President Buhari considered (and still considers) Abukakar Malami, the most suitable Nigerian, in learning and character, as his MOJAG (Minister of Justice &Attorney General) for this beleaguered nation. The Senate agreed with him and that is that. In the field where I operate, people ordinarily only examine candidates in their fields of expertise. Since I am not learned, I will not comment on his pure judicial activities, but I can comment on his applied actions and that is what brings us where we are.
The Greeks of old, great thinkers (philosophers) and writers,( who knew and spoke authoritatively of almost everything) reportedly classified humanity into 3:idiots, tribesmen and citizens. This study is underpinned by the Tribesmen theory, which is therefore forms the Theoretical Framework. I will thus leave Idiots (and there are lots of them around) and citizens (who are as scarce as genuine pastors) out of this discourse. I will start with conceptual clarifications. Tribesmen are people who approach every issue and relate with everybody from a tribal prism. Thus, people are only human, and worthy of trust, respect and dignity, if they are from the same tribe, which in this instance also applies to religion , colour and may be, even profession or club. Issues, policies,(whether national or global) and discussions are all viewed from a tribal mindset. Inclusiveness and diversity are the opposite sides of the same coin. Diversity is a recognition of our differences (both psychological and physical) while inclusiveness is the optimisation of diversity by ensuring that the diverse peoples are(or feel) welcome respected, valued and treated with dignity, and are allowed to contribute their quota to national, societal or organisational development. Many people do not understand or do not care about inclusiveness. However, it is ‘denjalos’ (as Pastor Indaboski would say), when one suffers from Acute Inclusiveness Deficiency Syndrom, ( AIDS)especially in a diverse environment like ours. When the person who suffers from this type of AIDS is also a tribesman and holds a sensitive position as Chief Law officer of the Federation, then, wahala de! Unfortunately, Malami suffers from these two severe ailments and thus anybody who is so afflicted is suffering from the Malami syndrome.
Our people say that it is only a tree that hears that it would be ‘killed’ and fails to run for cover. On 11/5/21, the Southern Governors, irrespective of party, religious and tribal affiliations, considered the existential threats to their people by an assortment of herdsmen( Fulani, non-fulani, foreign and local) and issued the Asaba Declaration, the core of which is the ban on open grazing. I believe that the declaration came a little bit late but our people also say that whenever you wakeup becomes your morning. They should have done that when the cows had the audacity to invade our schools, take over the classrooms and displace students, as it happened at Ohovbe Primary School, Ikpoba, Edo State on 7/6/17 and Nwafor Orizu College of Education Demonstration School, Nsugbe on 13/7/17( See Ik Muo, Ehi Goes to School, July, 2017).
When the person who suffers from this type of AIDS is also a tribesman and holds a sensitive position as Chief Law officer of the Federation, then, wahala de!
Of course, they had invaded the airports, occupied our roads and destroyed our farms and these were even before the murderous and land-grabbing dimensions set in. Anyway, they issued the Asaba Declaration and that was when Malami displayed his AIDS by comparing open grazing to selling spare-parts; a reference and unveiled threat to those who sell spare-parts(SP) all over the West-African coast… and you know who they are!
The MOJAG said the ban violated the constitutional provision of freedom of movement. I read it 1001 times to make sure I got it right. I waited for the usual rebuttals, (quoted out of context et al) but ‘no nothing’. When a person who equates humans with cows is the MOJAG, then we are in REAL trouble. It is one of the reasons where Nigeria is where it should NOT be! And the presidency supported him, saying that the pronouncement is of doubtful legality, act of politicking and demonstration of power. The presidency eventually clarified the statement but the damage has been done. It is finished!
I believe that Malami spoke before he thought! He was in effect asking our elected governors how dare you? Why should you complain about the murderous destructive and divisive activities of my brothers? If not, how can one compare open grazing and the associated evils with trading? How many SP traders go along with AK47, murder, rape, forcefully acquire land and displace the owners? While SP people acquire land, build houses pay taxes, develop the society and operate opendentially, some of those open-grazers operate in the forests, do not contribute to the economy, do not contribute to the development of the communities, and occupy land by fire by force.
Malamis position is weird and it is only in Nigeria that a lawyer(I think he is a SAN) and MOJAG can make such a statement and get away with it. How do I explain to my children that Governors who can decide how we drive and park our cars, where and when markets should be/open, where we can build houses, where we can slaughter animals, when we must stay indoors, when schools, including private ones can open or close and even where we can be buried, CANNOT decide how cows should be reared and that cows should not be competing with us for spaces in the high ways. And the land-use act has given these governors control of land in their states! This is alu&mpu!( abomination and impunity).
And this is in a country where under the watch of the MOJAG, his brothers banned the selling of alcohol and authorised its hypocritical religious police to regularly destroy the alcoholic wares of hustling Nigerians who do genuine business, who registered their businesses and pay both official and unofficial taxes. I lived in the North for 9 years and I know those who consume those assorted liquors.
In any case, Justice Thomson banned open grazing in 1969 for being inimical to peace and tranquility; repugnant to natural justice and equity; the northern governors had banned open grazing because it is not sustainable and the Kano state Governor has just declared that open grazing MUST stop in the interest of peace, unless we are ruled by ethnic sentiments.The Kano State Police had also directed that Fulani herdsmen coming into Kano State must get clearance from the police command of the state they are leaving for Kano,Tiaminu Yakubu had argued unequivocally that open-grazing is harmful, even to the North just Governor Masari of Kastina state says it is not Islamic . TheArewa Consultative Forum sees the Asaba Declaration as a decision taken in the best interest of all, saying that no society can tolerate a situation where herdsmen would enter any farm, allow their cows to eat up the crops, and rape or kill anyone raising objections.
But Malami is not the only one suffering from this new variant of AIDS, prevalent for now only in Nigeria. He has good company in the Myetti Alah which, clothed with imperious impunity, described the Southern governors as jokers and directed its members to ignore the orders of the governors, while one of their partners in impunity, the Fulani Jihadist Movement gave the governor of Delta State 72 hours to withdraw its support for the Asaba Declaration. Why Delta in particular? There is also oneKawu Sumaila, a former presidential Aid declared that right-thinking Nigerians would not endanger their lives by supporting the candidature of any Igbo for presidency in 2023. Another co-traveller of his, Mustapha, said that Igbos can NEVER rule Nigeria no matter how they try andSenator Bulkachiwa is the opinion that Igbos deserve death, not presidency( where is Lai; the monitor-in-chief of hate-speech) Senator Abdulahi Yahaya, the Senate Leader said that we cannot ban open grazing without the endorsement of the President and consent of Myetti Allah. There is also the Federal Ministry of Agriculture which built a N30m mosque for displaced herders, and Sokoto Government, which approved N155m for the propagation of Islam in a multi-religious, multiethnic country, that has no state religion. These are all suffering from the new AIDS; they are setting the country on fire and at the same time arguing that Nigerian unity is non-negotiable. But the BOOK says that no two people can travel together unless they have agreed to do so(Amos,3.3).
Well, abad system doesn’t appear wrong to those who benefit from it. They do everything to defend it to the detriment of the larger society. However, our people say that whoever is sent on a thieving operation by his father does so with unbridled audaciousness. I don’t blame Malami; I blame his oga who would have given him a pat in the back, saying well-done my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Meanwhile, kudos to the Nigerian security forces for rescuing some of the Kebbi kidnappees. But while some of the kidnappees were still under the clutches of the criminal gangs, they were able to rescue 800 cows. I thought they would have completed the human rescue efforts before turning attention to cows. That is just my thought! So, how do we cure this new AIDS?
JC Osakwe at 80
My friend, Sir JC Osakwe is 80. In a country where life expectancy is 55, where life has turned nasty brutish and short, where people are being neutralized at a faster rate than during the Biafran war, it is a very BIG news indeed. He has gone beyond the life expectancy of 55 in Nigeria, beyond the Davidic age threshold of 70, and the Jeremiah boundary of 80, an age reserved for those whom God loves. He is now on his way to the Ezekiel era of 120. I was a small-boy banker when JC joined the Training School of Cooperative and Commerce Bank of blessed memory. He was urbane, cheerful, knowledgeable and has this disarming smile that made him a friend to everybody. And up to this moment, he still retains those qualities,including his ever-present disarming smile. At 80, he is still intellectually and mentally alert, physical agile and able to contribute to community discourse and development. JC is a jolly good fellow and I wish him all the best. As a way of giving back to the society, I have given him two simple assignments; just 2! To share with us his experiences in the past 80 years(80 experiences in 80 years) and to give us nuggets on how to live up to 80 in good multidimensional health and peace of mind. We the younger ones( even though I am already an elder), need it.
