President with Sunday Igboho 


Page15 


create a monolithic nation that would 

subjugate other nationalities as 

minorities. Buhari gave the foreign 

Fulani traction in Nigeria. For all he 

cared, Nigeria’s other 370 tribes could 

go to hell, once the Fulani worldwide 

secured Nigeria as their homeland. 

Resultantly, Fulani foreigners flocked 

into Nigeria like locusts. Egged on by 

the likes of the then Kaduna State 

Governor, they unleashed a scorched 

earth policy on minorities in Southern 

Kaduna, Zamfara State, Benue State, 

Plateau State, Nasarawa State, Niger 

State and other places, and drove 

millions into IDP camps. Benue recently 

said it lost over 20,000 lives to these 

marauders. 

The regime supported the pan-Fulani 

campaign with policies. It floated the 

rejuvenation of North-South grazing 

routes that his spin-doctors said farmers 

had encroached upon and triggered 

clashes. But grazing routes were a 

colonial era convenience that no one 

wanted revived; hence, the move failed 

to fly. 

Undeterred, the government went 

ahead to float a malevolent Waterways 

Bill, which many saw as a ploy to give 

Fulani herdsmen unrestricted access to 

rivers and streams in the country. Other 

Nigerians collectively ensured their 

legislators killed what could have 

amounted to signing the death warrant 

of other sub-groups. 

Buhari went on to concoct plans for 

“Ruga” settlements. Thousands of 

hectares would be reserved in each of 

the 36 States solely for cattle grazers. 

Condemned as a scheme to “fulanise” 

the entire country, Ruga, to its 

antagonists, would ultimately turn into 

a veritable hideout for Fulani criminals 

and irredentists. That idea too died 

suffered nationwide rejection. 

Other Nigerians suspected Ruga was 

window-dressing Uthman-Dan-Fodio’s 

legendary mission to spread the Sokoto 

Empire throughout the Nigerian 

territory and “dip the Quran in the 

Atlantic.” Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa 

Balewa, Nigeria’s first Prime Minister, 

during the legislative council debates on 

March 24, 1947 openly asserted that, “If 

the British departed Nigeria, the 

Northern people would continue their 

interrupted conquest to the sea.” 

Nigeria’s history of political instability 

since Independence has its roots in this 

Fulani quest for permanent hegemony 

and the determination of the rest of the 

country to resist the Caliphate’s 

domination vision. 

However, Buhari himself had always 

shown signs of a Fulani irredentist. At 

the onset of the Fourth Republic, he 

once received a stiff rebuff from now 

Late Oyo State’s Governor Lam 

Adesina over an incident. Then usually 

reticent Buhari had travelled all the way 

from Daura to lodge a protest in Ibadan 

because Yoruba natives killed the cows 

of Fulani cattle herders. Actually, the 

herdsmen first unleashed an orgy of 

raping of women, grazing on farmlands 

and killing of indigenes. During 

Buhari’s inglorious visit, the Oyo State 

Police Commissioner and DSS Director 

vilified him for the bias displayed by 

someone expected to play the mediatory 

role of an elder Statesman. 

Today, Fulani incursion continues to 

pose an existential threat to others in the 

Nigerian space. And the apparent apathy 

and compromise of the security agencies 

forced the likes of Retired-General 

Theophilus Danjuma to voice their 

frustration. Danjuma, a former Fulani 

ally, urged other tribes to expect no 

protection from the “colluding” 

Military; and he urged them to arm 

themselves against the invaders. 

In fact, other sections have adopted 

protective policies. South-West 

Governors created “Amotekun.” As 

constituted authorities of the South-East 

dilly-dallied, the separatist group IPOB 

created the Eastern Security Network 

(ESN). Ultimately, Igbo Governors 

rallied themselves, jointly forming 

“Ebubeagwu” to secure their zone. Tired 

of waiting for Governor Godwin 

Obaseki to take a similar initiative, the 

long-suffering Esan people in Edo State 

unilaterally created the Atanakpa 

vigilante group. Benue State formed the 

Community Volunteer Guards. 

Additionally, States in the South and 

Middle-Belt have followed up with antigrazing 

laws, in an uncommon 

determination to enforce their 

sovereignty in the context of a Nigerian 

Federation. Ironically, some dominantly 

Fulani States, fearing the terrorism of 

their immigrant cousins, have enacted 

similar anti-grazing laws. 

Clearly, Buhari’s pan-Fulani 

predilection kept Nigeria divided like 

never before. This man divided Nigeria 

by choice. Like Buhari, Second 

Republic’s President Shehu Shagari rose 

from the Fulani stock; but Shagari never 

displayed the trappings of bigotry and 

led Nigeria in the path of cohesion and 

peace. 

To continue down the path of 

Buhari’s pan-Fulani hallucination will 

only devalue the Fulani themselves and 

make them inevitable victims. No group 

owns the monopoly of violence. 

Victims, fighting for survival, will likely 

resort to self-help and in time build 

corporate, collaborative resistance. Who 

does not dread the day that Nigeria’s 

remaining 370 tribes will be pushed to 

conclude that the only good Fulani is a 

dead Fulani? God forbid! 

Buhari and his cohorts probably 

forgot the transient power of power. His 

nightmarish eight years have ended with 

him, even if the bitter taste lingers in the 

raping, kidnapping and killings that 

foreign Fulani continue within Nigerian 

forests and highways. Like Sunday 

Igboho, millions of Nigerians thank God 

for surviving their inordinately pan- 

Fulani President. Goodbye to divisive 

bigotry and ethnic chauvinism. 

Goodbye to rubbish. 

Oboagwina is an Author, Journalist 

and Publisher, reachable 

via: foboagwina@gmail.com 

Insecurity: Time to heed Zulum’s warning 


Nigeria’s seat of power. Are we going to 

wait until the Central Bank headquarters 

in Abuja gets robbed, or until a sitting 

Governor, even our President gets 

kidnapped before we take it seriously? 

Nigeria is in dire straits. The fear in 

society is not only palpable but also 

ubiquitous. Nigerians are thinking of 

economic problems without taking into 

consideration that social problems will 

make mincemeat of economic growth 

and development and that social 

problems will end up making a nullity of 

any administration’s efforts, if not 

challenged and defeated. So, one can 

only ask the State to reinvent itself 

because the sense of the State is no longer 

here. And it started with the coming of 

elected Governors. For example, 

Governor Ademola Adeleke is prominent 

in Osun State only by virtue of his long 

cap. He keeps shouting ‘Imole Osun’, 

forgetting that development is a thing of 

the mind, not fanciful themes. It is 

unfortunate but that’s the truth! But then, 

who do we blame? After all, symbolic 

interactionism is a serious problem with 

human beings. Anyway, that’s a matter 

for another day! 

It’s time the Bola Tinubu-led 

government took some proactive steps 

that’d send the right messages to extant 

terror groups and those who’re still 

imagining theirs for Nigeria to have 

peace. If Tinubu wants to act Presidential, 

he should just wake up and give certain, 

strange but necessary directives and let 

the terror gangs feel small. That will 

definitely go a long way in sending the 

right signals to the terrorists and their 

sponsors. 

For Nigeria to get out of the woods, 

those in Tinubu’s government who see 

governance as business as usual must 

become very serious; otherwise, the 

President owes Nigerians a duty to show 

them the way out. And let not the 

politicians treat this with levity because 

you must have a society before you can 

play your politics. If the society is 

fractured, politics becomes non-existent. 

Or where do we play politics if society is 

in trouble, under terror attack? You must 

have a society before thinking of a 

political system or contemplating the 

economy. You can only run an economy 

in a stable political society. In a 

disorganized society, nobody wears a 

‘Babanriga’ and says ‘I’m a Senator’. It 

doesn’t work that way! You’re a Senator 

because you have a State. You are a 

Governor because you have settled 

society. So, let all politicians drop their 

political ambitions and face the fixing of 

the society. Those who are running the 

system had better take note! Let them be 

warned! 

Nobody is saying that the government 

is not doing anything, but the truth is that 

its efforts, currently, are not enough. Or 

how on earth could some bastards hold a 

whole town to ransom for close to three 

hours in broad daylight, and still escape 

with their loot? Could that happen in 

South Africa, or Egypt? Can Boko Haram 

or ISWAP thrive in a country like Israel? 

For God’s sake, if we have to seek 

external help, the time is now! Nigeria is 

bleeding! 

May the Lamb of God, who takes 

away the sin of the world, grant us peace 

in Nigeria!


Opinion 

Insecurity: Time to heed 

Zulum’s warning 

Prof Babagana Umara Zulum 

Taraba States, which were never known 

for violence, came into the mix. So was 

the rest of the country. But all that has 

changed. Now, we all seem to be living 

with the fear of the unknown! 

Once upon a time in Nigeria, 

whenever the Nigeria Police came into a 

discussion, the first thing that’d readily 

come to mind was the horrible ‘Mark 4’ 

rifle. At that time, that was all the Nigeria 

Police got; and it was when the entire 

policemen were almost totally decimated 

by local armed robbers that Nigeria 

reluctantly opted to buy some functional 

weapons; but they were neither adequate 

nor sufficiently able to address the 

security needs of Nigeria as at then. 

Entered the question of superiority 

between the police and the military and 

the situation relapsed to the Stone Age. 

Unfortunately, the gullible public kept 

quiet and … here we are! 

Through the distant to the recent past, 

Nigeria’s history of security challenges 

BY ABIODUN 

KOMOLAFE 

and the fight against the ugly trend has 

been that of insincerity and instability. 

Getting criminals arrested is one big 

battle. Establishing prosecutable cases is 

another big and arduous task while facing 

the courts and lawyers are also huge 

problems. Have we forgotten how Benue 

State was shaken to its foundation, when 

a high profile Bank robbery took the lives 

of several innocent Nigerians, including 

that of a Divisional Police Officer and 

some of his men? The Offa, Kwara State 

robbery incident is still fresh in our 

minds. Nearly on a daily basis, people are 

being kidnapped, even in Abuja, 

Continued on Page 15> 

At a programme in honour of the 

reconstituted North-East 

Development Commission 

(NEDC) recently, Borno State Governor, 

Babagana Umara Zulum, warned that 

Nigeria risked being wiped off the map 

in the near future if no proactive steps 

were taken to stop young people and 

children from being recruited by Boko 

Haram and ISWAP terrorists. 

Zulum’s warning came at a time no 

fewer than 13 farmers were beheaded on 

their farmlands in the State by Boko 

Haram terrorists, with some unspecified 

number of farmers also kidnapped. This 

is also amidst reports of harvest tax by 

farmers to terrorists. 

Well, Governor Zulum was only 

being patriotic to have warned Nigeria of 

an imminent disaster, and for Nigeria to 

wake up and do something so that 

Nigerians would not be living in outright 

fear. Before the Governor’s damning 

warning, it’s a known fact that any 

security challenges might have caught the 

people napping. The truth of the case is 

that Nigeria is not prepared at all for any 

security emergencies. That Nigeria 

doesn’t have the orientation even as 

security apparatuses are neither sensitized 

nor equipped is no longer news. So, to 

debate whether we should heed the 

Governor’s warning is a sign of 

spinelessness and planlessness on the part 

of the country. It needs no debate but a 

total absorption of the plan and retrigger 

for the people to begin to think. 

Back in those days, the Yorubas 

would always say: ‘A kii gbe inu ile gba 

ofa lai re ogun’. Translated literally, it 

means: ‘One cannot be in the house and 

receive an arrow’s attack without going 

to the warfront.’ Current events in the 

land seem to have paled the adage into 

insignificance. Before our very eyes, the 

house is no longer safe and the farm is a 

no-go area. Police and Army Barracks 

have become a basket case of ‘if gold 

could rust…’ Some crimes are even 

annoying! Only last week, a neighbour 

gave a distress call, asking yours 

sincerely to assist with a specific amount 

of money so that he could use it to 

appease some hoodlums who were 

“threatening to kill” him if he’d not “find 

something for” them. The neighbour in 

question had no choice! When asked later 

why he didn’t seek assistance from the 

security agencies, he simply retorted: 

‘you think say gofment go fit help?’ 

There have been times and periods 

when notorious bandits or gangsters have 

ruled and ‘commanded’ respect from the 

society in some specific areas of Nigeria. 

There was a time when Edo was a no-go 

area. Ibadan of the Southwest had its 

time. At a time in Ijebu of Ogun State, 

peace could not be taken for granted. 

Lagos State, for a long time, was the 

dread of everybody in Nigeria. We need 

not forget that it was then the nation’s 

seat of power, yet it was what it was! 

Even the remote and hitherto peaceful 

areas were not excluded. Ondo and 

TheTrumpet is published in London fortnightly by Trumpet 

Field: 07956 385 604 E-mail: info@the-trumpet.com (ISSN: 1477-3392)

The Trumpet Newspaper Issue 613 (December 27 2023 - January 9 2024)

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