The lawmaker representing Zagon Kataf/Jaba Federal Constituency in the southern part of Kaduna State, Mr Amos Magaji, who is a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), talks about the security crisis in the area.
Excerpts:
Members of the House from Southern Kaduna recently held a press conference to raise the alarm over an imminent attack on your local government areas and that your communities and some in Katsina State were behind the recent attacks. But Governor Nasir el-Rufai has dismissed your claims, saying you should approach security agencies with your information…
When we had that briefing, did we not say that we had spoken to the security agencies? We said it. You cannot hear something like that (a plan to attack) and keep quiet.
The governor stated that the security situation in his state was not different from that of other states. Do you agree with him?
We are not saying anything that is not obvious; everything is there for everybody to see. If three people are killed, three people are killed; we cannot play politics with the lives of the people. We have been informed of an imminent attack and we have informed the security agents.
Who should Nigerians believe between you (lawmakers) and the governor with these claims and counter-claims?
The issue is: has he gone there? We are from that place. Since the crisis started, can he say he knows where the attacks have been happening? I know where they happened. I went for the burials. I am not telling you about something I have not seen; I am telling you about the corpses that I have seen. I know people that their relations died. I have talked with them. I am not just talking; I am talking about what I know. The governor has not denied that people have died; he has not denied it.
But is it true that you are giving religious, ethnic and political colourations to the security crisis?
When a killer comes and says he is killing on religious grounds, will you say it is not religious? Boko Haram came earlier on; when they started their killings, they said they wanted to wipe off Christians but the government came out to say that it was not a religious war. All of those people in Chibok, Baga and other places (in the North-East), are they still in their homes today? They are not there. Initially, Boko Haram was targeting churches. In the earlier days of Boko Haram, did you hear that they bombed any mosque? No. I am going to send an audio tape to you, which someone sent to me, so that you can hear what a Fulani man said there. There are different angles to it. You cannot change your religion because there is a problem. In Nigerian politics, there is no way you can do without religion. I cannot come out today to say I am campaigning for governorship and go to Zaria and pick a Christian, and Zaria people will tell me it is okay.
No, we have not got to that level yet. He picked a Christian from Southern Kaduna and that is fine. I don’t have anything against the Deputy Governor; she is a fantastic woman. I can also go to Zaria and pick a fantastic Christian (as running mate), somebody well qualified, and see whether the Muslims in Zaria will be okay with it. If it is not okay for the people in Zaria, then it should not be okay for the people in Southern Kaduna. It is simple. Even during his re-election, they used religion. Now, somebody can stand up on television and say ‘they are playing politics with religion.’ But during the re-election, religion was used. You are in Nigeria and you know how religion plays a major role in politics. When you have a security alert, you have to raise the alarm. It is the responsibility of government to do what it can do.
The truth about this again is that the security there is not adequate. You have 50 policemen in a police station to man a local government area. Haba! That is just the human resources. You don’t know how many guns, ammunition, patrol vans they have. And you expect that they can comb a local government area. And because we know the limitation of the security apparatus, we have tried to meet with others to ensure there is peace because if trouble comes now, we don’t have enough hands to deal with it. So, it is better if there is peace.
You seem to disagree with the governor on the security situation, especially with your claim that you know more than the governor about the attacks…
We spoke about these fresh attacks and some people said we raised a false alarm, but the attacks still occurred. Can it still be considered a false alarm? We held a press conference where we said we had security information that the attackers would come after Sallah and they came after Sallah. That was on a Wednesday night into Thursday morning. You have seen that they killed many people less than a week after Sallah. The alarm we are raising is not false. The governor has not gone there but he has sent his Commissioner for Internal Security, who has been there several times. But for the governor, I’m not sure he has gone there.
Are you saying sending the commissioner there is not enough?
Indirectly, I will say the governor has gone there but I’m not sure of what feedback he is getting. Sometimes, you want to see things for yourself. If a situation happens like that, many people will expect that the governor should be there. But I am not really keen on whether he comes or not, that is not my concern as long as the right thing is done.
Militias, armed herdsmen and bandits have been identified as the attackers by various persons and groups while it has also been blamed on communal clashes. Who exactly are those attacking Southern Kaduna communities?
The truth is that there are different attackers now. There have been attacks by herdsmen but the recent one was done by a Fulani militia group. They stole cows and killed many people. I don’t know whether they are working with another group but the way they coordinated the attacks, it was as if they were working with some insiders or that some people within the community are giving them information. The majority of those who were attacked live in the area which means they didn’t come for land, except if they attacked on behalf of somebody else. The way they are killing people is so wicked. Many of the attackers don’t shoot; they use axes to cut people into pieces. It is not a case of shooting with gun, no. I was told that it was only one or two of those attacked that were shot; many of them were attacked with machetes.
If you think that the state government is not doing enough, what are you doing to get the full attention of the Federal Government, especially the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), regarding the issue?
We have moved a motion at the House of Representatives. The kind of killings going on in Southern Kaduna is not new, so I don’t think that any government anywhere will wait for me to say ‘come to Southern Kaduna’ for it to take it seriously. Once there is unrest and people have died, the Federal Government – the Nigeria Police, Nigerian Army – which have representatives on the ground, should be able to give a report on the situation of things.
Have you ever met with the governor?
Yes, the governor has called us. We have had meetings once or twice concerning this issue. The day we held the press conference, there was supposed to be a meeting with the governor but we had another meeting in the House; that was why I could not go. So, I don’t want to say that the governor has done nothing. There is no way one can say that he has done nothing but whether what he has done has stopped the crisis or not is the question. But I cannot say he has done nothing; maybe what he has done is not enough and he needs to do more.
If the state government is not getting it right with the crisis, what better strategy or approach can you recommend?
First of all, the government needs to come clean. That is, the government needs to be involved and stop taking sides. They should look at the crisis and not feel this side is at fault and that side is not at fault. They should also sincerely investigate the problem and bring about a lasting solution. A situation where they are already feeling that this or that person is at fault will bring a lot of problems. When it comes to investigation and prosecution, let there be justice so that the Fulani people will not feel that the government is protecting the Kataf people and the Kataf people should not feel the government is protecting the Fulani people. Once there is justice, it will make people take the right actions and deter them from committing crime.
The government needs to sit down with the people in the community and find a lasting solution to the crisis. Apart from military intervention, there should be dialogue.
Do you know if some of the attackers have been arrested?
All I know is that during the curfew, they arrested some youths who were coming from a farm. I don’t think they were arrested based on the crisis but because they came out when there was a curfew. Regarding the attacks, they have not caught anyone; I am not sure they have. I don’t have any report that an attacker was caught. I know they detained and questioned some traditional rulers but I won’t call that arrest.
It is true that none of the Fulani attackers has ever been arrested since the security crisis began, as some people say?
I don’t know. What I know is that for the majority of the attacks, the attackers strike and retreat.
You said there was a humanitarian crisis in Southern Kaduna and that the number of internally displaced persons had risen. What is the situation now?
With the recent attacks, the report I got is that the number of IDPs is on the rise. People are afraid and have been running away from their homes. Before the last attacks, we were encouraging people to go back to their homes. Some people chose to stay with their relations elsewhere. – Culled from Punch.
