The Trumpet Newspaper Issue 615 (January 24 - February 6 2024)

TheTrumpet
Africans now have a voice... Founded in 1995
V O L 30 N O 615 J A N U A R Y 24 - FEBRUARY 6 2024
Liberia's former President George Weah and current President Joseph Boakai
Liberia
transferred
power
peacefully
again:
3 reasons the calm is
holding, and one red flag
By Charles Wratto, Babes Bolyai University
Continued on Page 2>
Intricate
police
investigation
results in
five murder
convictions
An investigation by
L o n d o n ’ s
Metropolitan Police
into the murders of Saydi Abu
Sheikh and Zakariya Jeilani
Mohamed has led to a total of
five men being convicted at the
Old Bailey.
The two victims were fatally
shot inside a house in Ilford in
October 2022. Detectives used
DNA analysis and other
technical and forensic
techniques to identify and
arrest the suspects.
Four men were convicted of
two counts of murder; two
counts of attempted murder and
perverting the course of justice.
They are:
20-year-old Ayaani Ali Adan
of East Street, Barking; 21-
year-old Zain Mirza of Third
Avenue, Newham; 22-year-old
Mahad Gouled of Charles
Street, Enfield; and 21-year-old
Chibiuke Ohanweh of Heath
Park Road, Romford.
A fifth man - 19-year-old
Zakarie Mohamed of Kensal
Rise, Kensington - pleaded
guilty to perverting the course
of justice. He was found not
guilty of two counts of murder
and two counts of attempted
murder.
Adan, Mirza, Gouled and
Ohanweh were all sentenced to
life imprisonment with a
minimum term of 38 years.
Mohamed was sentenced to
four years’ imprisonment for
his role.
An investigation was
launched after police were
called at 00:16hrs on 25
October 2022 to reports of a
Continued on Page 4

Page2 TheTrumpet JANUARY 24 - FEBRUARY 6 2024
News
Liberia transferred power
peacefully again:
3 reasons the calm is holding, and one red flag
Continued from Page 1<
Joseph Boakai was sworn in as
Liberia’s 26th President on 22 January
2024. Boakai secured a six year term
of office after defeating incumbent
President George Weah in a keenly
contested November 2023 poll with 50.9%
of the votes cast.
The West African country of 5 million
people reached a major milestone on 17
November 2023, when Weah, of the
Congress for Democratic Change,
conceded defeat to the Unity Party
candidate.
Weah scored 49.1% of votes cast and
lost the tight Presidential run-off, which
the EU described as “remarkably close and
well administered.”
Liberia has enjoyed 20 years of peace
and relative stability since the end of a
civil war that killed over 250,000 people
and displaced Liberians across the world.
During this time, the country has made
gradual but significant progress in
restoring the rule of law, securing civil
liberties and strengthening State and
human capacity.
One of the breakthrough moments
came in 2018. That year the country saw
peaceful power transfer from one
democratically elected President to the
other. This was the first of its kind since
1944.
At a time when there have been six
successful and two attempted coups in
West Africa since 2020, Liberia’s
transition towards a more stable State
appears to be focused on security reforms
and respect for election results.
My research focuses on the patterns of
post-war reconstruction efforts in sub-
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President Joseph Boakai
Saharan Africa and how States in the
region respond to crises, conflict and
statehood.
During my fieldwork in Liberia, I
identified three factors that have kept the
country on the path to peace: military
neutrality in domestic politics; war fatigue;
and a national drive towards
reconciliation.
Military neutrality in domestic
politics
Liberia, like many African nations, has
experienced two eras of military
dictatorships. One was under Samuel Doe,
Liberia’s unelected President, and the
other under Charles Taylor, Liberia’s 22nd
President and leader of one of its main
rebel groups.
Both men held a tight grip over the
country. They used the military to drive
their political objectives.
During their rule, Army Officers
served as Ministers, Judges,
Administrators and Members of
Parliament. They suppressed all forms of
resistance and opposition.
The army’s involvement in Liberia’s
socio-political and diplomatic affairs
undermined the country’s development
and eroded its progress. It crippled the
economy and sent the nation into a brutal
war that lasted 14 years.
The role of the military in domestic
politics, however, ended with the fall of
Taylor’s government in August 2003.
Since then, the Armed Forces of Liberia
has enjoyed independence from the office
of the President. It has carried out reforms
within its institutions of governance and
has committed itself to protecting the
constitution and the flag of Liberia.
The transition from military
dictatorship to civilian rule has enabled
Liberia to move towards a stable State. It
can hold free and fair elections, and
citizens can participate in governance.
War fatigue
The Liberian Civil War, which lasted
from 1989 to 2003, had a profound impact.
It destroyed over 70% of the country’s
physical infrastructure and collapsed
nearly all of its vital institutions.
The conflict claimed over 250,000 lives,
displaced more than one million people,
and broke down social and community ties.
The horrors brought by the war had a
chilling effect on the civilian population.
The peace Liberia enjoys today came at
a high cost. Survivors of the war still suffer
emotional and psychological exhaustion
that manifests in various ways.
The diverse effects of the war left a stain
on Liberia’s economy and undermined its
pre-war progress. Poverty and the scars of
war are still visible.
But beyond the difficulties lies the
resilience of the government and its people
to rebuild, determined not to resort to
violence to settle differences.
Liberia’s post-war elite no longer see
their ethnic or religious identities as sources
of conflict but rather as the basis of strength
for national prosperity.
Unity, combined with the intervention
of Liberia’s international partners, has so far
made it difficult for individuals to
undermine its democracy.
Reconciliation
Liberia has made progress in promoting
reconciliation, inter-tribal dialogue and
transitional justice since the war ended. This
has played a role in preventing a relapse
into conflict, facilitating healing and
fostering unity.
A Truth and Reconciliation Commission
was established in 2005 to document the
atrocities and violations committed during
the war, identify key perpetrators, and make
recommendations for healing and
reconciliation.
The Commission’s report, published in
2009, recommended reparations, reforms
and prosecution of wrongdoers. Initiatives
such as psychological support, vocational
education and ritual purifications aimed at
reintegrating ex-combatants into society
have played roles in maintaining the peace.
Equally important is the role of truthtelling
in Liberia’s recovery journey.
Warlords like “General Butt Naked”, who
voluntarily confessed their atrocities, and
went from community to community to
apologise for their crimes, received
forgiveness from victims (or surviving
relatives of victims) and immunity from
prosecution.
Community-based engagement and
activities aimed at addressing grievances at
the grassroots level have also contributed to
restoring trust and social cohesion among
Liberians.
The need for reconciliation was echoed
in Weah’s concession speech:
Continued on Page 3

News
JANUARY 24 - FEBRUARY 6 2024
TheTrumpet
Liberia transferred power
peacefully again:
3 reasons the calm is holding, and one red flag
Page3
Continued from Page 2<
Tonight, the CDC has lost the election,
but Liberia has won. This is a time for
graciousness in defeat. Let us heal the
divisions caused by the campaign and come
together as one united people.
What in the election’s outcome could
threaten the peace?
But there are still dangers, in particular
the strength of warlords within its political
space.
Since 2006, warlords and war
profiteers have played key roles in
choosing the country’s Presidents. The
relationship enables warlords to trade
political support for protection, while
Presidential candidates exchange justice
for votes.
This could endanger the country’s
security. Liberia must hold individuals
accountable for war crimes, address the
root causes of the conflict, and provide
reparation to victims.
If Liberia is to achieve sustainable
peace, it must carefully consider the
connection between its post-war elites and
former warlords.
* Charles Wratto is Associate
Professor of Peace, Politics, and Conflict
Studies at Babes Bolyai University.
This article is republished from The
Conversation under a Creative Commons
license. Read the original article.

Page4
TheTrumpet
JANUARY 24 - FEBRUARY 6 2024
TheTrumpet Group
News
Intricate police
investigation results in
Field: 07956 385 604
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five murder convictions
Continued from Page 1<
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shooting inside a house on Henley
Road in Ilford. Armed officers
attended along with local officers
and paramedics.
23-year-old Saydi Abu Sheikh
and 32-year-old Zakariya Jeilani
Mohamed, who were both from
Ilford, died at the scene. Two other
men were found suffering injuries;
both were taken to hospital for
treatment before being discharged.
A police investigation was
launched, led by officers from the
Met’s Homicide and Major Crime
Command. They quickly
established that a vehicle found on
fire in Ronnie Lane, near to the
murder scene, was linked to the
fatal shootings.
Detectives identified multiple
CCTV sources which showed that
vehicle, a white Mitsubishi
Outlander, transporting four men
to and from the scene. A search of
the burnt our Mitsubishi recovered
four hoodies and four pairs of
tracksuit bottoms, which were
linked to the murders through
gunshot residue and blood stains
found to contain the DNA of Mr
Sheikh.
Detective Chief Inspector Chris
Wood, Homicide and Major
Crime, led the investigation and
said: “The three men who entered
the house were identified through
forensic examination of the
recovered clothing as Adan,
Gouled and Ohanweh. Each was
armed with a gun and at least 41
shots were fired inside the house.
“Zain Mirza facilitated the
murder. He was linked to the
gunmen after extensive police
enquiries established that a rented
address in Durham Road, Manor
Park had been used as a base to
plan the murder. It is believed he
Ayaanle Adan
Mahad Gouled
planned the fatal attack as he
understood at least one person
present at the Henley Road address
was in some way connected to the
murder of his brother.
“My thoughts are with the
families of Saydi and Zakariya. As
much as it was crucial to identify
the reckless and callous
individuals responsible for these
brutal killings to safeguard the
community, I am also pleased that
both families were able to see
justice done with these
convictions.”
Chibuike Ohanweh
Zain Mirza
Zakarie Mohamed

JANUARY 24 - FEBRUARY 6 2024 TheTrumpet
Page5
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Page6 TheTrumpet JANUARY 24 - FEBRUARY 6 2024
Opinion
How to find hope in a hopeless
situation
By Tony Ogunlowo
New Year, new wahala!
Everywhere you look its doom and
gloom: politicians come and go
promising Heaven and Earth but
fail to deliver leaving the average person
on the street still hungry as ever,
despondent and doubtful about whether
things will ever get better in their
lifetimes.
We are all, currently, living in difficult
times: the cost of living has skyrocketed
and there is uncertainty everywhere you
look. The Hope we all believed in - is fast
dwindling into nothingness.
So, we carry on, toiling on, hoping for
a miracle, hoping for a change even
though, deep down, we know it may
never come.
“As long as belle full and we have a
place to call home…”, said a wise old
man I once bumped into,”…everything
else go sort out.” And in sorting things
out, he wasn’t referring to the ‘dream
merchant’ Pastors, all-promising
Babalawo or sugar tongued Politicians
rescuing us but the indomitable spirit of
the Human Being. When properly
programmed any human being can
survive whatever life throws at them,
survive and live.
Hope is the keyword here. And while
Hope, itself, is not a strategy, it can be a
powerful ally in the absence of anything
else – it gives you something to go on
with. Without a doubt you need to have
Faith first - developing Hope as you go
along, one supports the other.(N.B – I
tend to use the words ‘Faith’ and ‘Hope’
interchangeably, perhaps I’m
wrong).Hope, itself, is the same dream
your Pastor sells to you, as Faith, under
the guise of religion.
But the question of how long you can
keep your hopes up before you lose it
remains. And this brings us to positivity.
It is difficult trying to remain hopeful
when there seems to be no sign of change
ever occurring so now comes the time to
empower yourself with positivity: you’ll
get nowhere in Life by being negative.
Even if you are surrounded by negativity
you must be able to see that pin-prick of
light at the end of the tunnel. If you can’t
its game over: hope, or faith, or vice versa,
and maintaining a positive attitude go
hand in hand. This is where a lot of people
get it wrong. Faced with their current
predicament, where things are not going
according to plan, it’ll be difficult for
them to maintain hope, faith and a
positive mental attitude. Stay away from
negativity as much as possible and there’s
a lot of it in the world today especially on
Social Media.
And this is where patience enters the
game. We all know Rome wasn’t built in
a day so why do we expect all our
problems to miraculously disappear
overnight? Logically speaking that’s an
impossibility: only an act of God can do
such. I’m not going to get all Biblical here
and start quoting texts from the sacred
book primarily because I’m rubbish at
that kind of stuff! But I will say that tough
times don’t last but tough people do! (-
which is the title of an 80s bestselling
book) and no condition is permanent. But
I will say be grateful for what you’ve got
and use that as a springboard.
Next, we need to address our
expectations: set them too high and you’ll
crash, set them too low and you’ll sink
faster than the Titanic. It’s about finding
the right point to achieve balance and then
use that as a stepping stone to climb
higher. Set realistically achievable targets
and not outlandish ones. We already have
the basics: at least a meal a day (-
hopefully!), a roof above our heads (-
hopefully!) and fresh air to breathe (-
obviously!). These are the basics required
to keep body and soul working.
So once the body and soul is taken
care of - riding out the storm is feasible,
hope is still in the background, not
forgotten, and so also will be the dream.
For now, you’ve taken a sabbatical from it
all. Circumstances have deemed that that
path can’t be followed for now but can be
in the future, not abandoned. You need to
keep on going, keep the show on the road.
So, you’ve changed your mindset
from ‘living’ to ‘surviving’ – not planned
and not pleasant and most people are
doing this now anyway. It’s to get by with
the belief things will change for the better.
And what if it doesn’t? How do you
Hope (Photo by Carl Hunley Jr on Unsplash)
maintain the charade of believing things
will get better?
You just do. Hope and Faith are two
words I always use interchangeably. Hope
itself is just a 4-letter word that can spell
the difference between what can happen
and what didn’t happen and Faith in
believing it will happen. In life we keep
on going. We don’t slow down. We don’t
go backwards. We don’t stop for anything.
We keep on going - hoping things will
change for the best. This is what has kept
the human race going all these years – the
belief there is ‘better’ ahead.
Find or found a support group: get
together with like minded people and
work towards a common goal. There are
lots of support and mentoring groups out
there, some run by religious organisations,
aimed at getting people out of the
doldrums of life. Two heads are better
than one and there’s bound to be
somebody out there who believes in you
and will mentor you. Despite the fact that
I like to fly solo, even I have benefitted
from mentoring and brainstorming: it
makes the job easier.
And if you want to go down the
spiritual way, fine. Empower yourself
with prayer and meditation and leave it to
the Will of God to pull you through.
WARNING: It takes a strong man or
woman to submit themselves fully to the
will of God. Jesus Christ was sent into the
wilderness for 40 nights and 40 days to
prepare him for Ministry – no food, no
water…nada! For you, it might take
longer. Remember the Israelites were in
the desert for 40 years before they
reached the Promised Land.
At this point, it’s good to incorporate
a lot of positive thinking or energy into
your way of life: surround or drown
yourself with positivity! Believe it’s
going to get better and it will –
eventually. Get rid of all the negativity,
and naysayers, and ride on. WARNING:
Be careful not to become too positive to
the point you start to think sunshine
comes out of your backside and you
become too big for your boots. This is
toxic positivity and can be detrimental to
your health. Overconfidence is also a
false sense of positive empowerment and
it can go to your head and before you
know it, it can pull you down, all the way.
Life is an adventure and you’ll never
really know what’s around the corner but
if you mentally discipline yourself to
expect the unexpected you’ll be able to
deal with whatever comes your way.
Times are hard, but if you’re in the right
frame of mind you can ride the storm out
and see that light at the end of the tunnel.
This, I believe, is the best way to see
hope in a hopeless situation and carry on.
The world is not going to get any easier to
live in, its going to get harder, and its only
going to be those who mentally (- and
spiritually) discipline themselves that will
be able to see it through.
Follow me on Twitter:
@Archangel641 or visit
http://www.archangel641.blogspot.co.uk

JANUARY 24 - FEBRUARY 6 2024 TheTrumpet
Page7
PRODUCED IN ASSOCIATION WITH UK GOVERNMENT
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• Reduce your boiler flow
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• Get your boiler serviced to keep it
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• Heat the rooms you’re in and turn
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• Reduce your washing machine
temperature to save up to £20 per
year.

Page8 TheTrumpet JANUARY 24 - FEBRUARY 6 2024
Opinion
Sanwo-Olu and the
pursuit of a social market
economy – (1)
My discussion about the
performance of Governor
Babajide Sanwo-Olu must be
put in the context that I met him at Saint
Andrew’s Anglican Church, Okepopo,
Lagos; and that was in 2003, under the
vicarship of the then Reverend Canon
‘Segun Ajayi. Meeting him, I remember
Sanwo-Olu as a man with a good dose of
human empathy. By the time I became a
member of the Christian Progressive
Association (CPA) of the Church later that
year, he had already completed his tenure
as its President. But I can confess that this
man of many parts has a human touch, one
who has a heart to give.
Sanwo-Olu is one purposeful, very
accommodating and goals-delivered
progressive thinker who, with ceaseless
elegance and captivating conscience,
understands that it’d only take a few
minutes for bad leadership to destroy what
a good leader has built with his sweat and
blood. So, one is not surprised that this
young energy has been a member of a
progressive party, for he has been on
ground. Since perfection doesn’t hide itself,
that the once-little bird is now the eagle
soaring so high does not come as a
surprise.
Sanwo-Olu has done well as Governor
of Lagos State. He has done a
commendable job in bringing Lagos State
to where it is at the moment. But, since he
can’t do another term, he should look in the
direction of building legacy trust. Now that
the election is effectively over, one expects
him to sit down, work and reciprocate the
gesture of Lagosians as reflected in his reelection
on March 18, 2023. Thankfully,
the Governor still has time on his side. He
also has justice on his side; only that he
needs more political will. Yes, it’s just three
years and a few months to go. But then, this
period is more than enough to carry out
certain impactful revolutions in the State.
Talking specifics, successive
governments in the State have concentrated
too much on economic capital. As a
progressive and social democrat, now is the
time for Sanwo-Olu to focus on the more
enduring social capital. After all, the All
Progressives Congress (APC) promised in
its manifesto to build a social market
economy like Germany and the
Scandinavian countries, which is good!
Although there are competing demands,
given the revenue base of Lagos State,
Sanwo-Olu should focus more on the
social status of inner cities while also
upgrading the standard of public schools,
Housing, Education and the Health
Sectors.
In times like this, Nigerians remember
how the Lagos Executive Development
Board (LEDB) played a pivotal role in the
creation of a new Lagos. Though it
terminated with the consolidation of Lagos,
its spirit of the development of both
economic and social capital and the
creation of a middle class should be
sustained. In doing this, it’s important to
state that great City States such as Hong
Kong, Singapore, and Shanghai have used
the LEDB/Social Market Policy of
BY ABIODUN
KOMOLAFE
Inclusiveness as the pathway to
inclusiveness and sustainable development.
During the tenure of former Governor
Babatunde Fasola in Lagos, there was a
law criminalizing land-grabbing and allied
disturbances by hoodlums, frighteningly
known as ‘Omo Onile’. Not long after its
passage, Ogun State Government followed
suit by promulgating a similar law. This led
to the menace of thuggery and landgrabbing
almost disappearing from the
scene. It is sad to note that they’re back,
this time, with fetid tenacity. So, Sanwo-
Olu must revisit this issue by vitalizing,
even re-engineering extant laws so as to
leave a better legacy in the State.
With the elections effectively behind
us, is Lagos still a ‘no man’s land’?
Continued on Page 9

Opinion
JANUARY 24 - FEBRUARY 6 2024
Sanwo-Olu and the pursuit of a
social market economy – (1)
TheTrumpet
Page9
Continued from Page 8<
To be continued.
Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Photo - B
Koriah - CCA-SA 4.0 Int)
Still on the ‘Monstrous cathedrals
and hungry congregants’
I have read your article several times
since it was published. I can never be tired
of it because it really sent the message and
was well-delivered. It was a good message
by a good messenger. God bless you
abundantly.
I have come to realize that whatever
issue/issues you x-ray have always been
impactful, unlike many commercial writers
and paid writers who have commercialized
their writings for peculiar benefits. You
really hit the nail on the head as usual. You
have made my day for me.
God bless you richly.
Gbenga Olarinoye. Ilorin, Kwara
State.
This is a timely wake-up call to the
churches all over Nigeria and the world at
large. We should stop brainwashing the
congregants with manipulative sermons,
when the Pastor influences the congregants
to empty their bank accounts in the name of
church building, and/or other oppressive
instruments, excluding himself from such
so-called sacrificial giving, but eventually
diverting same to personal exotic lifestyles,
while the hungry and near-naked people
are grudgingly enduring afflictions
because of heavenly kingdom. This is
unacceptable, and the Church should wake
up! It’s not like this with the early Church,
(Acts 4:34-35)
There’s a glory celestial and a glory
terrestrial (1 Cor.15:40). If the Pastors are
entitled to the glory terrestrial, the church
members should also be allowed to have
the same. Sermons are made for conscious
souls. A hungry soul does not consciously
understand sermons.
I think the same message should go to
the Islamic clerics. But it seems as if you’re
trying to avoid that path. Perhaps you’re
afraid of its ‘manipulative blasphemy’
clauses.
Oppression in different quarters! The
Sheikhs will be living large while their
followers are sleeping hungry. Some
people prefer sending hungry and
homeless people to Mecca and Jerusalem
to giving them real lifesavers.
May God have mercy on us in Nigeria!
Sam. O. Akinde. Lagos, Nigeria.
Nice one!
The question “why” is answered
already. Religious gatherings, without
exception, have turned to business
ventures.
God’s money is not being spent on
God’s children! They cajole us to obtain
money in His name but end up spending it
in their names.
We do not judge them, but we are
humanly humiliated.
Kabiru Ayofe. Ibadan, Oyo State.
Well stated. And it’s the truth.
Yemi Farohunbi. Ibadan, Oyo State.
This is a very incisive and pungent
intervention. I pray and hope our leaders
across board would reflect on the message
and not who the messenger is.
Today, most institutions established
from funds significantly collected from
paupers are not within the reach of the
children of such masses.
50% of funds realized from Harvests go
to the Bishop here in the Catholic Diocese
of Abeokuta, aside other collections such
as for Cathedraticum, Vocations, etc.
The deceit is humongous and heartbreaking
under the guise that we must
embrace docility.
Today, we are all crucifying and
vilifying the late T.B. Joshua but the
waiting-game days for other General
Overseers, Archbishops, Bishops, Sheikhs,
Seers, Babalawos and Chief Imams are
near the corner.
Thumbs up and enjoy your day in relish
sir.
Adeola Otolorin. Asese, Ogun State.
This analysis of the functions of our
churches in Nigeria has spelt it all and it is
all over. Looking at all your analysis so far
read, it signifies that you are aware of what
is going on around you. You have already
showcased the aims and objectives of our
self-centered religious leaders.
Looking critically into the religious
leaders’ contributions, one discovers that
they have absolutely nothing to offer to the
poor. Imagine a religious leader having
two Private Jets and his members are dying
of hunger!
Visit our different hospitals and you’ll
see many Gabriels, Deborahs, Dorcas and
Josephs suffering due to lack of funds to
offset their medical bills as well as procure
needed medications. Only what our
religious leaders know how to do best is tax
church members for self-centered projects.
Unfortunately, most of the schools
established by these religious bodies are
beyond the reach of those members who
contributed money to build such schools.
Thanks.
Chief Joseph Olusola Fayemi. Dada
Estate Baptist Church, Osogbo.

Page10 TheTrumpet JANUARY 24 - FEBRUARY 6 2024
Opinion
The call to arms:
A counterview
One of the most concerning
subjects in Nigeria today is the
renewed call for the
liberalization of access to the ownership
of guns, in the face of the worsening state
of insecurity in the country. This is not
the. first time such a call would be made.
With insecurity ravaging Nigeria in the
last two decades in the form of banditry,
terrorism, kidnapping, sectarian violence,
ethnic strife and religious conflicts
resulting in an orgy of killings, and
destruction of property, the displacement
of persons, and a persistently apparent
inability of the Nigerian State to serve its
true purpose which is to ensure “the
security and welfare of the people”, the
despair, angst and bitterness among the
people has led not a few to demand that
the best option for Nigerians is to allow
every citizen to own a gun and defend
themselves. The thinking is that the best
way to address terror is to counter it with
terror in similar or equal proportion.
As recently as 2018, for example, a
member of the Nigerian Senate, Senator
Kabir Marafa (Zamfara Central) while
contributing to a debate on insecurity in
the country, told his colleagues matter of
factly that “… people cannot be
slaughtered in their houses helplessly.
Maybe what we need to do is to liberalise
gun control. Let everybody own a gun so
that when you are coming to my house,
you will know that I have my own gun
while you are coming with yours”.
Marafa’s home State of Zamfara is one of
the killing fields in the North West of
Nigeria. Six years later, the situation has
only worsened. By 2021, the Nigeria
Security Tracker created by the US
Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) had
counted up to 2,700 deaths in less than 10
years due to insecurity in Nigeria – and
even that was a modest estimate because
for the most part many acts of violence
are unreported or under-reported. Senator
Marafa is not alone. He spoke the mind
of many others. Nigeria is a country truly
where many people are “slaughtered
helplessly”. By 2021, Darius Ishaku, then
Governor of Taraba State (2015-2023),
and Bashir Magashi, Minister of Defence
as he then was (2019-2023), had also
suggested that the people should be
courageous to carry arms in self-defence.
In 2022, Zamfara State even went a
step further when it announced that the
Governor, Bello Matawalle, had directed
the State Police Commissioner to issue
gun licences in each of the 19 emirates in
the State to those wishing to defend
themselves. “Government is ready to
facilitate people, especially our farmers
to secure basic weapons for defending
themselves”, the State Commissioner of
Information reportedly said. State
Commissioners of Police do not
ordinarily take instructions from State
Governors but at least that Governor had
to be seen to be saying something.
Similarly, in Katsina State, then
Governor Aminu Masari (2015 – 2023),
frustrated with the spate of killings in his
State, once told the people of the North
West State to “buy guns and defend
themselves.” He reportedly added that “it
is Islamically allowed for one to defend
himself against attack. One must rise to
defend himself, his family and assets. If
you die while trying to defend yourself,
you’d be considered a martyr. It is
surprising how a bandit would own a gun
while a good man trying to defend
himself and his family doesn’t have one”.
Masari had the support of a group called
Katsina State Innovative Thinkers
Initiative. He was opposed by the Katsina
State Chapter of the Coalition of
Northern Groups. Other State Governors
who at one point or the other called for
the right to bear arms include the late
Governor of Ondo State, Rotimi
Akeredolu, SAN (with regard to
Amotekun), and former Zamfara
Governor, Bello Matawalle. In May
2023, Hon. Alhassan Ado-Doguwa
(Doguwa /Tundun Wada Federal
Constituency) made a similar call. Thus,
the conversation about the need to
liberalize the ownership of guns in
Nigeria has been recurrent, and has even
become strident as each successive
administration fails to improve the
people’s conditions. But would the open
ownership of guns by Nigerians solve
any problem? I don’t think so.
With the mindless killings in three
local governments in Plateau State, and
in Taraba and Zamfara between
Christmas Eve and the end of the year
2023, that question has reared its head
again. Over 200 persons were killed,
more than 300 injured, about 10,000 were
rendered homeless, in a carnage that went
on for more than two days despite over
30 distress calls to the security agencies!
More persons are now calling for arms in
every possible hand that can pull a
trigger, urging the people to resort to selfhelp
and these include Senator Ned
Nwoko who has called for the
introduction of a bill that allows civilians
to own and carry firearms, Mike Ejiofor,
a security expert, who says a culture of
resistance in the face of mindless attacks
should be encouraged, and a group of
Kaduna youths who have asked President
Tinubu to allow them to carry arms to
defend themselves and their
communities. The National President of
the Middle Belt Forum, Dr. Bitrus Pogu
has also recently expressed the view that
“Nigerians should be allowed to carry at
least some arms to defend themselves and
to restrain them from doing so would
amount to “a conspiracy against the
people”. However, the Chief of Army
Staff, General Taoreed Lagbaja objects to
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all these calls, saying it is a call for
anarchy.
What the Army Chief failed to note is
that what the people are actually reacting
to is the failure of the institutions that he
represents, the Nigerian security
establishment and the utter failure of the
Nigerian State. The State in Nigeria has
failed the people so badly that lives have
become cheap and worthless, our
common humanity has been eroded. In
virtually every part of the country, people
do not feel safe, farmers in the Middle
Belt, the North West and the North
Central cannot go to their farms. It is
risky to travel by road or trains as the
routes have been taken over by bandits
and kidnappers. Worse still, the same
security agencies that are maintained at
tax-payers expense to protect the people
are for the most part agents of violence
inflicting pain on the people, as has been
seen in sundry cases of police brutality,
abuse of uniform, accidental killings, and
the professional omissions of the men in
uniform. Having lost faith in the capacity
of the State to protect them, if not in the
State itself, many Nigerians are
compelled to resort to self-help. It has
been argued that in fact certain forms of
violence such as terrorism, ethnic conflict
and sectarian violence are actually acts of
rebellion against Nigeria itself - its
organization and dis-organization,
beyond the felt criminal implications.
This is why the long-term solution must
begin with making the Nigerian State
functional for the citizens’ benefit.
Putting a gun in every hand may not be
the solution. In a country where there is
so much ingrained bitterness, and
religious/ethnic divisions, as well as
frustrations about the common patrimony
and matters of justice, fairness and equity,
the liberalization of gun use would be an
invitation indeed to chaos and nihilism.
Ownership of guns in Nigeria today is
controlled by the Firearms Control Act
(2004), the principal provisions of which
state that (1) no person shall have in his
possession or under his control, any
firearm or ammunition except such
persons is licensed by the President or the
Inspector General of Police (2) no such
license should be granted to persons
under the age of 17, persons who are of
unsound mind, persons with eyesight
problems, and persons that have anger
control issues, and only the Inspector
Continued on Page 11

Opinion
JANUARY 24 - FEBRUARY 6 2024 TheTrumpet Page11
The call to arms: A counterview
Continued from Page 10<
General of Police can grant a license to
make and repair arms; (3) personal
firearms including shotguns and
automatic/semi-automatic guns are
prohibited; (4) anyone who violates the
law is liable to a minimum sentence of 10
years imprisonment. Those who ask for
the right to own guns are quick to draw
attention to Section 14 (2) (b) of the 1999
Constitution and how the government
seems to have failed the people; Section
33(1) which protects the citizen’s right to
life, and Section 33 (2)(a) which gives a
private citizen the right to use reasonable
force to defend himself/herself as well as
property from unlawful violence. The
pro-gun lobby goes a step further to point
to the limiting effects of the
aforementioned provisions of the
Firearms Control Act. Except this Act is
amended, and I do not see why it should
be amended, Nigerians including those
who want guns are duty bound to obey it.
Whereas Constitutional provisions
constitute the basic law, part of the
insecurity challenge in Nigeria is the
failure to implement and enforce the
Firearms Act. There are firearms and
ammunition of different brands and
capacity in millions of unlicensed hands.
The Nigerian government is not sure of
the number of guns already in circulation
in Nigeria. Our borders are porous, and
there are all kinds of local gun
manufacturers in hidden places
manufacturing and repairing arms
without any license. In many parts of the
country, live ammunition is sold in
underground markets and Nigerian
security agencies have no quality
intelligence as to how that ecosystem
works. The law says persons with
unsound mind or poor eyesight should
not hold weapons. For the benefit of
whoever cares to listen, Nigeria is a
theatre of mass psychosis. How else can
we explain the phenomenon of triggerhappy
security agents, who threaten as
they wish to waste people’s lives with the
assurance that nothing will happen? In a
country where there is cultism even in
primary schools, it would be mere
wishful thinking to assume that persons
younger than 17 do not already have
access to guns. The menace of drug abuse
has turned Nigeria into a bomb waiting to
explode. Hunger angers the people. Mass
unemployment has thrown many into
depression with maniacal tendencies. Are
these the people we want to give the
freedom to bear arms and ammunition in
the name of self-defence? In a country
that in fact believes in witchcraft, the
resultant anarchy could eventually lead to
civil insurrection. We must not adopt a
measure that can consume the nation.
The view has been expressed that
Nigeria should be like the United States
where the right to bear firearms is
constitutionally guaranteed under the
Second Amendment. Let such persons be
reminded that one of the major threats, in
the same United States, is the right to
bear arms - a threat to lives, hopes, the
economy, politics, a harvest of deaths and
violence that has become an American
epidemic. Gun-related deaths in the US
have risen by more than 50% in the last
decade, with an average of about 100
deaths being reported daily on average.
Mass shootings are common, in 2022
alone about 46 school shootings were
reported. In Richmond, Virginia, in the
last three years, almost 30 students have
died in gun-related violence.
Even the National Rifle Association
(NRA), the umbrella body for gunlobbyists
and self-styled defenders of the
Second Amendment, has been exposed as
a group of hypocrites. Their long-term
CEO/Vice President, Wayne LaPierre has
just announced his resignation with effect
from January 31, under very
controversial circumstances bordering on
corruption. It is a mortal sin to engorge at
the expense of other people’s lives. It is
specious to argue that “the only way to
stop a bad guy with a gun is with a good
guy with a gun.” Nigerians are good
copycats, but we must be careful what we
copy from other societies in the throes of
their own peculiar kind of mass
psychosis. Nigeria must not borrow other
Call to Arms (Photo by Jay Rembert on Unsplash)
people’s madness as a solution to its
internal problems.
The thing to do is to re-tool and
refurbish our security agencies. The
Nigeria Police is too weak as it is to
enforce any laws in any meaningful and
sustainable manner. The Police are
primarily responsible for the protection
of lives and property. They seem to have
submitted that responsibility to the
military even under a civilian
dispensation. It is scandalous that they
are often absent during moments of major
security breaches. Many of the affected
communities prefer to direct distress calls
to the military, pretending not to know
that Nigeria has a Police Force. The
National Council of State should meet
more often to encourage inter-agency
collaboration, complementarity and the
sharing of intelligence. It is argued that
everyone should carry arms and
ammunition because cattle herders do so
for both personal security and economic
reasons - the cattle herder may need to
protect himself, but only as long as his
firearm is licensed. Cattle rearing is still
an issue because of climate change and
desertification in the North, but this is a
security problem that can be stopped
through an effective cattle ranching
system.
In Kwara State at a time, the Shonga
Farms, led by white Zimbabwe farmers
managed cattle ranches that fed people
and serviced hotels and dairy farms,
before that, some States in parts of the
country had ranches – the Obudu Cattle
Ranch in Cross River State for example.
In 2024, Nigerians should not be fighting
over animal grazing. Ethiopia has
millions of cattle: how to feed the stock is
not an issue. Cattle rearing does not have
to be ethnically determined. Nothing
stops State governments in parts of
Nigeria from engaging in livestock
farming to reduce the North-South
seasonal migrations. The Joint Task Force
in the North East also bears arms: but are
they licensed to do so as part of a formal
response to the crisis in that area? That is
the question. And let those who ask for
guns for all note that the Firearms Act
actually favours only the rich. A firearm
does not come cheap. The poor cannot
afford to build an artillery. The rich are
busy doing so, and the more arms and
ammunition that they buy and give to
their political thugs and other agents, the
more they endanger this country. When
the rule of law and political will begin to
prevail and good men control the system,
Nigeria will begin to turn the corner with
its security challenges.

Page12 TheTrumpet JANUARY 24 - FEBRUARY 6 2024
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JANUARY 10 - 23 2024 TheTrumpet
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Awards
Faces at the 25th Annual GAB Awards
Page14 TheTrumpet JANUARY 24 - FEBRUARY 6 2024
GAB
Continued on Page 15>

GAB Awards
JANUARY 24 - FEBRUARY 6 2024
TheTrumpet
Page15
Faces at the 25th Annual GAB Awards
Continued from Page 14<
Continued on Page 16>

Page16 TheTrumpet JANUARY 24 - FEBRUARY 6 2024
GAB Awards
Faces at the 25th Annual GAB Awards
Continued from Page 15<
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