By Ahmed Shehu
After watching, reading and analyzing Osinbajo's visit to Adamawa state, I have come to the conclusion that the Vice President has only succeeded in widening the divide, fanning the flames and sowing more doubts and distrust in the hearts of the warring parties.
But this is very much expected. As a lawyer himself, Osinbajo knows more than anyone else, that the real source of these troubles in our land is the perceived injustice on both sides, failure of government in its core duties and the dirty games played by politicians and traditional rulers in these areas.
But we also know that the unfair treatment of citizens and the vicious circle of disparity and the ethno-religious ideological war going on among the diverse members of the society are the bane of all the measures both previous and present governments claim to have taken in solving this persistent problem. If that is true, then this visit could give room for more doubts and hearsay, and would therefore lead to more violence in the future than peace, for:
i. Records on the media show that the VP only choose to visit Dong, a Bachama village attacked in the Fulani reprisal, but not a single village out of the many Fulani villages where almost 100 children and pregnant women were slaughtered by the same people the VP went to condole and console. How could anyone then, lecture the Fulani on the faithfulness, reliability and trustworthiness of the government?
ii. From the media reports I have read so far, the Vice President only met with the Bachama rulers of Numan and Demsa LGAs, but not a single Fulani leader in these areas. How could you then tell anyone that you are on a peace mission, if you are not even ready to listen to the stories from both sides? If you are not willing to give these people a chance to narrate their own story, then they must be stupid to believe that they will ever get justice from you!
iii. As far as I know, there are still dozens of the Fulani women and children whom only by the special grace of God, survived the Bachama genocide lying in hospitals across the state. But your excellency was only pictured consoling some of the wounded of our Bachama brothers. Does it mean that the Fulani lives and people are not human, not Nigerian, or what? And in the face of this clear disdain for a section of the Nigerian people, how can you convince even the most liberal mind such as my humble self on the fairness and justice claimed by this Professor of Law, Senior Advocate of Nigeria and the nation's number two?
iv. At Numan, your excellency spoke of lasting solution to 'clashes'. I ask, what clashes? If there were clashes in the land, they were solely created and executed by the government's ineptitude in solving the 'core' causes of these problems. Because, you can't be mute when a 3-day old child and a pregnant woman among 100 others were being slaughtered in broad day light, under the supposed instructions from some self-serving office holders with zero consequences and you expect a lasting peace. I am sorry, but that is just impossible, sir. When you neglect a section of your society, you definitely will get Dong, because, peace is only possible through justice.
My advice:
The REAL Fulani and Bachama people who are involved in this impasse (NOT THEIR SO-CALLED LEADERS) should get to talk. Once we have a real, working forum for genuine talks, we will find out that the lingering causes of these problems are not even real, or even if they are, they certainly are not as complicated as we are made to believe. I maintain that we MUST make a wise choice for peace.
However, the problem here is whether those who benefit from these misadventures would ever let us talk to each other!
Contributed by Ahmed Shehu
After watching, reading and analyzing Osinbajo's visit to Adamawa state, I have come to the conclusion that the Vice President has only succeeded in widening the divide, fanning the flames and sowing more doubts and distrust in the hearts of the warring parties.
But this is very much expected. As a lawyer himself, Osinbajo knows more than anyone else, that the real source of these troubles in our land is the perceived injustice on both sides, failure of government in its core duties and the dirty games played by politicians and traditional rulers in these areas.
But we also know that the unfair treatment of citizens and the vicious circle of disparity and the ethno-religious ideological war going on among the diverse members of the society are the bane of all the measures both previous and present governments claim to have taken in solving this persistent problem. If that is true, then this visit could give room for more doubts and hearsay, and would therefore lead to more violence in the future than peace, for:
i. Records on the media show that the VP only choose to visit Dong, a Bachama village attacked in the Fulani reprisal, but not a single village out of the many Fulani villages where almost 100 children and pregnant women were slaughtered by the same people the VP went to condole and console. How could anyone then, lecture the Fulani on the faithfulness, reliability and trustworthiness of the government?
ii. From the media reports I have read so far, the Vice President only met with the Bachama rulers of Numan and Demsa LGAs, but not a single Fulani leader in these areas. How could you then tell anyone that you are on a peace mission, if you are not even ready to listen to the stories from both sides? If you are not willing to give these people a chance to narrate their own story, then they must be stupid to believe that they will ever get justice from you!
iii. As far as I know, there are still dozens of the Fulani women and children whom only by the special grace of God, survived the Bachama genocide lying in hospitals across the state. But your excellency was only pictured consoling some of the wounded of our Bachama brothers. Does it mean that the Fulani lives and people are not human, not Nigerian, or what? And in the face of this clear disdain for a section of the Nigerian people, how can you convince even the most liberal mind such as my humble self on the fairness and justice claimed by this Professor of Law, Senior Advocate of Nigeria and the nation's number two?
iv. At Numan, your excellency spoke of lasting solution to 'clashes'. I ask, what clashes? If there were clashes in the land, they were solely created and executed by the government's ineptitude in solving the 'core' causes of these problems. Because, you can't be mute when a 3-day old child and a pregnant woman among 100 others were being slaughtered in broad day light, under the supposed instructions from some self-serving office holders with zero consequences and you expect a lasting peace. I am sorry, but that is just impossible, sir. When you neglect a section of your society, you definitely will get Dong, because, peace is only possible through justice.
My advice:
The REAL Fulani and Bachama people who are involved in this impasse (NOT THEIR SO-CALLED LEADERS) should get to talk. Once we have a real, working forum for genuine talks, we will find out that the lingering causes of these problems are not even real, or even if they are, they certainly are not as complicated as we are made to believe. I maintain that we MUST make a wise choice for peace.
However, the problem here is whether those who benefit from these misadventures would ever let us talk to each other!
Contributed by Ahmed Shehu
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