Kidnapping

By Abba Muhammad Tawfik

The prime priority of every government is always to ensure the safety of its people by providing adequate food and security and other necessities of life to make a pleasant bustling of it (life). However, the inability to reach that satisfactorily had made Nigerians call it an anathema on President Goodluck Jonathan’s stewardship and pinned him with the harsh tags of incompetence and murderer in northern Nigeria. For that, we prayed consistently and did everything practically possible within the sphere of our human influence until we had him ejected from power.

General Muhammadu Buhari is very well acquainted with his antique military stature of rational thoughts. And, of course, zero tolerance to nonsense and his political confederates in APC wooed us by the “change” cliche. They strategized their political expedition by accentuating majorly on Jonathan’s incompetence to ensure the security of life and property in the Northeastern states of the nation.

As hapless and helpless as we were with our lives at the grabs and pangs of insurgents, we put our complete trust in Buhari and APC, with the expectation and hope of fulfilling their promises of strengthening security setbacks and restoring peace in the nation. As a result, APC attained the peak of our love and succeeded with the power of our lives and thumbs.

Early in their (APC) administration, as they vowed before God and the good people of Nigeria of addressing the security challenges, we can honestly say that the waterloo of Nigerian enemies was celebrated. Normalcy was restored in most Northeastern states like Adamawa, Gombe, Bauchi, Yobe, and Borno, which were then wrecked by detonations and eruptions of improvised explosive devices.

Expectations often fail, and most often, most of their promises fail. The accomplishment of the war being waged furiously against insurgents turned out to be a mirage. It was short-lived, and insurgence spread its tentacles ubiquitously across the nation.

Up to now, a two hour thirty minutes drive from Damaturu to the once known “Home of peace” is like penetrating through the boundaries of the “Bermuda triangle” despite having an airforce base that is well equipped with military fighter jets in Maiduguri. The road will be barricaded for hours, and people would be wantonly slaughtered like animals in abattoir by insensate humanlike beasts without any intervention.

Sadly, the enormity of the matter is that even those who have taken the solemn oath and are saddled with the heavy responsibility of protecting the lives of innocent Nigerians are not spared.

Moreover, the country’s Northwest and the Northcentral segments have also responded to the topsy-turvydom of insecurity and have become a furnace hell on earth. The Kaduna–Abuja road remains a highway of death where people are daily being mercilessly forced to breathe in death and exhale life and stripped of their chattels by kidnappers. 

One of the worst tribulations that betide one in today’s Nigeria is being a resident of Zamfara, Sokoto, or Katsina. The daily news reaching us from the region is that of kidnappings. Bandit terrorists bathe in the bloodstream of innocent souls, turning wives into widows and children into orphans.

Despite the economic hardship in the country,  one has to struggle to fulfil Darwin’s law of survival. But, unfortunately, only our vital forces dearly pay the cost of so doing. May Allah, in His infinite mercy, restore peace to our dear nation. Amen. 

Abba Muhammad Tawfiq is a 500L Medical Rehabilitation student at the University of Maiduguri. He can be reached via abbamuhammadtawfiq@gmail.com.

By Uzair Adam Imam

The Dangi USA Association of Northern Nigerians has lambasted the atrocities of bandits in Nigeria, voicing a clarion call on the government to remember its cardinal responsibility of protecting lives and properties.

The association reiterated that since bandits had transgressed all common senses, they should therefore be treated as an existential threat that must be eliminated.

The call which was in a release signed Sunday by the Director Public Relations of the association, Kabir lsa Jikamshi, disclosed the grievance over the incessant killings of innocent souls.

They said that it is disheartening to witness the ongoing despicable acts of kidnapping, ransom collection and gruesome killing of innocent men, women and children especially in the North-Western part of the country.

The statement reads: “This banditry, presently constitutes a transgression that does not allow room for any negotiation. No previous grievances can justify the wanton destruction of lives and property. 

“Therefore, no one, neither the government nor private parties should negotiate in any form with the bandits.

“We call on the government to remember its cardinal responsibility of protecting life and property. Insecurity is persistent only in an ungovernable situation; Please do not abdicate your responsibilities. 

“The government should do more by taking the war to the bandits and enact the necessary legislation that will allow individuals to defend themselves without any reservation.

“This is a collective responsibility and all hands should be on deck. Thus, the general public must also remember that they have a very important role to play by supporting the efforts of the security agencies. “if you see something suspicious, say something”.

“Informants and any other individual or group enabling the activities of the bandits should be treated as one them.

“The catch and release of some of these criminals without trial is totally wrong and must stop,” the statement added.
Dangi Association also commiserated with the families of the victims of these atrocities.

“We pray the Almighty Allah will offer solace to the victims and their families. We feel the frustrations and anger of the Nigerian citizens.”

“We empathize with you for enduring these harsh conditions of insecurity and constrictions in the liberty of movement and performance of other daily activities,” they added.

By Muhammad Sabiu

The Nigerian Army’s 32 Artillery Brigade said on Tuesday that it had begun a field training exercise in Ondo State to address any security concerns.

The “Exercise Crocodile Smile IV” training was also part of the Nigerian Army’s response to security concerns and civil disobedience in the state, Major Victor Olukoya, Assistant Director of Army Public Relations, said in a statement.

The drill, according to Olukoya, was also in line with the army’s constitutional mandate of assisting civil authorities.

He stated that the exercise, which began on November 8 and will end on December 23, 2019, would be completed.

He said, “The exercise will be conducted in conjunction with other security agencies to further sustain the existing synergy between the Nigerian Army and other sister agencies in the state.

“This is a military exercise aimed at curbing various security threats such as kidnapping, armed robbery, cultism, pipeline vandalism, hooliganism, and banditry.

“The exercise which is people-oriented shall be conducted in line with the Nigerian Army rules of engagement and code of conduct, guiding exercises of this nature.”

Ahmadu Shehu, PhD.

The first part of this essay published here highlights the necessary ingredients for genocide which are vividly in the advanced stage in Nigeria against the Fulani, one of the largest ethnic groups in the country. The socioeconomic and sociopolitical conditions that preluded genocide in various countries worldwide have been well documented in history books. Therefore, the worst anyone could do is to fail to see the looming disaster in Nigeria.

Decades ago, some political leaders had set the ball running when Bola Ige, a prominent Yoruba leader, called Fulani the “Tutsis” of Nigeria. Threatened by Fulani leaders’ socioeconomic and political clouds, politicians across the country who saw the Fulani not just as rivals but as a threat to their desired political hegemony borrowed a leaf from Ige’s playbook.

Those were the framers and promoters of diabolic stories against the North and northerners, especially the region’s political leadership. The narratives of “owners of Nigeria”, “northern oligarchy”, “Kaduna Mafia”, and such epithets as the cabal, northern domination, Islamization agenda and the completion of Danfodio jihad were given persistent, often aggressive, currency in the Nigerian public domain.

Another set of narratives to debase the intellectual competence and meritocracy of the North is put behind the federal character, with any northerner attaining success being assumed to be a beneficiary of some affirmative action, sheer luck or even the corrupt Nigerian system, regardless of their proven intellectual and mental capabilities.

This constant and persistent brainwashing has blindfolded a large chunk of southerners to the extent that many of those I meet believe that being Hausa-Fulani, even the richest black man on earth – Alh. Aliko Dangote – did not actually earn his wealth. So some of them would ask if I got some favours to be able to obtain a PhD from Europe, or question my academic job in Nigeria even when I teach them in Hamburg, Cologne or Vienna.

An average southerner has been made to believe that a northerner is an empty shell, a dullard, an illiterate who is incapable of any mental or physical success. Of course, these deliberate, false narratives are geared towards maligning and disorienting the North. But, the North is one large, diverse, but culturally interwoven community that cannot be beaten as a whole. There is, therefore, the need for a scapegoat.

Indeed, the orchestrators of this scheme got a few points wrong, but one thing they got right was the point of attack, i.e. the Fulani. Yes, Fulani, because they are the traditional rulers. They are the religious leaders. They are the political leaders. They have become Hausa-Fulani, and therefore the focal point of unity. The cultural war of the ’70s has failed to disunite the North simply because the Fulani historical and cultural orientation was left intact.

However, an opportunity presented itself when the media stereotyped the Fulani as herdsmen in all the reportage around herder-farmer conflicts – a stone-aged human resource conflict that has existed for ages – but only to be used as a tool for demonization and stereotyping of the Fulani people.

Populist politicians ala Ortom, Darius and their cronies in the North and South of the Niger seized the moment to first and foremost cover up their asses against the glaring failures of their administrations and to complete the agenda for the social, if not geographical, disintegration of the North. It was yet another tool for fighting a perceived Fulani president.

Throughout 2015 – 2019, the electronic, print and social media was flooded with the “Fulani herdsmen” stories. Headlines, editorials, columns, opinions, misinformation, disinformation, fake news – the word “Fulani” became the vogue in the media.

Today, this stereotyping has taken us a step closer to the looming genocide. Displaced Fulani herders in the northwest have become easy targets for recruitment into banditry and kidnapping. While arms dealers, informants, financial collaborators from other ethnic groups have established a business cartel in robbery, banditry and kidnapping, young, impoverished Fulani herders have become the foot soldiers that carry out these physical acts of crime.

Their knowledge of the forests and ecological terrain, their military-like lifestyle, bravery, coupled with the excruciating economic conditions, have made these unsuspecting lads easy prey of the city-based cartels. These are nomads who knew nothing, had nothing, and depended on nothing other than livestock, which is no longer a dependable source of livelihood, as indicated in the first part of this essay.

Millions of nomadic and sedentary herders’ continued destitution provided a vast army for crimes and criminalities we see today. This fact has been confirmed by research and is attested to by the governments. For example, in a recent in-depth study of banditry in northern Nigeria, Dr Murtala Rufa’i of Usman Danfodio University shows that bandits are victims of circumstances and tycoons from all other ethnic groups in the country.

Although this has been a known fact, have we ever heard of Igbo arms dealer, Hausa kidnap kingpin, Bagobiri kidnapper, Kanuri Boko Haram, Nupe informant, etc.? Do we know of Hausa yan-sa-kai, Bagobiri yan banga, etc.? How many people know that bandit Turji is actually ethnically Bagobiri and not Fulani? Why do we hear of “Fulani kidnappers” or “Fulani herdsmen”?

The implications for this sweeping criminalization of a whole community are as dangerous as they are numerous. Firstly, it has set the most united, cohesive ethnic groups, Hausa and Fulani, on each other’s throats. This is the arrow that might break the camel’s back in the scheme of setting the North on fire.

Secondly, it has criminalized the most important northern ethnic group in the sociopolitical front, making political cohesion impossible. Thirdly, it legitimizes crime and criminals by ascribing them to ethnicity or other human value systems. Fourthly, and sadly, that is the last bus stop on the road to Kigali.

When a whole community, ethnic group or society is viewed as criminal, worthless and or dangerous, the natural reaction is a sweeping, conscious and deliberate elimination of the community. Their elimination becomes a duty as the larger society feels unsafe in their presence. And yes, these feelings are illusions but have been entrenched in people’s minds to the extent that restraint becomes impossible.

Today, people (including Fulanis) consciously or subconsciously talk of killing the “Fulani” in Zamfara, Sokoto or Katsina. But then, in reality, when you kill Turji or his lieutenants, you do not kill Fulani. Because when you killed Shekau, you did not kill a Kanuri, neither did you kill Igbo by killing Evans. You have, in reality, killed a blood-thirsty criminal.

Now, why is the Fulani case different? Why are the media and various sections of this country bent on demonizing millions of Nigerians in the bad light of a few rugged criminals? At the risk of sounding conspiratorial, I will give my take in the next part of this essay.

By Auwal Umar

The books of history and religion are replete with facts of many apostles of Allah, their companions, their followers, other great personalities, as well as some pious predecessors who audaciously confronted the most brutally imposing rulers of their times. Prophet Moses’ Pharaoh is the most prominent example from the time immemorial to date. Two days ago, an erudite Sokoto-based Islamic scholar, Prof. Mansur Sokoto, chose that path of honour that commensurates with the position of Islamic scholarship regarding the tear-shedding condition of insecurity and unprecedented carefree attitude about the general plight of the masses.

In the lecture, the Islamic cleric gave an overview of the multifaceted ways the occupant of the number one seat, the assumed Messiah, betrayed the mandate entrusted to him by the Nigerian masses. You may recall how President Buhari shed tears each time he was on the losing side at the polls and showed sympathy with our plight during the previous dispensations. Due to his long-standing and seemingly unfading popularity, people from every nook and cranny in the North supported him.

Prof. Sokoto recounted how an old woman of 100 years or thereabouts was optatively praying: “O God never take away my soul, lest I die without voting for Buhari to the presidential seat.” Some in the North died due to wild celebrations for his success. He commented on the support he enjoyed from some Islamic clerics, with some of them publicly invoking the wrath of Allah upon those that refused to vote for him. These bespoke the unalloyed love President Buhari enjoyed.

During the lecture, Prof. Sokoto brought to the fore some of the campaign promises Buhari used to make. He always assured the northerners and Nigerians in general that he would equate the value of Naira to a Dollar, improve the quality of education at all levels, reduce the pump price, among many other sugarcoated promises. Before Prof. Sokoto went on squarely to shed light on the height of insensitivity of President Buhari, he commended his efforts for restoring peace in the North in his first tenure before the worst came to worst. Specifically, the following are some key takeaways from Prof. Sokoto’s lecture.

Discriminatory and lopsided treatment against the North

As highlighted in the lecture, despite all the support president Buhari received before and after getting elected, he scrapped the pilgrimage subsidy. On every predicament that befalls the South, the President and his aides will quickly make a press release and take necessary actions but act quite differently when there is a similar occurrence in the North. Recently, 42 passengers were ruthlessly burnt down to ashes by bandits, but their lives were not worth a word of sympathy from the President. On the following day, ignominiously, the President headed to Lagos for a book launch by Bisi Akande. Ironically, there in the book, many blows of satire were landed on his face, which he might be unaware of. Again, bandits launched a series of attacks for four consecutive days, killing an APC gubernatorial candidate. A Kaduna state law-maker and a Katsina State Science and Technology Commissioner also fell victim to the same fate. Additionally, the former President, Shehu Shagari, lost his life, but President chose to go to the funeral of late Abiola’s wife. Even Prof. Ayo Banjo, treated with reverence, was quick to disown some facts credited to him in the book that seemed to be more important than the lives of charred passengers.

Misplacement of priorities

Buhari’s government is very good at misplacing its priorities. He borrowed a large sum of billions to share with some ghosts and nonexistent beneficiaries. Such funds can be used appropriately to address many problems bedevilling the nation.  Had the amount, vainly shared with less visible economic impact, been channelled for the general fixing of the power sector, the impacts from all its veins would have been visibly seen. Resident doctors’ lingering problem of strikes can be a thing of the past if just four billion naira would be dedicated to their cause. That is without talking about the flashy presidential weddings that gulped many billions in a day.

Failure of the government to address cattle rustling dilemma

The cleric hints at a crucial point that needs special attention. He lamented that many Fulanis’ cattle were stolen with no action taken against the theft, and the entrepreneurs of doom and downfall might have capitalized this. In other words, the problem of banditry is probably the result of retaliation by the aggrieved Fulani youth whose cattle were rustled, and the government failed to call the culprits to book. Such instances of “I don’t-care attitudes” by Buhari’s government can’t be numbered. If the government were seriously proactive on the issue, the chances are that we would not be in the present situation.

Wrong advisors and mediocrity

Despite the inexplicable delay of six months to appoint ministers, President Buhari picked one of the worst sets of cabinets, some of whom are unheard of even in the mass media. The President neither gave room for workable advice nor appointed competent hands to handle the job. Moreover, he does not listen to the voices of the experts, journalists, activists and Islamic clerics.

The cabinet goes unchecked

Once you are appointed to serve in Buhari’s government, you can do whatever you like because no one would hold you responsible for your actions or inactions. Buhari hardly gets his cabinet reshuffled because he does not care for accountability. If you were to assess his cabinet by any reasonable standard, the result would surely be awful. As a result, his cabinet members are often unruffled and well aware that they would be sacked only if they clash with some untouchable cabals.

Corruption, impunity and an unworkable justice system

Prof. lamented the high level of corruption in the government, with government officials routinely stealing public funds, with no fear of facing the consequences. He labelled the justice system under this administration as unworkable. Unfortunately, the arrests of kidnappers, bandits and insurgents always resurface on social media, but you never hear of them being sentenced. More often than not, some criminals confess their crimes not under duress but because of frailty in the justice system. And yet, they still go scot-free.

Yawuri students still in captivity

A responsible government can never be in peace when just one of its citizens is in danger.  One cannot begin to imagine the unspeakable horror of being held captive by those filthiest beasts, rapists and defilers. The worst thing now is that government does not even talk about them, much less of their potential release from their captors. These innocently helpless students have been in captivity for five months in this horrific condition. There are other similar scenarios in Niger and many other northern states.

Powerful task force on security

The cleric recommended that the government set up a team of presidential task force similar or even more robust than the Covid-19 task force to tackle insecurity head-on. The team should include experts, intellectuals, journalists, traditional rulers, elder statesmen and politicians to provide strategic advice and technical know-how.

State governors should be granted the power to act on the security of their states

Although state governors nominally bear the ceremonial titles of “Chief Security”, their power to act on security issues is limited. Thus, Prof. Sokoto advised that laws should be enacted to enable governors to act and direct the security agencies at their disposal. However, it is a bitter truth that no matter how willing a governor of a crisis-ridden state is, he is not much different from his poor citizens. 

The need to be more pious

Finally, the Islamic cleric emphasized the need for the President and the rest of us to be more God-fearing in all our doings. May Allah reward Prof. Mansur Sokoto for his invaluable words concerning the reality and the sorry state of the nation, amin.

Auwal Umar wrote from Kano. He is a graduate student at the Department of English and Literary Studies, Bayero University, Kano.

By Abdurrahman Muhammad

The North-West Governors Forum, led by Governors of Katsina Aminu Bello Masari and his Kano counterpart, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, on Wednesday donated the sum of fifty million naira (N50,000,000) to the 23 families of the victims of last week’s gruesome attack in Sokoto.

The governors presented a cheque to their counterpart, Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, at the Sokoto State Government House.

The governors prayed for the repose of the souls of the deceased.

On November 8, 2021, bandits shot at a bus conveying travellers from Sokoto to Kaduna. They, later on, set the bus on fire, killing all the passengers.

Local reports put the number of the victims as 42 while the Sokoto government says they were 23.

By Zayyad I. Muhammad

Firstly, the military has been stretched doing other ‘peoples’ jobs’  the military is tackling the terrorist bandits at the ‘surface’- see and kill, while the root causes still remain. The military is not a policing institution. The Nigerian Army is under intense pressure to fill security gaps. Security experts say, globally military involvement in crime-fighting is problematic practically because they are not trained to do so.

Secondly, the police which are trained to uproot the causes of this kind of criminality, deal with it at the surface & seal the seals, are handicapped beyond tolerance level- the police are underfunded, ill-motivated, under-equipped, and neglected. If the Nigerian police can get half of what it needs, they will tackle the bandit terrorists from end to finish. The police are superb in gathering intelligence from primary sources because the police are everywhere and trained to do so.

Thirdly, it seems, President Muhammadu Buhari is so much relying on a bulk information-first line of information ( service chiefs) he should also get information from the second and third levels- field commanders and local communities dwellers. If he is doing it, he should seek more. Though, the presidency on December 12^th, 2021 said “Alongside military force, the government is seeking to address the violence at its economic source. Massive infrastructure projects like the coastal rail and new train from the southern coast through the north-east to our neighbour Niger, aim to expand employment and opportunity across the country, bringing hope to our more remote and poorer regions where bandits and terrorists thrive”

Fourthly, Governors, security votes and benefits- some officials of government who in one way or another benefit from the opaque security vote system will always work hard to make sure bandits’ Terrorisms continue- it’s a business. some state governors are doing their best, but some of their officials may be sabotaging their efforts.

Fifthly,  communities social disorder- abject poverty, the death of community-living, everybody for his own has also contributed in oiling recruitments into the banditry business- this problem was as a result of one thing- the hijack of the local government system by the governors and state legislators. LGAs are the best sources to cater to the need of local people- when this source is no more, local people start searching for new sources to survive. Though, sheer criminality and materialism among some Fulbe including the international proliferation of small arms are also factors

According to a report by American Security Report (ASP)-  ‘Banditry in northwest Nigeria has become an appealing method of income in the region where weak governance, youth unemployment, poverty, and inequality have left people with depleted options for livelihood. Security services are often understaffed and lack the proper resources to effectively combat banditry. Vast areas of unregulated forests allow for easy concealment, and police and military forces have difficulty penetrating the rough terrain. In addition, under-policed borders have aided the proliferation of small arms and light weapons’ amongst bandit groups’

Bandits Terrorisms have reached the red level- the problem now requires a holistic approach – new and already established effective methods must be implemented to tackle the problem from the root causes. For example, academics and security experts have done some excellent research on the cause of banditry in the northwest and other regions, the intelligence community can use it for early warning and intelligence gathering.  Furthermore, the firing angle must be backed by more funding of the police by the federal government. Intelligence, accountability, selflessness, and national interest must also be a priority as well.

With pain and anguish, I decided to make this communication with your soul, which I believe is resting well. I must confess that I do not know you personally, as I was not born when you held sway as the Premier of the defunct Northern Region. However, I have heard so much about you from my late father. He narrated stories about how you conducted your political activities geared towards our region’s progress.

Today, things are no longer at ease in Arewa. The land of our great ancestors is in chaos and anarchy while life has become nasty, brutish and short. Arewa has been turned to a killing field by terrorists with the blood of innocent people crying for vengeance. The elites that took over the mantle of leadership from you have destroyed all that you laboured to build. They live in luxury and great comfort while most people are dying in poverty and hunger. Their children study in Ivy League schools in the West with public funds and return home to take the best jobs while the children of the poor are roaming the streets and eating from the dust bin. Many families can no longer eat three meals per day, as good food has become a luxury. The cost of living has continued to rise with stagnant wages.

Sardauna, you are known as a warrior who strived hard during your era to emancipate the poor by ensuring that parents sent their children to school, which was free those days. Your late daughter Hajiya Aishatu, whom I interviewed at her residence in Sokoto in 2013 during my stint with THISDAY Newspaper, spoke extensively on how you carried all along and worked tirelessly to ensure unity in the north irrespective of tribe or religious affiliation.

It is no longer at ease at the moment. The children of the poor that you trained free with the resources of the Northern region before Nigeria’s independence, and those who came after them, have ruined your efforts. They have become feudal lords and turned out to enslave us. They have sold all the assets that you and other great northerners toiled to build over 60 years ago, while organisations you set up like the New Nigerian and textile industries in Kaduna, among others, have all collapsed. They not only mismanaged these organisations but also destroyed your legacies. Many people in northern Nigeria have been homeless and are currently in IDP camps, frustrated and dehumanised. They have been sacked away from their villages by terrorists while vast agricultural lands have been left fallow without any farming activities.

Today our region is littered with many orphans and widows whose husbands have been hacked to death by bandits. We have so many children (Almajiris) roaming the streets without any future while the elites do not care. Some of the Almajiris, neglected by the society, lack basic education and opportunities, unleash terror on the society that neither cared for them. Your grandchildren no longer have access to what the people you earlier trained free in some foreign institutions enjoyed a few decades ago. Today the children of the poor no longer have access to quality education, as they study in dilapidated primary and secondary schools. At the same time, the political elites send their children to study in private schools both locally and overseas.

The painful aspect of this is that they now packaged a man without empathy and presented him to us as a messiah in 2015. Our people heeded the call and voted him into power, believing that he would usher us into prosperity. Since then, our region has never known any peace. Bandits have taken over our major roads in the north, especially Abuja-Kaduna road, kidnapping people for ransom. Families have been compelled to sell their properties to raise money for ransom. These hoodlums kill their victims, especially those whose families cannot pay the ransom, while their remains are thrown away in the forest.

Similarly, our farmers in rural areas can no longer go to their farms in peace for fear of being killed. Those who managed to plant their crops could not harvest them, as the crops were set ablaze by these urchins. The agricultural foundation of the region is being destroyed while those at the helm of affairs do not care.

Inequality is at its peak in Arewa. The political leaders are using politics and religion to balkanise our society. In fact, as a journalist who worked in the region for over a decade, I had it on good authority from a reliable source that some politicians are behind the killings in Arewa. I am, indeed, aware that you did not amass any wealth before your death. But the people that came after you have stolen our commonwealth and used the funds to purchase mansions and exotic houses in London, New York, Paris, Switzerland, Malaysia, Dubai and other top cities in the world. They do not care if our region goes up in flames because they believe they have a place to hide in case of an outbreak of war.

Today our people are being killed daily by primitive herdsmen while our women are raped indiscriminately in remote communities. The political elite in cahoots with the traditional rulers have neglected a large segment of the society. The clerics who are supposed to serve as a beacon of hope for the masses have been compromised. They have become silent and afraid to speak out for fear of the unknown. Those Islamic scholars, who had the courage to speak, admonished our youth not to protest but engage in fervent prayers. Allah will come down to fight our battle if our youth refuse to take action.

The painful aspect of this is that even the activists who protested a few days ago to create awareness about the ongoing genocide by Fulani bandits in rural areas of Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Nigeria and other northern states have been threatened by the officials of the Department for State Security Services (DSS). So, who will fight for the poor and downtrodden and fight for the orphans and widows?

Our people have become hopeless. The issue that has been bothering me is what the Arewa dream is? Of course, it won’t be easy to answer at the moment. An average Arewa youth is just focused on marriage. That is the dream for many of our youth. Illiteracy, drug abuse, unemployment has become recurring decimal. Is our society on the brink? Are we heading towards a state failure? Who will rescue our people and wipe away our tears? Should we take the law into our hands or hearken to the voice of reason? What is the way out of this misery?

History will always be kind to you, Sardauna, as all and sundry adore you due to the sacrifice you made for the development of Arewa. However, history will not be kind to the present crop of leadership in Arewa, as they have mismanaged your legacies and our patrimony, thereby plunging millions of our people into misery. May you continue to rest in peace, and I pray Almighty Allah to forgive your mistakes and grant you Aljannah Firdaus.

Yours sincerely,

Aminu Mohammed

The writer is at the school of Sustainability, Christian-Albrechts Universität zu Kiel Schleswig Holstein, Germany. He can be reached via gravity23n@gmail.com.