Yesterday, far away in Washington, United States of America, President Donald Trump told President Muhammadu Buhari that Americans are not happy with Nigeria under the latter’s watch, and the reason being the massive killing of Nigerian Christians by Jihadists’ Fulani Herdsmen.
What was not too clear from Trumps statement however was the quarter he directed the Americans’ unpleasantness to – is it to President Buhari who reigns and rules in Nigeria or to Nigerians; who are being slaughtered daily all across the country? We shall answer this question later but for now, let us deal with Donald Trump’s statement.
“We’ve had serious problems with Christians who have been murdered, killed,” Trump said, apparently referring to one of the most recent attacks on April 24 on a Church in Benue State of Nigeria, where 18 people, including two priests, were murdered. “We’re going to work on that problem and working on that problem very, very hard,” Trump said, but not without asking President Buhari to ensure the release of the abducted Dapchi School girl, Leah Sharibu; being a Christian and the only one still being held in captivity by Boko Haram because of her faith.
What Donald Trump may not have known, while advising Muhammadu Buhari on this issue, is the character of his guest in some areas of life or what l will call his true idiosyncrasy. Buhari is a man that prosecutes his drawn-up agenda with ferocious tenacity. It does not matter what the agenda is all about, either for evil or for good, he has that passion of dedication to carry out every of his plans with unequaled strength of character. This is one aspect of the man not known to Donald Trump. Yet, there is another aspect of the man that is even trickier.
Unlike Donald Trump, Muhammadu Buhari is shrewd in keeping what he intends doing secretly to his chest at all times. While Trump would announce what he intends doing loudly enough before arriving the point of execution, Buhari would never divulge his intentions to any other person except a very few that comes within his blood linage. And this is even of recent; a situation that is prompted by his failing health. Here is a man that could hold his thought far away from his own wife as long as the thinking is not “for the other room”. There few more we can mention here for the purpose of this exercise.
Donald Trump says everything he sees or hears. He is a “play boy” at most times which sometimes weighs him higher than late President Ronald Reagan; who was himself a distinguished actor of great fame. In the other hand, Muhammadu Buhari, being a typical military-politician, does not disseminate his spoils but instead bury them solidly only to be exhumed for use against raging foe. The only similarity between both men at this juncture of analogy is the ruthlessness and brutality of pounding on their foes – either real or imaginary.
There is one more thing that needs to be quickly said about these two men. Both of them are typically shrewd businessmen of the highest order. The only difference here is that while one [Trump] flouts his style of business around the world the other one [Buhari] secretly ploughs his trade of herds without too many people coming to know the balances of his books in this “profit and loss” page. Two of them are ruthless in protecting their business’ empires.
It is for these reasons that Donald Trump would have smiled to bed that he has swayed Buhari’s thought to preserve Nigerian Christians from untimely and brutal death in the hands of the Fulani herdsmen. Of course, Buhari gentleman’s demeanour at most times does not betray what he wants to do, mostly in the “other way round.” As such, Trump did not know that the man he spoke to in the White House is not the same man that operates the deadly [made so deadly by the President and his chosen “Ali Baba ten thieves”] Aso Rock Villa in Abuja.
Donald Trump did not know too much of those killings that are going on in this “shithole” county on daily basis because if he had known, he would not have sold those A-29 Super Tucano Aircrafts to Buhari’s Nigeria.
Though the lure of almost US$600 Million which is to be made from the deal is great but not enough for Obama’s America to venture into such deal and this is maybe, for the reason of what President Barack Obama knew of the likely use those instruments of wars would be put into, beyond just fighting Boko Haram insurgence. Retired Lt-Gen T.Y. Danjuma, a business mogul per excellence and a former Chief of Army Staff revealed very recently that the Nigerian Armed Forces gives protection to those killing people all over Nigeria” hence his call for “self-defense”. We pray that President Buhari never deploy these ferocious Tucano Aircrafts to hunt fellow Nigerians under the pretense of fighting insurgents in the future.
The topic is not about the mathematics of the American military hardware sales to the Nigerian Government but it is more about what option is left for Donald Trump in his chosen voyage of either helping the Nigerian people; mostly those that “are waiting to be killed by Militia Herdsmen of Fulani origin” or the ruler who might be killing them.
Permit me to clear something on the usage of the word “Fulani origin”. By saying that the killers are Militia Herdsmen of Fulani Origin does not imply that these Fulani killers are necessarily those Fulani Nigerian origins only. The Fulani tribe spread widely beyond the borders of Nigeria into Niger, Chad, Cameroon Republics and even the Islamic Republic of Libya [going by the recent revelation of President Buhari].
There are more killing of Nigerians than President Trump knew about as of yesterday when he advised President Buhari to stop the killing of Christians and to bring back the only girl from Dapchi; Leah Sharibu, who is still being held in Boko Haram’s captivity for no other reason than being a Christian. Until the man; Donald Trump, knows the exact thing that is going on in Nigeria, he would be at dilemma in choosing whom and who to help between the Nigerian President and the Nigerian people. It is very essential for the demarcation to be made because too often, the interest of a State-Nation has been mistakenly presented to cover or being same with the interest of the Head of that State’s government. That was the situation France found itself under the rule of King Louis X1V, between September 1638 and September 1715. It was he who made the statement “I am the State”.
We have a responsibility therefore to help Donald Trump to help us in Nigeria by making facts of our lives under the presidency of Buhari known to him. Otherwise, he might be equating helping President Buhari to helping us, the Nigerian people. He needs to know the following therefore.
One, just this last Saturday April 28, 2018, eight people were reported killed while scores were injured in a fresh herdsmen attack in Benue State. This happened in Agagbe Community, Sengev, Gwer West local government area of the State. According to the story, the marauding herdsmen resorted to sacking the community after their entreaty to be allowed into the community with their cattle to graze was turned down by the youths and elders of the area.
“They had few days ago sent emissaries to the village to be allowed entry into the village to graze their cows but the people refused. Shortly after, the herders were seen with thousands of cow trying to enter the village which the people resisted. They later came back and claimed that their cows had been killed but the people insisted that there was nothing like that”, saying “it was a ploy by the herders to curry sympathy to allow them entry into the community”.
Later that Saturday night, around 11pm, armed herdsmen stormed Agagbe and started shooting sporadically, burnt down properties of the people, killed and injured many. “Many of the people have fled their homes and taken refuge in nearby communities in Apa local government area of the state,” eye witnesses revealed.
Elsewhere the Oba of Benin was begging President Buhari and the Nigerian Governors’ Forum to put an end to killing in the country. The Oba, Omo N’oba N’edo, Uku Akpolokpolo, Ewuare II, spoke on the issue during a visit to the Governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola
”I want you to mobilise your colleagues in the Nigerian Governors’ Forum to address the issue of insecurity in the country and do something to stop the unwarranted killings by herdsmen in Benue, Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, Edo and other parts of the country. It is unfortunate that this is going on in our land; we want something to be quickly done as soon as possible so that Nigerians can know peace because people are being swallowed by cattle in the land”, he said.
“Nigerians cherish their comfort and a peaceful environment so much; so we are charging those of you at the helm of affairs in the country to do everything humanly possible to guarantee peace for Nigerians. The bloodletting is too much in the land and the nation is bleeding, we want a stop to this. The killing of innocent citizens has to stop in every part of this country. It is worrisome that the trending news in the country today is killing here and there, no day you will not hear the news that people have been butchered by herdsmen. Mr. Governor, something urgent needs to be done about it”, the revered King concluded.
This is the true situation in Nigeria, which Donald Trump may not have known and it is crucial that he has all the details because President Buhari will not tell him. The danger of the Yankee not knowing is that he may, by being misled through lack of accurate information at his disposal, come to the conclusion that Nigeria and Nigerians would be helped better if Buhari is assisted to continue as president beyond 2019. And this is where the danger lurks.
Donald Trump need to be told the plain truth that given all the indexes on ground in Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari would always play the Hausa/Fulani card pathologically. He is ready, at any given time and all the times, to defend his kith and kin of the Fulani tribe to the detriment of all other tribes in Nigeria. Ipso facto, there is a dilemma of decision making confronting Donald Trump on this matter of new-found friendship with President Buhari and the limit of help he is to render to him.
Our President; whom we Nigerians know better than Donald Trump, is most unlikely to change his ways of life, not even at this ripe old age. He cannot improve the Nigerian economy because his own boss; former two-times President and a retired four-star General, Olusegun Obasanjo, said he is not good on economic administration. He is too tired [maybe for reason of old age] to monitor his appointee hence disobedience to his orders, like the one he personally reported when he said that “the Inspector General of Police disobeyed my order”, his instruction cannot help a Nation under anarchy, like Nigeria. There is little hope for economic growth because of the way corruption is growing bigger and larger under his administration; as just complained by the American government.
If all these, plus more evils, are common property of this administration the only optional help for Nigerian and Nigerians is to help President Muhammadu Buhari to a befitting retirement in Daura, come May 29, 2019. Donald Trump has a duty to perform in achieving this feat.
Godwin Etakibeubu, a veteran Journalist, wrote from Lagos.
godwin@thenewsguru.ng
