UNIPORT ALUMNI EXECUTIVE MEETS, HARPS ON SECURITY THREATS IN IKA LAND
By Sunday Memeh
The Executive members of the University of Port Harcourt Alumni Association, (Uniport) Ika Chapter, on Sunday, October 20 2024, met to, deliberate and proffered solutions to the security threats and other environmental challenges in Ika land.
Addressing the Executive members, President, Dcn. A.C. Odum, thanked them for their support and cooperation. He encouraged the members to always support the union in any way they can so that the association will continue to move forward.
Delivering his lecture on the topic, ” The Security Threats in Ika land, “a lecturer of the Faculty of Bachelor of Sciences, Department of Political Science, Dennis Osadebe, University of Asaba, Dr. Stanley Odigbo, stated that he has chosen to speak on Security Threats in Ika Land, judging by contemporary happenings which have robbed the peace and bliss from every home.
Ika land we know is inhabited by peaceful and industrious men and women, youths and children of the Ika ethnic nationality. It is bounded in the North by Esan in Edo state, in the South by the Aniochas and Ndokwas in Delta State, in the West by Edo State and in the East by the Aniochas in Delta State.
Due to their open heartedness, Ika people are known to be hospitable, a trait which by extension has led to inter-marriages with our immediate neighbours and other ethnic groups in Nigeria.
He said the economy of Ika people is largely agrarian and commercial, with a rising population of people engaged in the service sector.
Security can be equated to be a feeling of safety. But today, Ika nation is seething with fears, anxiety and unrest, thanks to several security threats faced by the inhabitants. In making this assertion, I am working with the broad meaning of security as struggle or effort to secure the most basic necessities of life namely, food, fuel, medicine, shelter. We can also add ‘freedom’ in terms of choices and opportunities. These are indices of human security which are necessary for anyone to attain physical security, all with the objective of attaining happiness and enjoying the good things of life.
Hence any threat to man’s ability to access and enjoy these indices of life becomes a challenge or threat to his or her security.
On this basis, we can therefore proceed to identify the existing security threats in Ika land as:
Inter—personal conflicts and violence. This could exist at individual levels and could emanate from intolerance, transferred aggression, hatred, etc.
Inter-communal conflicts;
Criminality and organized crimes;
Armed Robbery;
Herdsmen attack on crop farmers;
Kidnapping and hostage taking;
Cultism;
Yahoo plus syndrome.
Some of these threats have been existing from time immemorial without jeopardizing or tampering with the common fabric that held Ika people together. They may have caused some setbacks to the victims, but did not fundamentally threaten the basis for future survival and existence.
This paper according to Odigbo focuses on types iv and v – Herdsmen attack on crop farmers, and kidnapping/hostage taking. I have chosen to focus on them, not only because they are the most threatening today, but because they are not generated from within or from amongst interactions by the Ika people and other inhabitants of Ika land. Rather, they are received and imposed by the contradictions of the Nigerian state. They are not generated from the internal dynamics of the Ika people’s socio-economic and cultural existence.
In so doing, I do not pretend to have all the solutions. The objective of this paper therefore is to provide critical understanding using the Political Economy Approach, to the issues involved and engage our minds in our collective search for solutions.
He said the Genesis of Herdsmen Attacks, Kidnappings and Hostage Taking
Herdsmen are pastoral farmers, that move from place to place in search of fodder and water to graze, a practice better known as nomadic pastoralism. For the purpose of this paper, the term ‘herdsmen’ will be confined to cattle rearers.
The conflict between herdsmen and crop farmers and the violence associated with it can be said to have assumed crisis dimension since the Buhari administration in 2015. This conflict is not only threatening Ika land but the continuous survival of Nigeria as a nation state. It has heightened the level of insecurity and exacerbated the food crisis in Nigeria due to loss of farmers lives, animals, crops and other valuable properties. The conflict has become so deadly as it is being prosecuted with very sophisticated and modern weaponry. As of now, it is difficult to draw any line between herdsmen attack and kidnapping in the classical sense of the word.
He noted that as they seek to take this discourse through its genesis, the questions we should keep asking ourselves is, Why is it that only very few of the attackers have ever been arrested and charged for their heinous crime in spite of the extensive and prolonged attacks? Closely associated with this question is, why has the Nigerian State not visited crimes of herdsmen attack the same way it has visited other violent crime, and in some other cases, less violent crime or militant agitations in other regions such as the South-East and South-South?
What is to be done and which way forward?
Today, the Hausa and Fulani constitute the largest ethnic group in Northern Nigeria. The Herdsmen are Fulanis. The Fulanis introduced Islamic laws which allowed private ownership of land under the traditional administration of Emirs who became very powerful. This powerful status continued under colonial rule which established a class alliance between the British colonial officials and the Emirs (Smith 1960, Dudley 1968, Whitaker 1970, Paden 1973).
For other parts of the country, the Yorubas had their own centralized administration, whereas “the minorities of Ijaw, Kanuri, Ibibio, Tiv, Itsekiri, Isang, Urhobo, Anang, Efik were from ancient minorities in their own right. But at independence their leaders had to submit their own ethnic ambition within alliances with one of the three big ethnic groups in order for them to become more relevant politically (Achebe 2012:47).
After independence, the emirate system has dominated the political structure of Northern Nigeria, and its configuration continues to exist within the present state system. Indeed, the country can be grouped into two social clusters, namely the feudal-dominated and the non-feudal cluster. Incidentally, this grouping also reflects and represents the two conflicting types of political personality which has come to be the basic problem confronting Nigeria since after independence viz, the caliphate-emirate personality and the non-feudal liberal political personality (Nzimiro, 1979, 1988). Chinweizu (2013: 7) regards the two conflicting ideologies associated with these personalities as that of Feudal-theocracy versus Secular-democracy. But it has proved to be a conflict in which the feudal- caliphate forces hold sway. A principal ideologue of this dominant force in the person of Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto once said in 1960:
“The new nation called Nigeria should be an estate of our great-grandfather, Uthman Dan Fodio. We must ruthlessly prevent a change of power. We use the minorities of the North as willing tools and the South as a conquered territory and never allow them to rule over us, and never allow them to have control over their future.” (Tribune Newspaper, 2002).
Consequently, the descendants of Fulani feudal aristocracy became colonial district officers and participated in the decolonization process using the Northern Peoples Congress as a political party when it was formed.
The domination by the Hausa-Fulani ethnic group has weakened the Nigerian state and its capacity to resolve crisis. According to Ikelegbe, “the state has been associated with sectional, regional, ethnic and religious interests. It is seen as acting on behalf of and being used to further the interests of some groups” (Ikelegbe, 2013:196).
It is important however to establish the fact that the real herdsmen that we know and grew up with depended on the goodwill of crop farmers. I call them ‘the Vintage Herdsmen’ who existed long before the establishment of the caliphate system in Northern Nigeria by Uthman Dan Fodio. They were peasant cattle owners who migrated over vast areas of land in search of fodder and water depending on the season. These herdsmen respect the fact that they are strangers and always made efforts to be at peace with farmers (Dan Agbese in the GUARDIAN).
A study on the population, distribution, ownership and management structure of the cattle population in Nigeria established that small holders owned majority of the cattle who maintain between 2-10 in number. However, there are quite a sizable number of owners with cattle population over a hundred and as much as a hundred thousand or more in some cases. These large holders invest substantially in their flock and subcontract the job of herding through an existing network of herdsmen and managers of herdsmen. According to Henry Okolo in his article titled “Economics and business of cattle”, when you see a herd of 100 to 200, the herdsmen are paid workers and do not necessarily own the cattle. The real owners of the cattle are mostly affected by the struggle for access to land and feed for the cattle (Vanguard, March 23, 2018).
These owners of large cattle herds are those who have ‘proletarianized’ the job of herding and are by implication not only involved in the conflict with farmers, but constitute the key drivers of the conflict. Their herders are the ones who have the propensity to be influenced and armed with AK47 rifles. In an article which appeared on The Pointer publication of Monday, July 4, 2016, Pius Mordi wrote:
“The average young man who was hitherto armed with sticks and daggers just for personal protection is not the main protagonist in what has now become a national crisis threatening the main fabric of the country. He always acted according to instructions from his masters. When they required him to carry only sticks and daggers, he dutifully obeyed. Now that he is armed with AK 47 assault rifles, it was not his call, neither did he have the connection to procure such lethal weapons.”
Today, the Fulani whose stock cuts across many countries in the West African sub-region have transformed from a group of stick-wielding pastoralists who live a simple, nomadic life into ‘an arms-bearing fighting force, leaving a trail of destruction wherever they go’ (Ikezue and Ezeah, 2017:156). They simply lead their cattle into cultivated farmlands and are ready to maim or kill whoever challenges them. Some commentators suggest that many of the killer herdsmen are non-Nigerians but foreigners who leave the country as soon as they accomplish their deadly mission.
Responses from the Nigerian State, Groups and Individuals
Over the years, the federal government explored various responses. In July 2012 when reports that killings in Barkin Ladi local government of Plateau State had reached a head, President Jonathan ordered a combined military operation of the Nigerian Army and the Air Force to the areas affected. In response, troops and helicopters were sent, but not before the residents were ordered to move away to a temporary accommodation provided for them for their safety, especially as reports indicated that many of the herdsmen were not Nigerian citizens. The joint ground and air operation did not only clear the area, but also effected arrests which led to trials and convictions.
An aftermath of this was a tweet on the 15th of July 2012 by Malam Nasir El-Rufai, who later became Governor of Kaduna State in the subsequent administration and a close confidante of President Buhari with a threat:
“We will write this for all to read. Anyone, soldier or not that kills the Fulani takes a loan repayable one day no matter how long it takes.” (The Pointer, Saturday, January 13, 2018 p.22).
From the Jonathan administration and throughout the Buhari regime, the policy preferences in search of solution include the establishment of grazing reserves, protection of cattle routes, a 10-year National Livestock Development Plan, establishment of cattle colonies or Ruga versus ranching as advocated by Southerners.
The complaints or resistance to the destruction of farms and properties by herdsmen have always resulted in killings, and the killings have continued to occur indiscriminately. The Governor of Benue State has been calling for the arrest of the leaders of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore who had been threatening to attack communities in his state since June 2017.
Despite the no-confidence-vote passed on the President’s service and security chiefs, the Minister of Defence, Alhaji Mansur Dan Alli was to shock Nigerians on June 5, 2018 with the suggestion that the law prohibiting open grazing by herdsmen as passed by the three states of, Benue, Taraba and Ekiti should be suspended as a precondition for the killings to stop. He was reported to have made the statement on his way out of a Security meeting held at the Presidential villa in Abuja (Vanguard, Wednesday, June 27, 2018).
After the death of over 1351 persons within the first ten (10) weeks of 2018 alone, the killings have become more frequent, one-sided and institutionalized. Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka decried series of invasion by cows within his residence and those of others in the region, and warned that he would adopt drastic measures, having reported several times to the police to no avail.
In his view; “We need to understand that the confrontation between farmers and the cattle rearers are not new. But the issue of concern is the way the attack had been handled by the government and the lies that followed after the attacks, especially from remarks from public office holders, especially from the Minister of Defence”
Soyinka described herdsmen attack as worse than Boko Haram and called for organized resistance by voluntary organizations to disarm the herdsmen. (Analyzing the situation further, he surmised:)
“There is something I called governance body language. The body language of the government is sad and it has allowed the attack to continue for long. The long-term planning proposed by the Federal Government has not gone hand in hand with the security necessity” (Vanguard, Wednesday, February 14, 2018 p.41).
Professor Hagher had predicted the serial killings by herdsmen in a private memo to President Buhari seventeen (17) months before it occurred. The country’s erstwhile High Commissioner to Canada and Ambassador to Mexico spoke to Gate field TV programme and held the President and Security Agencies as accomplices. (According to Professor Iyorwuese Hagher,)
‘The Miyetti Allah have an army. Whether they hire it out of people that are trans-border. I call them trans-border army and they hire them. They are all over West Africa and any time they are hired, there is a form of complicity at the border.
There is every reason for the Professor to hold the President as an accomplice because the President’s Office replied his letter thanking him and giving him the assurances that his advice would be heeded (Daily Independent, Monday, January 15, 2018, p.A4).
The role of some cultural associations in this crisis should also come into focus. MIYETTI ALLAH KAUTAL HORE or Miyetti Allah Cultural Association has been described as the apex socio-cultural organization of the Fulani.
Less than 24 hours after the Defence Minister went public against the anti-open grazing law, and the herdsmen saw reason to inflict another attack on Guma and Logo local government areas, killng at least 15 persons, the MUT President General led other Benue tribal leaders of Idoma National Forum and Omi Ny’Igede to state inter alia:
“We want to put on record that what is playing out, concerning the atrocities by herdsmen in Nigeria and the utterances of people in high places is a declaration of war on ordinary Nigerians by the Federal Government.
We say ordinary Nigerians because leaders of cattle breeders in Nigeria, especially Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, Gan Alla Fulani Association of Nigeria, amongst others have threatened communities in the country, yet none of them has been invited for questioning despite petitions to that effect from several quarters” (Sunday Vanguard, June 10, 2018 p.31).
The MUT is a sociocultural organization of the Tiv in Benue State.
“Despite all pretensions that land trespass is not a cause to the conflict as expressed majorly by Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, land dispossession and grabbing is at the root of the conflict and attacks. The traditional tenet among the Fulani that property rights is temporary as relayed by Ismail Iro, has since undergone changes to a new consciousness of sedentary nomadism and lifestyle. The Federal Government’s responses and actions so far have proved to be a rehash and endorsement of schemes formulated by the Fulani northern establishment and groups like MACBAN. And so, whether it is Grazing Reserves, Cattle Colony, or the new found love for Ranching, these schemes offered at various times as solutions to the conflict have been rejected by the Middle Belt or North Central states, and the Southern States, because of their potentials as tools for land dispossession and appropriation. Empirical and historical evidence abound about how indigenous populations have lost their territories to the Fulani settlers. Mr. Istifanus Dung Gyan, Member of the National Assembly whose constituency was devastated by the June attacks in Barkin Ladi area of Plateau State explained:
SEE ALSO: WE WORKING TO END INSECURITY IN IKA LAND – Okubor,
“I want to say that the issue at stake is the issue of land grabbing. I say so because these attacks have been sustained over the past ten years. And during the ten-year- period, village after village have been over run. People are displaced, people are massively killed. And their land is taken over and occupied by herdsmen. The latest attack is in furtherance with the same land grabbing agenda. Four villages have already been added to the 45 villages over run and under forceful occupation. It is simply a game to ensure that a cattle colony is carved out, land is set aside for cattle grazing and that has led to this holocaust, this ethnic cleansing, these mass killings we are witnessing in my constituency” (Sunday Vanguard, July 1, 2018 p.36).
The fact that the Association (s) of herdsmen can come out to claim responsibility for attacks with impunity under the Buhari regime unlike never before, speaks volumes and must be viewed with all seriousness. This has continued to happen because the ‘feudal personality’ ascended power the very day that Buhari was sworn in as President. Indeed, Fulani feudal militancy found better expression and demonstration during the second coming of Muhammadu Buhari as civilian Head of State as he runs a lopsided security apparatus filled with his fellow Fulani stock against the constitutional requirements to reflect federal character, a security apparatus that has remained insensitive till this day to the destruction of human lives and farm produce with impunity.
There is no indication till date that the Police, other Security Agencies and the Federal Government are willing and ready to enforce the law and prosecute the criminal herders, just like Yinka Odumakin rightly observed in his “Candid notes” of Vanguard, March 6, 2018:
“A policeman who should enforce the law is now telling properly constituted authorities when to make laws and the laws that some sacred cows will obey. This country is collapsing gradually unless we pretend not to know”.
Continuing, he said the same northern governor, El- Rufai once stated that he was being embarrassed by the population of armed political thugs who were imported into the country for election purposes but refused to depart long after they were settled and elections concluded. In all these revelations, the federal government of the day never blinked an eyelid.
He mentioned the cases of Kidnap and Killings by Herdsmen in Ika Land
Almost every part of Ika territory has been torched. In those days, when security is threatened in the towns and villages, people ran into the bushes. But the forests in Ika are no longer safe. They have been occupied by foreigners. Ute-Okpu, Ekuku-Agbor, Abavo, Owa-Alero, Idumuesah, Alihame, Igbodo have not been spared. A few of the cases in 2024 alone can be recalled here.
In January 2024, Stephen Eboka was kidnapped in Ute-Okpu while working in a palm plantation along Ute-Owerre road belonging to a woman.
The vigilante unit in one of the Agbor clans arrested several men who are non-indigenes and cannot speak any of the Ika dialects from the forests. The men were clad with dogs, matchets, guns and other killer weapons. He said that they were taken to the Agbor police post where they were soon released on the ground that they were hunters.
In April 2024, 15 hostages including vigilante member were killed in Owa kingdom by suspected kidnappers.
On Thursday, May 16, a full vehicle load of passengers was kidnapped along Idumuesa – Ute Erumu road.
“Recently, a married woman in Owa-Alero was kidnapped from her house. It was reported on social media that the sum of N1million was paid as ransom.
“Conclusion and Recommendations
From the foregoing discussions, it is obvious that the security challenges of herdsmen violence and kidnapping is a national one. It is obvious also that apart from the intervention by President Jonathan in July 2012 over the menace of this genre of insecurity in Barkin-Ladi Local Government of Plateau State, the Nigerian state has continued to look the other way as if succumbing to the threat by El- Rufai. It has been a case of gross inaction from the Federal government. The recent successful engagement of these deadly marauders in the forest of the Niger Delta by Niger Delta militants shows that the problem persists in the absence of a corresponding armed security engagement. And the beat goes on with the people living in fear.
The new regime of Tinubu has done nothing either, and Nigerians should not expect anything different. We will all recall that when his kinsmen in the west formed a regional security outfit labelled ‘Amotekun’, he never blinked an eyelid and never for once condemned the occupation of Yoruba forests in order not to jeopardize his chances at the 2023 presidential election. We also know the role played by Miyetti Allah and the Northern Governors’ Forum to make him emerge as the presidential candidate during the APC primaries.
“We should now fall back on what we can do for ourselves at the local level. I wish to call on our traditional institutions to live up to their responsibilities of safeguarding the lives of Ika people, their farmlands and forests. It is unfortunate however that what we seem to be getting from them is a conspiracy of silence, with no visible and significant pressure being mounted on security institutions and the government of the day.
A kidnapper/bandit once confessed that our traditional rulers are well aware of their presence in our land and forests. He stated that when they arrive, mostly as herdsmen, their first point of call is the traditional ruler’s palace. If this is true, then by all logic, we should expect more from our traditional rulers.
The Sultan of Sokoto is the principal traditional ruler of the Sokoto Caliphate. He has been seen and heard travelling to Imo State and other states in the south to consult and mitigate any crisis that threatens the federal government, the north and even the APC which is a political party. He is also the chief patron of Miyetti Allah and the other herders’ associations in the country. He is the leader and spiritual father of the Muslim populace in Nigeria. How many times have our own traditional rulers or southern traditional rulers travelled to the north to engage and discourse with the Sultan over the predicament of their people, either individually or collectively as a group?
Or have our traditional rulers accepted a subordinate status under the Caliphate, under the Sultan?
“The people of Ika (ndi ika) are looking forward to proactive defense strategies and expecting more from their traditional rulers, “he said.