16th July, 2018
PRESS RELEASE:
STOP BLAMING BUHARI FOR KILLINGS
The Muslim Rights Concern
(MURIC) has advised Nigerians to stop blaming President Muhammadu Buhari for
killings around the country. In a statement released on Monday and signed by
the leader of the group, Ishaq Akintola, the association blamed politicians,
tribal bigots and a section of the media on the spread of wrong information
about killings around the country.
According to MURIC, “It is unfair to blame Buhari for our
inability to stop killings. Security is a collective responsibility particularly
on the different arms of government: the executive, the judiciary and the
legislature. The press as the Fourth Estate of the Realm also has a vital role
to play there. So are the citizens.
“In the case of Nigeria
today, instead of cooperating with the executive, our legislature is an open
enemy even in a sensitive matter like the security of lives and properties. For
example, as killings occur on a daily basis, Buhari made a move in April 2018
to procure more weapons to fight insecurity but a hostile Senate turned down
the request.
“National Assembly (NASS)
made so much fuss about Buhari’s request for $1 billion from the Consolidated
Revenue Fund, threatening to impeach him for approving its release without its
consent. The same self-serving legislature delayed the budget for seven months
just to get back at the executive and of course no money can be released before
the Appropriation Act is signed into law.
“Yet the first on the list
of twelve resolutions of the NASS issued on 5th June, 2018 was that ‘The
Security Agencies must be given marching orders to curtail the sustained
killings of Nigerians across the country and protect life and properties of
Nigerians’. This is grossly unfair. NASS also declined to accede to Buhari’s
request to approve the sum of $496 million for the procurement of Super Tucano
aircfraft from the United States. Yet Nigerians failed in their duty to
question the right of their lawmakers to endanger their lives.
“Apart from the problem of herders and farmers, the recent revelation by
Hon. Ahmed Maje that certain politicians sponsored killers and assssins who
were trained in Israel has completely absolved President Muhammadu Buhari in
the killings. Weapons for the clandestine operations were smuggled into the
country through our porous boarders. It was only a few containers which were seized
by customs that we heard of. Many others were safely delivered.
MURIC urged Nigerians to
adopt a holistic approach to killings occurring in the country. Citing the
example of the recent communal clash which claimed more than 200 lives in the
South East, the Islamic human rights organization argued that nobody in his
right senses would blame the executive for such criminal inclination among the
populace. It also insisted that the killings were not new as more than 1,000 Muslims
were massacred, roasted and eaten up in cannibal style by the Berom Christian militia
of Plateau state in 2001. These areas should have been properly covered by the
Nigerian media.
“Ours is not an isolated case but we are behaving as if Nigeria is an
island. Farmer-herder clashes are common everywhere, particularly in West
Africa. Take Ghana as an example. Earlier this year, cattle rustlers invaded farmlands
in Ashanti, Volta, Brong Ahafo and the Eastern regions leading to killings and the
destruction of farms. But Ghanaians did not crucify their president because of
the clashes. To solve this problem, Ghana established its first cattle ranch
last week at Afram Plains in the eastern region. It plans to establish more in the
Volta and Ashanti regions.
“It is time to face realities. We must borrow a leaf from Ghana. That
country is as multi-religious and multi-cultural as Nigeria. Herders and
farmers clashes can be avoided if we objectively consider the recommendation
for the establishment of ranches. Ghanaian President Akufo-Addo had in March
this year expressed his administration’s intention to establish cattle ranches
to curb the menace of herders. He has succeeded in doing that because Ghanaians
did not look at his tribe or religion. They considered what will benefit them.
“Our problems in this country are political shenaniganism,
acrobatic religiousity and ethnic demagoguery. Instead of treating the
tangentials, we always go for the peripheral. We amplify sentimental aspects
and trivialize the real issues. Instead of considering the antecedent of a
leader, we are more interested in his tribe and religion. We treat symptoms but
we leave the real ailment. How then can we move forward as a people? Don’t ask
who did this to Nigeria because we are the architects of our own woes”.
MURIC lamented the failure of the elites and the academic community
to liberate themselves from ethnic jingoism. Quoting Dr. Chuba Okadigbo,
Akintola said, “The late Dr. Chuba Okadigbo said it all, ‘If you are
emotionally attached to your tribe, religion or political leaning to the point
that truth and justice become secondary considerations, your education is
useless. Your exposure is useless. If you cannot reason beyond petty
considerations, you are a liability to mankind’.
“In conclusion, Nigerian lawmakers should take the lion share of
the blame, followed by the citizens and the media. They should all accept their
culpability in this peculiar mess instead of blaming the executive since the
latter has done what is humanly possible within the law”.
Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
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