Pendulum: The Truth Northern Nigerian Leaders Must Accept

By Dele Momodu

Fellow Nigerians, please permit me to start today by giving a
summary of how I see the current spate of insecurity in Nigeria.
Any right-thinking Nigerian realises that this is the most burning
issue for discourse in the country at a time when rampaging
bandits, insurgents and terrorists seem to have overrun our country
and effectively taken over its leadership. No matter your political
leaning and alignment, the facts make for gruesome, grisly reading
and consideration.

One. The Northern parts of Nigeria have largely fallen into the
hands of hard-core terrorists, if you like call them herdsmen,
bandits, insurgents or whatever you will. The situation is akin to
a coup carried out by a ragtag army with pockets of resistance by
the legitimate government fighting with puny munitions as against
sophisticated weaponry and arsenal. How ironic for the giant of
Africa!
Two. The terrorists fall into different groups. The most prominent
group has been the Shekau faction of Boko Haram. Their agenda is
clear. They are out to kill and maim and destroy anything in sight,
out of some warped ideologies and principles. I don’t think they
are armed robbers, or petty thieves. They seem more motivated and
organised than that and they seem to have some code of honour which
marks them out.

Shekau himself must possess more than nine lives. I have read of
his demise, which has been greeted with much joy and fanfare, not
only by the unfortunate Nigerians caught up in his zone of death
but also, by some witless and clueless military top brass and
government leaders who have had eggs all over their faces from the
daredevil exploits of this rakish felon, countless times. Every
time he has been declared dead, with apparently fake videos to
prove this, the phantom Shekau had resurrected to the eternal
consternation, bewilderment and damnation of his victims and those
supposedly hunting him down. His assailants should be tired by now
and should just let God take him away at his own appointed time,
since that seems to be the only way the man will leave this planet
earth, on his and God’s terms.

Three. There are heavily weaponized terrorists operating around
the forests of Kaduna, Zamfara and Niger States. Their agenda is
simply opportunistic. Harass and blackmail the Nigerian State to a
standstill and hold everyone to ransom till the government parts
with billions of Naira as settlement, appeasement, pacifiers or in
typical Nigerian parlance, the dividends of Amnesty! Their strategy
is very smart. Give access to a Sheikh Gumi and some media
operatives to help spread your message of terror, free of charge,
and even confer some sort of legitimacy on your nefarious
activities. I must confess that these ones are far smarter than the
other groups. I love the bold and brazen manner they have requested
for President Muhammadu Buhari to come and negotiate with them
personally. The Yoruba people have a relevant proverb: the person
who gave birth to a terrible child should be ready to carry the
troublesome baby on his own back. They were apparently used and
dumped by Buhari and other politicians who made grandiloquent
promises to them during their various electioneering campaigns. The
payback time has now come, and vengeance is theirs. No more time
for long stories!

Four. There are herders and cattle rearers. These ones are in
two or more parts. The itinerant, traditional, peaceful and
innocent Fulani herders who shepherd their cattle from place to
place and have done so for many decades. They are legit and usually
calm. They are mostly Nigerian Fulani. Many of them have bosses who
had traded almost forever across the country. They are traceable,
well-meaning and prosperous.
They do not want trouble and they do not look for trouble. However,
there are the invading Fulani from different parts of West Africa,
roaming dangerously and violently into and out of our porous
borders, unchallenged. The attitude and disposition of the
government has made them to believe, with some justification, that
president Buhari is their avuncular benefactor and protector, and
no harm can befall them in Nigeria. They are more confident about
their untouchability, inviolability and invincibility. Those are
the reasons they have been killing, maiming and raping defenceless
Nigerians, senselessly. These ones are the deadliest because they
are not just armed robbers, they are religious and tribalistic
bigots and fanatics who are daydreaming of how they will soon
convert the entire country of Nigeria into a Fulani colony and an
Islamic enclave. They must be flushed out by all means necessary,
whether Buhari is willing or not! He once told us himself that they
are foreigners, so why must we allow them to destroy the lives of
peace-loving Nigerians?

However, all these four categories or groups are not my main
focus today. This week, I wish to speak to the loquacious, swollen
headed Northern Governors who have been rubbing hot pepper and salt
on our festering wounds. One of them has been busy grandstanding
and talking arrogantly that he has no apologies for his
retrogressive views on the raging controversy. My advice is that
many of these Northern leaders should urgently bury their faces in
shame and beg Allah for forgiveness, if it is not too late. It is
the height of shamelessness to impoverish your people, turn them
into illiterates and robots, and expect that you won’t reap the
whirlwind of violence that you have sown, in a matter of time.

Everyone knows how much these Northern leaders crave and cuddle
power but what have they done with it? Many of us who are
detribalized Nigerians don’t really care if they’ve held on to
power for so long, but it is sad to see the mess they have made of
it. These leaders are still busy deceiving their people by
pretending to be their champion when they are the original
parasites feeding fat on their hapless preys. The amount of money
spent on military hardware today would have been invested in
vocational education, cottage industries, and other productive
sectors but not flamboyant ones. I’m sure they’ve not seen anything
yet. Many of them can no longer sleep comfortably in their towns
and villages, the reason they have over-fortified Abuja, which they
run to at the earliest opportunity or excuse, in recent years. What
they have failed to do, some private investors are willing to do
for the collective peace and safety of all.

What is sad and saddening is that the Southern leaders who are
being saddled with the challenges coming from the North are too
timid and squeamish to talk to Buhari and their Northern
counterparts. I love the few who are standing up to the bullies,
every now and then, Governors Samuel Ortom of Benue State, Rotimi
Akeredolu of Ondo State, Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and Godwin
Obaseki of Edo State. I respect their boldness in defending the
rights of their people to live in peace and harmony while
protecting their properties and families. Thousands of young
able-bodied boys flocking to the South daily won’t be the case if
they were kept busy at home in the North by their leaders. And
rather than do the needful, those leaders are busy throwing
tantrums as if it is the job of others to look after these innocent
kids that they have abandoned and left in abject state of penury
and hopelessness. It is like a parent berating a teacher for not
giving pastoral care to his child when the parent had actually
neglected and refused to give the child a sound upbringing and good
manners in the first instance.

Nothing has shocked me more than seeing my Brother, Governor
Hope Uzodinma, gloating on television about how he invited the
military to Orlu. Please, help me ask what happened in Orlu that
has not happened 100 times over in the Northern States. Why didn’t
he find any respected Igbo Chief or Priest to go and negotiate and
quell whatever trouble there was in Orlu like Sheikh Gumi has been
doing for his own men in the Northern forests hiding the itinerant
Fulani militia. Why are Southern leaders always very quick at
throwing their own citizens at the lions? That was how Chief Sunday
Igboho Adeyemo was going to be sacrificed by some Yoruba leaders in
order to placate the tin gods of Abuja had his people not lent
their voices to his crusade and dared the gods with the feet of
clay. It is obvious we are our own worst enemies!

Anyway. Let me call on good spirited and kind-hearted Nigerians
to take up the duty and responsibility of helping the army of
unemployed Nigerians in whatever way we can now that it is obvious
most of our leaders are sleeping and snoring. This is one of the
ways in which we can help our youths to go back to the land of
reason, decency and self-respect. There is no point wasting time on
leaders who have no plan or clue about how to resolve the
incredible problems they have caused for everyone. On a personal
note, some of my friends and I have found a way of reaching out to
Nigerians nationwide. It is a small effort, but the results have
been worthwhile. The statistics we have gathered are so depressing
and frighteningly sobering. It is now clear to us why terrorists
are overrunning some parts of the North East and North West in
particular.

Special thanks to the amazing Ghanaian lady, Ms Farida Bedwei,
who saw my efforts of distributing palliatives on social media and
offered to design a spectacular App that has opened my eyes to the
grim realities of Nigeria. You will be surprised and shocked, but
it is better that we all act and do something, no matter how
little, before it is too late.

As at the time of writing this, we have received a total of
35,981 applications from across the states of Nigeria, in just two
weeks, 11,444 females and 24,531 males. I interpret this to mean
the men are more under pressure than the women. The average age of
applicants is 34 and they are applying for our N5,000 palliatives
which government promised them during the campaigns but remains
largely nebulous and unseen, although we hear of distributions of
billions of Naira to millions regularly. So far, we’ve been able to
select 1,004 successful applications and already disbursed
N5,020,000. It is our aim to give as many deserving applicant as
possible the N5,000 palliative and this is a commitment from us. We
charge absolutely nothing for the tremendous and amazing
administration and logistics that is going into the scheme,
treating that as part of our further contribution to the whole
program.

Borno State has the largest number of applications with 6,938.
The towns and villages are as follows: Askira 59, Asare 27, Abama
155, Benisheikh 51, Biu 215, Briyel 4, Chibok 45, Damasak 49,
Damboa 154, Dikwa 52, Gajiram 29, Gamboru 48, Gubio 23, Gudumbali
9, Gwoza 79, Khaddamari 57, Konduga 126, Kukawa, 41, Kwaya Kusar
38, Mafa 89, Magumeri 111, Maiduguri 5298, Mallam Fatori 25, Marte
61, Monguno 54, Rann 17, Shani 22. This data from Borno State is a
sample of what we did and replicated in each of the States. Our
government needs to study such credible statistics to be able to
appreciate the magnitude of the trouble ahead.

Let’s now go to Bauchi State where we received the second
largest number of applications with a total of 6,522. The breakdown
is as follows: Alkaleri 146, Azare 891, Bauchi 4,371, Bogoro 40,
Dambam 44, Darazo 83, Dass 86, Gamawa 40, Giade 21, Itas 36,
Jama’are 27, Kafin Madaki 64, Katagum 259, Kirfi 51, Misau 95,
Ningi 40, Tafawa Balewa 105, Toro 80, Warji 10, Yana 33…
Abia recorded 414 applications, Adamawa 904, Akwa Ibom 421, Anambra
330, Bayelsa 264, Benue 728, Cross River 573, Delta 444, Ebonyi
316, Edo 391, Ekiti 587, Enugu 326, Gombe 2,049, Imo 427, Jigawa
180, Kaduna 1,307, kano 455, Katsina 473, Kebbi, 241, Kogi 849,
Kwara 667, Lagos 1,954, Nasarawa 353, Niger 600, Ogun 943, Ondo
650, Osun 942, Oyo 1,226, Plateau 524, Rivers 425, Sokoto 279,
Taraba 877, Yobe 952 and Zamfara 451… One or two of these might
have changed in the course of writing this column. It is a dynamic
and fluid situation brought on by the malaise of unemployment that
is ravaging our country while government spews forth fake
statistics and monetary figures.

It is obvious that out leaders never treated their citizens
right and much more needs to be done. What is saddest is the
obvious lack of empathy and compassion. I must acknowledge the
salutary efforts of the Governor of Borno State, Professor Babagana
Umara Zulum, against all odds. I wish our President could study how
this Governor reaches out to his people. President Buhari is just
too aloof and distant from the people of Nigeria. Yet he was so
energetic during the campaigns and went everywhere. Now that he has
occupied, and seats on, the gilded throne of power he has since
truculently and defiantly withdrawn into his rarefied cocoon,
thereby leaving Nigeria on autopilot and at the mercy of his
villainous brethren…
It is so sad and unfortunate!

By Dele Momodu

Fellow Nigerians, please permit me to start today by giving a
summary of how I see the current spate of insecurity in Nigeria.
Any right-thinking Nigerian realises that this is the most burning
issue for discourse in the country at a time when rampaging
bandits, insurgents and terrorists seem to have overrun our country
and effectively taken over its leadership. No matter your political
leaning and alignment, the facts make for gruesome, grisly reading
and consideration.

One. The Northern parts of Nigeria have largely fallen into the
hands of hard-core terrorists, if you like call them herdsmen,
bandits, insurgents or whatever you will. The situation is akin to
a coup carried out by a ragtag army with pockets of resistance by
the legitimate government fighting with puny munitions as against
sophisticated weaponry and arsenal. How ironic for the giant of
Africa!
Two. The terrorists fall into different groups. The most prominent
group has been the Shekau faction of Boko Haram. Their agenda is
clear. They are out to kill and maim and destroy anything in sight,
out of some warped ideologies and principles. I don’t think they
are armed robbers, or petty thieves. They seem more motivated and
organised than that and they seem to have some code of honour which
marks them out.

Shekau himself must possess more than nine lives. I have read of
his demise, which has been greeted with much joy and fanfare, not
only by the unfortunate Nigerians caught up in his zone of death
but also, by some witless and clueless military top brass and
government leaders who have had eggs all over their faces from the
daredevil exploits of this rakish felon, countless times. Every
time he has been declared dead, with apparently fake videos to
prove this, the phantom Shekau had resurrected to the eternal
consternation, bewilderment and damnation of his victims and those
supposedly hunting him down. His assailants should be tired by now
and should just let God take him away at his own appointed time,
since that seems to be the only way the man will leave this planet
earth, on his and God’s terms.

Three. There are heavily weaponized terrorists operating around
the forests of Kaduna, Zamfara and Niger States. Their agenda is
simply opportunistic. Harass and blackmail the Nigerian State to a
standstill and hold everyone to ransom till the government parts
with billions of Naira as settlement, appeasement, pacifiers or in
typical Nigerian parlance, the dividends of Amnesty! Their strategy
is very smart. Give access to a Sheikh Gumi and some media
operatives to help spread your message of terror, free of charge,
and even confer some sort of legitimacy on your nefarious
activities. I must confess that these ones are far smarter than the
other groups. I love the bold and brazen manner they have requested
for President Muhammadu Buhari to come and negotiate with them
personally. The Yoruba people have a relevant proverb: the person
who gave birth to a terrible child should be ready to carry the
troublesome baby on his own back. They were apparently used and
dumped by Buhari and other politicians who made grandiloquent
promises to them during their various electioneering campaigns. The
payback time has now come, and vengeance is theirs. No more time
for long stories!

Four. There are herders and cattle rearers. These ones are in
two or more parts. The itinerant, traditional, peaceful and
innocent Fulani herders who shepherd their cattle from place to
place and have done so for many decades. They are legit and usually
calm. They are mostly Nigerian Fulani. Many of them have bosses who
had traded almost forever across the country. They are traceable,
well-meaning and prosperous.
They do not want trouble and they do not look for trouble. However,
there are the invading Fulani from different parts of West Africa,
roaming dangerously and violently into and out of our porous
borders, unchallenged. The attitude and disposition of the
government has made them to believe, with some justification, that
president Buhari is their avuncular benefactor and protector, and
no harm can befall them in Nigeria. They are more confident about
their untouchability, inviolability and invincibility. Those are
the reasons they have been killing, maiming and raping defenceless
Nigerians, senselessly. These ones are the deadliest because they
are not just armed robbers, they are religious and tribalistic
bigots and fanatics who are daydreaming of how they will soon
convert the entire country of Nigeria into a Fulani colony and an
Islamic enclave. They must be flushed out by all means necessary,
whether Buhari is willing or not! He once told us himself that they
are foreigners, so why must we allow them to destroy the lives of
peace-loving Nigerians?

However, all these four categories or groups are not my main
focus today. This week, I wish to speak to the loquacious, swollen
headed Northern Governors who have been rubbing hot pepper and salt
on our festering wounds. One of them has been busy grandstanding
and talking arrogantly that he has no apologies for his
retrogressive views on the raging controversy. My advice is that
many of these Northern leaders should urgently bury their faces in
shame and beg Allah for forgiveness, if it is not too late. It is
the height of shamelessness to impoverish your people, turn them
into illiterates and robots, and expect that you won’t reap the
whirlwind of violence that you have sown, in a matter of time.

Everyone knows how much these Northern leaders crave and cuddle
power but what have they done with it? Many of us who are
detribalized Nigerians don’t really care if they’ve held on to
power for so long, but it is sad to see the mess they have made of
it. These leaders are still busy deceiving their people by
pretending to be their champion when they are the original
parasites feeding fat on their hapless preys. The amount of money
spent on military hardware today would have been invested in
vocational education, cottage industries, and other productive
sectors but not flamboyant ones. I’m sure they’ve not seen anything
yet. Many of them can no longer sleep comfortably in their towns
and villages, the reason they have over-fortified Abuja, which they
run to at the earliest opportunity or excuse, in recent years. What
they have failed to do, some private investors are willing to do
for the collective peace and safety of all.

What is sad and saddening is that the Southern leaders who are
being saddled with the challenges coming from the North are too
timid and squeamish to talk to Buhari and their Northern
counterparts. I love the few who are standing up to the bullies,
every now and then, Governors Samuel Ortom of Benue State, Rotimi
Akeredolu of Ondo State, Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and Godwin
Obaseki of Edo State. I respect their boldness in defending the
rights of their people to live in peace and harmony while
protecting their properties and families. Thousands of young
able-bodied boys flocking to the South daily won’t be the case if
they were kept busy at home in the North by their leaders. And
rather than do the needful, those leaders are busy throwing
tantrums as if it is the job of others to look after these innocent
kids that they have abandoned and left in abject state of penury
and hopelessness. It is like a parent berating a teacher for not
giving pastoral care to his child when the parent had actually
neglected and refused to give the child a sound upbringing and good
manners in the first instance.

Nothing has shocked me more than seeing my Brother, Governor
Hope Uzodinma, gloating on television about how he invited the
military to Orlu. Please, help me ask what happened in Orlu that
has not happened 100 times over in the Northern States. Why didn’t
he find any respected Igbo Chief or Priest to go and negotiate and
quell whatever trouble there was in Orlu like Sheikh Gumi has been
doing for his own men in the Northern forests hiding the itinerant
Fulani militia. Why are Southern leaders always very quick at
throwing their own citizens at the lions? That was how Chief Sunday
Igboho Adeyemo was going to be sacrificed by some Yoruba leaders in
order to placate the tin gods of Abuja had his people not lent
their voices to his crusade and dared the gods with the feet of
clay. It is obvious we are our own worst enemies!

Anyway. Let me call on good spirited and kind-hearted Nigerians
to take up the duty and responsibility of helping the army of
unemployed Nigerians in whatever way we can now that it is obvious
most of our leaders are sleeping and snoring. This is one of the
ways in which we can help our youths to go back to the land of
reason, decency and self-respect. There is no point wasting time on
leaders who have no plan or clue about how to resolve the
incredible problems they have caused for everyone. On a personal
note, some of my friends and I have found a way of reaching out to
Nigerians nationwide. It is a small effort, but the results have
been worthwhile. The statistics we have gathered are so depressing
and frighteningly sobering. It is now clear to us why terrorists
are overrunning some parts of the North East and North West in
particular.

Special thanks to the amazing Ghanaian lady, Ms Farida Bedwei,
who saw my efforts of distributing palliatives on social media and
offered to design a spectacular App that has opened my eyes to the
grim realities of Nigeria. You will be surprised and shocked, but
it is better that we all act and do something, no matter how
little, before it is too late.

As at the time of writing this, we have received a total of
35,981 applications from across the states of Nigeria, in just two
weeks, 11,444 females and 24,531 males. I interpret this to mean
the men are more under pressure than the women. The average age of
applicants is 34 and they are applying for our N5,000 palliatives
which government promised them during the campaigns but remains
largely nebulous and unseen, although we hear of distributions of
billions of Naira to millions regularly. So far, we’ve been able to
select 1,004 successful applications and already disbursed
N5,020,000. It is our aim to give as many deserving applicant as
possible the N5,000 palliative and this is a commitment from us. We
charge absolutely nothing for the tremendous and amazing
administration and logistics that is going into the scheme,
treating that as part of our further contribution to the whole
program.

Borno State has the largest number of applications with 6,938.
The towns and villages are as follows: Askira 59, Asare 27, Abama
155, Benisheikh 51, Biu 215, Briyel 4, Chibok 45, Damasak 49,
Damboa 154, Dikwa 52, Gajiram 29, Gamboru 48, Gubio 23, Gudumbali
9, Gwoza 79, Khaddamari 57, Konduga 126, Kukawa, 41, Kwaya Kusar
38, Mafa 89, Magumeri 111, Maiduguri 5298, Mallam Fatori 25, Marte
61, Monguno 54, Rann 17, Shani 22. This data from Borno State is a
sample of what we did and replicated in each of the States. Our
government needs to study such credible statistics to be able to
appreciate the magnitude of the trouble ahead.

Let’s now go to Bauchi State where we received the second
largest number of applications with a total of 6,522. The breakdown
is as follows: Alkaleri 146, Azare 891, Bauchi 4,371, Bogoro 40,
Dambam 44, Darazo 83, Dass 86, Gamawa 40, Giade 21, Itas 36,
Jama’are 27, Kafin Madaki 64, Katagum 259, Kirfi 51, Misau 95,
Ningi 40, Tafawa Balewa 105, Toro 80, Warji 10, Yana 33…
Abia recorded 414 applications, Adamawa 904, Akwa Ibom 421, Anambra
330, Bayelsa 264, Benue 728, Cross River 573, Delta 444, Ebonyi
316, Edo 391, Ekiti 587, Enugu 326, Gombe 2,049, Imo 427, Jigawa
180, Kaduna 1,307, kano 455, Katsina 473, Kebbi, 241, Kogi 849,
Kwara 667, Lagos 1,954, Nasarawa 353, Niger 600, Ogun 943, Ondo
650, Osun 942, Oyo 1,226, Plateau 524, Rivers 425, Sokoto 279,
Taraba 877, Yobe 952 and Zamfara 451… One or two of these might
have changed in the course of writing this column. It is a dynamic
and fluid situation brought on by the malaise of unemployment that
is ravaging our country while government spews forth fake
statistics and monetary figures.

It is obvious that out leaders never treated their citizens
right and much more needs to be done. What is saddest is the
obvious lack of empathy and compassion. I must acknowledge the
salutary efforts of the Governor of Borno State, Professor Babagana
Umara Zulum, against all odds. I wish our President could study how
this Governor reaches out to his people. President Buhari is just
too aloof and distant from the people of Nigeria. Yet he was so
energetic during the campaigns and went everywhere. Now that he has
occupied, and seats on, the gilded throne of power he has since
truculently and defiantly withdrawn into his rarefied cocoon,
thereby leaving Nigeria on autopilot and at the mercy of his
villainous brethren…
It is so sad and unfortunate!