TY DANJUMA SHOULD APOLOGISE WITHIN 24 HOURS-MIDDLE-BELT GROUP

MIDDLE BELT CONSCIENCE GUARD TEXT OF A PRESS CONFERENCE HELD IN ABUJA ON SUNDAY MARCH 25, 2018 ON THE CALL FOR CHAOS BY RETIRED GENERAL TY DANJUMA Protocols, Gentlemen of the press, We are shocked that no apology or retraction has come over twenty-four hours after a former Minister of Defence, Lieutenant General Theophilus Y Danjuma asked the people of his state, Taraba, and by extension Nigerians to rise up and begin a campaign of ethnic cleansing. If General Danjuma is truly the elder statesman that some people repute him to be, he should have by now, in view of the righteous outrage expressed by right thinking Nigerians, acknowledge his error, apologize, make amends and issue a fresh call for people to trust in the commitment of the state to peacefully address whatever challenges beset the areas affected by farmers/herders' clashes. Prior to the issuance of Danjuma's poisonous directive, the Taraba state governor, Mr. Darius Ishaku has been fingered in the escalation of the crisis between the farming and pastoral communities in Taraba state, especially on the Mambila Plateau. The governor reportedly armed ethnic militias to carry out attacks on other ethnic groups, which consequently fueled reprisals in other states of the Middle-Belt and beyond. A couple of other states copied the Taraba example and armed militias with the same consequence of endless reprisals that have seen the circle of violence enter a continuous loop and spiraling across the country. We had wondered how state governors and other politicians were able to procure weapons that they issue to the militias they set up considering the international actions against the proliferation of small arms. There were equally concerns that the resources that should have been committed to poverty reduction were being diverted for arms purchase. General Danjuma’s call for mindless killings have however given a new perspective to what we had thought was a crisis that could be dealt with by bringing the affected parties to make accommodation for one another. There is no need to wonder anymore. TY Danjuma has revealed himself as the godfather of the militias and the governors are merely field commanders. The godfather has the international connections to procure black market weapons, the limitless resources to procure the arms and the incentive to distribute them. His call is just an attempt to project an argument for the weapons to get on our streets. An African saying has it that “If a blind man says he will throw a stone at you, he probably has his foot on one.” Danjuma’s call for people to “defend yourselves” is in no way to be taken lightly. He made that call only because he has the arsenal to deploy by way of providing weapons to his ethnic group to kill others. It has happened before during the Jukun/Tiv clashes. There is no guarantee that the geo-political zone can survive another round of crisis fueled by TY Danjuma supplied weapons. It is now glaring that Danjuma, the Taraba State Governor and another governor in the region have perfected plans to carryout ethnic cleansing using the Mambila Plateau as the test case before extending to the entire Taraba and other parts of the country. The call made to the people to defend themselves is apparently out of frustration because the governors he uses as his field commanders have been stumped with the launch of Operation Ayem Akpatuma (Cat Race) by the Nigerian Army. The operation had led to the uncovering of the militias that were armed under different and different names but all aimed at perpetrating genocide. This is why we find it ridiculous that Danjuma decided to describe the mop-up of arms by the army as “taking sides”. As an ex-military man who knows the security implication of free-flowing light firearms and weapons, it is most unfortunate that he is rather allowing his darker side to drive his worldview in this matter. We suspect that the retired general would have preferred a repeat of Zaki Biam, when the military flattened an entire community under his watch as Minister of Defence. He had possibly expected that the army would have assisted him in carrying out the ethnic cleansing he has in mind. But our dear retired Lieutenant General TY Danjuma, the Nigerian Military of today is not the one you left behind as Minister of Defence. The military is now under obligation to observe rules of engagement that meet international standard. This military respects diversity. This military has a demand on it by Nigerians to respect democracy. This military is gone past replicating the massacre of innocent civilians at Odi and Zaki Biam. We therefore call on General Danjuma to clarify his comments because we are willing to accept the flimsy excuse that he might have mixed up what he intended to say on account of his advanced age. Where he fails to walk back his dangerous directive, we hereby put him on notice that he shall be held liable for any degeneration in the security situation in all the jurisdiction where he has called on people to resort to self help. He will be dragged before the competent legal authorities - domestic and international – for any life lost because of his declaration of war. The federal government and the Nigerian Army must on their parts ensure they are not caught unawares since Danjuma has made his intention known. They must escalate the mopping-up of illegal weapons in the affected areas. The intelligence community and the civil police must be activated to investigate the connections between those killing Nigerians under the cover of whatever crisis and those calling for people to bear arms against fellow citizens. Thank you Prince Raymond Enero National President