Sebastine Tartenger Hon, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria from Benue State, has been a political cum social activist. A prolific author of several volumes on different aspects of the legal profession, Hon is not a very happy man at the moment. This is because of the unprovoked killings by herdsmen going on in Nigeria, which his state, Benue, is a victim. For him, the situation is worsened by the seeming helplessness and possible conspiracy of those entrusted with the security of Nigeria. In this interview in Abuja with Sam Akpe and Ayo Esan, the leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Middle-Belt talks about the causes of the wanton killings, why it has not stopped and what should be done to end it. Excerpts
What is the state of the nation?
Nigeria is sitting on a cliff. Nigeria is hanging precariously on a cliff and almost getting down the valley. That is in brief how I will describe the country, following the killing and the sadness in the land caused by the non-challant attitude of the political leadership and a deep division that exists. I admit that we had been divided, but I think we are more divided now than before. It is most unfortunate that with the suffering in the land and the blood that is flowing freely, all over the place, there is no doubt that Nigeria is begging for cure, immediate cure, if at all there is any. I hope there is.
You come from Benue State, one of the several places where the killings by the herdsmen have taken place. Have you ever asked yourself, why Benue?
Well, putting one or two things together, I should think that our land is fertile and some people want to come and take it by force. In the 20th century, they have come to dislocate us with the barrel of guns by killing the innocent farmers, peasant farmers and taking over their ancestral land. I believe that is the primary goal of those carrying out the onslaught. There are also some theories linking the pogrom to the advancement of the Islamic religion because when they kill and dispense with the local populace, they take over their homes and occupy the mercantile land. Some people are propagating that theory, and in my assessment, that is not far from the truth. And then, I am also looking at political factors, which are again linked to the two factors already stated, because I think some people will want to overrun and then dominate others. I believe that these three factors are intertwined and are conjunctive in describing what is happening. Except if other persons have some other reasons to advance for this, I should think that these reasons encapsulate and describe all that is happening to our people in the Benue Province; not only in Benue State.
Well, putting one or two things together, I should think that our land is fertile and some people want to come and take it by force. In the 20th century; they have come to dislocate us with the barrel of guns by killing the innocent farmers, peasant farmers and taking over their ancestral land
Anytime people are killed, all we hear is that security agencies will investigate and that people will be brought to book. Then nothing happens. Do you think there is justice in these declarations?
Well, you know the answer but you want to push it to me because I know there are so many injustices. Nobody should support the killing of a fellow Nigerian. The other day, five indigenous people of Adamawa State who are Christians were sentenced to death by a High Court for killing a Fulani herdsman in self-defence; but we have not heard of any Fulani man arraigned for any murder, much less sentenced to death, in spite of the fact that they have come out openly to own up to extermination of people. This gives room to suspicion that there is predetermination not to bring justice to the doorsteps of the perpetrators of these heinous crimes.
I know that the issue of religious riots or religious crises in Nigeria is not new but this seems to be beyond what we are used to.
Certainly! That’s why I put it under three headings: political expansionism, religious domination and land grabbing. These are the motivating factors.
Why now?
I wouldn’t want to restrict it to the ‘now’, even though it has assumed a frightening dimension now. It has been on for some time. I remember that even during former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, there were pockets of killings, but it has gone far now, meaning that people have been emboldened for whatever reason to do what they are doing. And for God’s sake, because they have not been apprehended and reprimanded, by the Federal Government, they feel more emboldened to do what they are doing.
Some years back, 17 to 18 years ago, there was this group – Movement for the Emancipation of the Middle Belt, and I remember you were in the forefront; we are not hearing about it again. So what has happened?
The Movement came into being during the setting up of the Human Rights Commission, led by the late Justice Chukwudifu Oputa; and coinciding with the sitting of that panel, we presented our grievances to the panel. But up till today, we have not been told, either officially or unofficially, the outcome of our presentation. Now, so much time has passed between then and now, and in the process, there was change of leadership and the struggle ended. I appreciate that this is the time that such Movements are needed most, but personally, I cannot go and lead such a body, given my position as one of the leaders of thought in the legal profession. In any case, even at that time, it was not an arm-bearing organisation; it was a civil society organisation. But now, I do agree with you that such a Movement is more imperative with the reality on ground.
But we have the Middle Belt Forum, which is more active. We also have political leaders, senators and other members of the National Assembly, and at the state level as well, who have the political and economic wherewithal to pursue such a campaign more tenaciously than such a Movement. So I believe there is a silent change of baton. But the Middle Belt Forum is older and parades more mature people to handle such issues as we handled. I think from their end, they are doing one or two things. I am not even an active member but I have been reading some of their statements here and there. I don’t know what they are doing deeply in that organisation, but to cut a long story short, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Middle Belt, I do not think is still existing to pursue this course.
The state governors are mere stooges or mere bulldogs that bark but cannot bite. They cannot, for instance, give orders to the commanders of the Army in their states or the police commissioners. The police commissioner must wait for the Inspector General of Police to act or to command. The IG of police must also wait for the President to authorise
So what is the solution to the issue of bloodshed in the Middle Belt?
The situation, first of all, is that the Federal Government should show more sincerity; I mean sincerity in tackling the problem. It can’t be told to any reasonable person to say in one breath, that people from Libya are carrying on the attack; in another breath, you say people from Sudan are responsible. Yet in another breath, you say politicians from the opposition parties are responsible. It makes no sense to me, with due respect. And I think the international community must be laughing at us. Nigeria is supposed to be the lighting point for the whole of Africa, for the black race and here we are: we the citizens are being killed in our numbers almost on a daily basis. Yet, the Federal Government seems to be aloof. It seems to be unconcerned. It is giving variegated excuses. And one begins to think that there is no sincerity in the whole thing because we have secret police, secret soldiers. Then where is intelligence gathering? What is the focus of our efforts? What is the focus of our soldiers? Where are our weapons? If these are foreigners, is it permissible for the Federal Government to fold its arms and then say foreigners are coming to kill its citizens? How can we explain this for God’s sake? So, for me, the day the Federal Government sits up, that will be the day this thing will end. For now, the Federal Government has refused to sit up and anybody that says these things is turned to an enemy. But that is not supposed to be so. We are crying for justice and justice can only be handed down by the government. Nobody can lawfully resort to reprisal but government that is supposed to protect is not protecting; so where do we run to from now? We run to God. Definitely God will have an answer. Government has failed us so far.
So the solution lies squarely with the Federal Government. The other day, the Zamfara State Governor made a statement that he was not the chief security officer of the state; and that is the truth. Speaking as a lawyer, I know that the security architecture of this country is in the hands of the Federal Government. The state governors are mere stooges or mere bulldogs that bark but cannot bite. They cannot, for instance, give orders to the commanders of the Army in their states or the police commissioners. The police commissioner must wait for the Inspector General of Police to act or to command. The IG of police must also wait for the President to authorise. Take it the other way, suppose the state governor asks the commissioner of police to act and he says let me ask from the IG and the IG says let me get clearance from the President and the authorisation does not come, it means that nobody will act. We all know this; the Federal Government also knows this, so we should stop playing the ostrich.
Some people believe the institution of state police will help in solving these crises. What is your opinion?
Of course, yes, I have always supported the creation of state police. I wrote an expansive article, I think early this year, or was it last year, and it was published in major national dailies. It was a very deep and incisive article on restructuring. If we have a restructured nation whereby the powers at the centre are drastically reduced and the components are strengthened in terms of being given semi- independent power of security and policing, then you can’t come to my state and assault me, kill my citizens and I will fold my arms. That is what’s in place in other federal structures. In fact, it is in the USA Constitution that a federating unit has the power to rise up and defend its territory against foreign assaults. You don’t have to wait for federal authorities or depend on the direction or directive of federal authorities. We need to do this. Nobody is calling for deployment of illegal arms, but at the same time, government should live up to its responsibilities. And if it is refusing to do that, then it should allow restructuring; otherwise these things that are happening will do nobody any good. There is no future for this country. So I support wholesale restructuring of the Nigerian federation to give justice and sense of belonging to all the components
thereof.
(Read the unabridged version of Sebastine Hon’s interview at www.thepointng.com)
