#BenueKillings: What HRH the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, Discussed With Governor Ortom

Gratitude to Emir of Kano, Mr. President and Governor Ortom

I am particularly glad that one of our leaders, HRH the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has used his good office in getting the President to prevail on Governor Samuel Ortom to cancel Today’s scheduled auction of the cattle he impounded from peasants for violating the State anti-grazing law.

If other leaders have risen since in defence of the weak peasants, the injustice would not have reached this level. We in the North are still slow in perceiving dangers. We wait until disaster strikes then we start looking for ways to mitigate it. This must serve as a lesson. Taraba is still pending. Everyone needs to make his input.

However, the person who needs to use his sensors most to detect coming trouble is the President, with due respect to him. On this matter, Governor Ortom met him on more than one occasion to intimate him about his intention to promulgate the anti-grazing law. The President simply told him, instantly, without consultation with experts and officials about its implications, to go ahead “if it will bring the needed peace in your state.”

If the President, whom the Governor referred to out of respect, had advised the latter to wait until after he has made the necessary consultations, used the time to also persuade Benue stakeholders to step down on the matter or midwifed a peace accord between the pastoralists and Tivs, many sufferings would have been averted because the law would not have been necessary in the first place.

If all these efforts had failed and the law was signed in spite of them, the President would have ordered the Attorney-General of the Federation to seek an injunction against it based on its obnoxious sections. The law was passed quietly and six months also passed unnoticed. What effect has the effort of the peasants made before the High Court since last November when they went before it in quest for justice? Nothing. They cannot fight the Governor on his own turf and win.

Now, as we celebrate the return of the cattle to their rightful owners, the inescapable question is: Will more cows be impounded if they break the law, when the law was designed, ab initio, to be broken? What assurances, if any, did the President receive from Governor Ortom that will save further infringements?

As I mentioned, implementation of the largely obscure Taraba anti-grazing law has only been temporarily suspended by the benevolent Governor. While other Nigerians make their input on the matter, the President can still wade in easily through his master, General TY Danjuma, who can influence the Governor should the latter prove difficult to the President. This is what politics is. It is so fundamental to successful leadership that governance is studied under department of political science, not at the faculty of law. Remove the politics from any leader, he will fail woefully no matter his good intentions. Good political skills allows him to navigate the turbulent waters, keep his supporters and gain the respect of his opponents. Poor political skills alienate the leader and turn him into a prey of his adversaries.

Not everything can be solved by the President though. We citizens must be ready to make our contributions to avert disasters and injustices. We have serious issues with youths and politicians. And unless we all learn to speak out against injustice and challenge it wherever possible, the future of this country will not be decent for our children.

Our minimum bench mark is to ensure that the long arm of the law reaches the criminals no matter their ethnicity while at the same time preventing their criminal behavior result in bigger criminalities like ethnic cleansing and genocide against citizens based on their tribe or religious identity.

Thank you YRH, thank you Mr. President and thank you Governor Ortom. Please do not forget that we still have some distance to cover in our quest for peace and justice.

Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde
20 March 2018