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Ikenna44

All Herbsmen Are Not Bandit

SIR: Crime has no ethnic face. When criminality is defined according to ethnic origin or religion, social cohesion is threatened. There are people of criminal inclinations in every group, race, place and religion. In fact, we defeat the fight against insecurity if we lend ourselves to ethnic prejudices. The insecurity devouring Nigeria affects everyone – Igbo, Hausa, Fulani, Yoruba, Idoma, Jukun — and people of different religions. The criminals pillaging the country do not select victims based on ethnicity and religion. The devourers only come to steal, kill and destroy. A few days ago, bandits invaded the home of Professor Aliyu Mohammed at Wusasa in Zaira, Kaduna State. They kidnapped him, killed his young son and shot his brother – not minding his religion or ethnicity. There have been countless cases of attacks on commuters on Abuja-Kaduna road. The victims of these attacks have been Nigerians of all shades and contours. These bandits do not even spare their own kin. Mohammed Adamu, a suspected kidnap kingpin, had to pay N1.5 million ransom to a rival kidnapping gang led by one Buba Babu when he was abducted. Adamu ’’was held and shot in the hand until his gang members paid a ransom of N1.5million only for his release’’. We have to see these pillagers purely for what they are – criminals from Hades born without a soul. The evils of these vultures on citizens in the north could escape ethnic tinctures largely because of the false perception of ‘’na dem dem’’, but in the south they are spurring divisiveness and atavistic prejudices. As a matter of fact, many families are in mourning. Many have lost loved ones to the Mephistophelian enterprise of bandits. So, it is natural for Nigerians to be angry. I recall the killing of a young agro-entrepreneur in Oyo whose life was extinguished by his abductors after his family had paid N1.6 million ransom — such a tragedy. The killing of the daughter of Pa Fasoranti and a first-class traditional ruler in Ondo is still fresh. These are very depressing incidents. Really, Nigerians have a right to defend themselves against certain death. The constitution guarantees this. But what the constitution does not sanction is the profiling of any citizen based on ethnic origin or religion. So, we should not make the problem of banditry an ethnic one. These are criminals who will leisurely kill their own kin for ransom. On Monday, Rotimi Akeredolu, Ondo State governor, ordered all herders to vacate the state’s forests. I construe his action from a point of helplessness. The governor is tired of the killings and abductions in his state. He is the chief security officer of the state but he cannot marshal the police or the army to black out the nightmare in Ondo. He lacks the constitutional power to do so. One of his closest staff has been a victim of these devourers. The wife of his chief of staff was kidnapped in November 2020. A first-class traditional ruler, the Olufon of Ifon was killed by bandits in the state. And there have been jarring cases of kidnapping and murders. So, it is only natural that the governor acts to check the slumping of his state into a kidnappers’ paradise. Also, that states are embarking on parallel security outfits to defend themselves indicts the federal government of failure. The consequence of the Buhari administration’s ineptitude is clearly the resort to self-help by citizens. If the Buhari administration was responsive in tackling security threats across the country there will be no Amotekun or any other divergent regional security outfit. State governors are helpless. What options do they have? Kayode Fayemi, governor of Ekiti State and chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, publicly lamented that governors were ‘’frustrated and tired’’ over the parlous state of security. The Buhari government has failed to secure the country, hence the resort to panic remedies which impede national cohesion by governors. But we must take caution not to tinge the enemy in brushstrokes of ethnicity. Asking all herdsmen who congenitally take to the forest to vacate the forests of Ondo may come off as ethnic targeting. The intentions of the state government may be genuine but we live in a divided and delicately unbalanced country. Nigerians have a right to reside anywhere they want to. Let us not make banditry about ‘’all herdsmen’’ or any ethnic group.

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Ikenna44

Why Pigeons Released By Buhari Don't Fly -Adeshina

Sodiq Oyeleke Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity , Femi Adesina , has given reasons why pigeons released by the president initially refused to fly during the Armed Forces Remembrance Day . The PUNCH had reported that the doves, otherwise known as white pigeons , released by the President , Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd . ), at the Armed Forces Remembrance Day ceremony last Friday, refused to fly despite multiple attempts by the President . This elicited reactions from Nigerians , some of whom described the incident as a “bad sign ”. In an article on his Facebook Wall titled, ‘Reflection from a wreath - laying ceremony,’ Adesina described the pigeons’ refused to fly as “a natural phenomenon”. [ YOU MAY ALSO LIKE] Ondo forests: FG’ s support for lawlessness is outrageous He said, “Now , something for those who twist my every word , turn it upside down , to generate hatred . Something for them to wail about . The release of the pigeons. “At every Armed Forces Remembrance Day , after the laying of the wreaths , the sitting President releases some pigeons , to symbolise peace in the land. Emblems of National harmony . It was not different last Friday . “The pigeons had been kept in a cage. For how long , I do not know. And when birds and some other roaming animals have been circumscribed for a while, they get accustomed to their new status as lawful captives . Therefore , when you offer them freedom , they first baulk , thinking it’ s too good to be true . It ’s a natural phenomenon. READ ALSO : Body of missing Delta female farmer found hanging on tree “President Buhari opened the cage that held the pigeons , about a score or so . One hesitated, then flew , followed by another . The others temporised a bit . And then, two, three minutes later , they all took to the sky . Nothing extraordinary in the development, you would think . ” The president ’ s aide also faulted Nigerians for describing the refusal of the birds to fly as a “bad sign ”, urging them to do something productive with their time . READ ALSO: Yoruba seek end to open grazing , demand new constitution He said, “But not to the idle and indolent , most of who populate the social media . It was time to major in something minor , cavil , find fault unnecessarily . “The pigeons didn ’t fly, they refused to fly, it’s ominous , they wailed like wailing wailers . And you began to wonder : are people this idle? “Don’ t they have productive things to do with their times ? Are their minds so addled , and all they want to do is find faults against their President , ascribing spiritual connotations to a non - issue ? “For their information: Muhammadu Buhari has no time for such frivolities . He just continues to serve the country with his heart and mind , trying to make a difference in security , economy , and anti -corruption. And he will get there , by the grace of God . But if they don ’ t change , the wailers will be losers, standing small. ”