General T.Y. Danjuma's epiphany?
Initially upon reading the latest news report about General T.Y. Danjuma, I wondered if the General (a prominent member of the Nigerian Establishment, having served as a powerful one-time Chief of Army Staff and Defense Minister, and a major player in the military counter-coup of 1966 that triggered a chain of events that culminated in the nature and geo-political structure of contemporary Nigeria), was being mis-quoted. Then, I sought and found, to my astonishment, a video recording of him accusing Nigeria's Security apparatus of aiding and abetting "ethnic cleansing:" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDZOKvFtIRk.
I am not in a position, neither do I possess information to be able to attest to the veracity, or lack thereof, of his charges. But I was stunned by those audio-videoed statements (they are unambiguous and fearless), so much so that I replayed them several times to ensure that my ears and eyes were not fooling me.
Yes, General Danjuma did level those terrible accusations against Nigeria's security apparatus. I was left asking the following rhetorical questions. Did General Danjuma experience an epiphany? Was he visited by the ghost of the late General J.T.U. Aguiyi Ironsi? Ah, wasn't General Ironsi's over-arching goal to help bring about a New Nigeria where ethnic cleansing would be unimaginable? Perhaps, if General Ironsi had not had his sojourn on earth terminated in an untimely manner, both he and Danjuma would perhaps have put hands together today to voice the same alarm and concerns that General Danjuma was compelled to utter by the circumstances and realities of Nigeria of 2018. Well, human history inevitably provokes all sorts of "would-have-beens" and "should-have-beens." But, we cannot reverse time, though we can draw healing and corrective lessons from our mistakes of the past—that is, if and when we come to a realization that we did, indeed, act mistakenly in the past.
Be that as it may, I must further ask as follows. Was Danjuma just voicing mere anger and frustration at an understandably worrisome state of affairs in areas of Nigeria which have been ravaged by various types of armed confrontations or armed assaults? As a senior member of the Nigerian Establishment, one who played a decisive role in shaping the foundation of what became Nigeria of today, was General Danjuma divulging intelligence to which ordinary Nigerians are not privy?
General Danjuma is not known for emotional outbursts, at least not in the public square. Despite the significant roles that he played in the mega events that ushered in contemporary Nigeria, Danjuma is generally known to be self-effacing. He is the type of fellow that's best described as a man of action rather than a man of words. No doubt, he is not publicly as expressive as a contemporary of his like General Olusegun Obasanjo, now Dr. Obasanjo—a uniquely three-time ruler of Nigeria. This factor, among other considerations, such as those laid out in the preceding passage, is why General Danjuma's recent castigation of Nigeria's security apparatus stroke me as a surprise. This is one additional reason his statements of alarm should not be dismissed with a wave of the hand.
--On Sun, Mar 25, 2018 at 2:38 PM, Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju <toyin.adepoju@gmail.com> wrote:--
BREAKING: Killings: Danjuma Alleges Ethnic Cleansing, Asks Nigerians To Defend Themselves
Facebook post of Bello Isiaka
A former Minister of Defence and an elder statesman , Lt. Gen . Theophilus Danjuma ( retd .), on Saturday , told Nigerians to defend themselves against killers in the country , saying the armed forces were not ready to defend them .
Danjuma made the call while speaking at the maiden convocation of the Taraba State University , Jalingo , and the 10 th anniversary of the institution.
The former Chief of Army Staff stated , "I am not a politician and politics is one profession I don ' t want to belong to because if I am a politician , I will not say what I am going to say to you now.
"When I arrived in this arena, I saw rich cultural display and I was amazed at the rich cultural heritage of our people . Taraba is a mini Nigeria with diverse ethnic groups living together peacefully , but the peace in this state is under assault .
"There is an attempt at ethnic cleansing in the state and of course, some rural states in Nigeria . We must resist it . We must stop it.
Every one of us must rise up .
"Our Armed Forces are not neutral .
They collude with the bandits to kill people , kill Nigerians. The Armed Forces guide their movements; they cover them. If you are depending on the Armed Forces to stop the killings , you will all die one by one.
"This ethnic cleansing must stop in Taraba State and other rural states of Nigeria otherwise Somalia will be a child ' s play .
"I ask every one of you to be alert and defend your country , defend your territory and defend your state .
Defend yourselves because you have no other place to go. God bless our country . "
The call by the retired general came barely two days after residents of the Takum and Ussa Local Government Areas of Taraba State accused the Army Operation Ayem Akpatuma ( Cat Race ) of providing cover for the killer herdsmen to attack and kill villagers in the areas.
The Chairman of Takum , Shiban Tikari, and his Ussa counterpart, Rimansikwe Karma, had , on Thursday , while conducting journalists round the villages attacked by herdsmen in their LGAs, accused the operatives of Operation Cat Race, currently going on in the state , of brutality , extortion and providing cover for herdsmen to kill the locals .
Also , at the convocation , the state governor, Darius Ishaku , expressed delight at the growth of the university within 10 years of its establishment .
Ishaku commended the founding fathers of the institution for their foresight in bringing university education to the doorsteps of Taraba people and pledged to continue to support the university to attain a world - class status .
The Vice - Chancellor , Prof . Vincent Tenebe , hailed the state government for its continued support for the rapid growth of the institution, congratulating the 5, 900 graduating students from the first five sets of the university .
Tenebe urged them to be good ambassadors of the institution.
The occasion witnessed the conferment of honorary doctorate on Danjuma; a former minister of the Federal Capital territory, Senator Jeremiah Useni; and Ishaku .
Others were the Chairman of Tony Elumelu Foundation , Mr . Tony Elumelu, and a former Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, Prof . Suleiman Bogoro.
Danjuma had, earlier in the day , inaugurated the 6. 75km township network of roads in Jalingo , the state capital , constructed by the Ishaku administration.
Meanwhile , two Middle Belt groups and the pan - Yoruba socio - political organisation, Afenifere, have supported Danjuma' s call on Nigerians to defend themselves against killers .
The President , Middle Belt Youth Council, Emma Zopmal , in an interview with SUNDAY PUNCH , said Danjuma' s words should be taken seriously.
He stated , "For him ( Danjuma ) to speak about the herdsmen ' s killings in Nigeria at this point in time , it means the situation must be getting out of hand due to the negligence of the government or its interest in the enterprise of killings .
"With his strategic position in the world today, every bit of his words should be taken more seriously. I also do not think that this is the first time he is advising Nigerians to be careful with the situation of Fulani herdsmen killings ."
On his part , President , National Council of Tiv Youths , Chief John Akperashi, said Danjuma' s indictment of the military should be taken seriously .
He stated , "By this therefore , the security establishments, especially the military, should be conscious of the reality that it ( military) is getting unpopular and Nigerians are fast losing hopes in its capacity to protect and secure both the citizens and entity ."
He however said it was not only Taraba State that was under attack.
The youth leader added , "The entire Benue valley is endangered and there is an orchestrated , premeditated, sponsored and coordinated agenda to overrun the Benue valley through very dehumanising and mind - boggling , demented schemes for which he, Danjuma, should be aware. "
Afenifere agreed with the retired general that the killings were as part of "an ethnic cleansing agenda " which it stated that the people must resist .
Afenifere spokesman , Yinka Odumakin , said, "T. Y. Danjuma has said the truth. If the government cannot defend the people, the people should defend themselves.
When you have an IG , who , instead of disarming herdsmen who are carrying weapons, is asking those defending themselves to submit their own arms , that shows clearly that there is an ethnic cleansing agenda and Gen . Danjuma is right in observing it . "
Lt. Gen . Theophilus Danjuma ( rtd .) centre of pic at occasion where he called on Nigerians to defend themselves
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index. html
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com .
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout .
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
Sunday, March 25, 2018
Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Ex-Minister of Defense and Nigerian War Hero Calls on Nigerians to Resort to Self Defense or Face Annihilation in the Face of Govt/Army Backed Right Wing Fulani Terrorism
A poisonous cocktail of 'fatwa' plus N100m DIY offer to a nation from a man who should know better. Haba!
Malami
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment