News

SOUTHERN BORNO STATE WHERE RELIGION AND ETHNICITY TEAR AN OPPRESSED PEOPLE APART.By:A.G.Abubakar

Published

11 months ago

February 6, 2024

SOUTHERN BORNO STATE WHERE RELIGION AND ETHNICITY TEAR AN OPPRESSED PEOPLE APART.
By:A.G.Abubakar

The Ubuntu which is a Zulu philosophy of unity of purpose doesn’t seem to hold among the ethnic nationalities of Southern Borno. The philosophy is rendered as “Umuntu, Ngumuntu, Ngabuntu” which literally translates as “i am because we are”, or put differently to mean ” a person is a person through other people “. The import of both underscore the importace of unity of purpose among people in forging progress. This spirit of togetherness has but vanished among the people, as they pull in different directions, at a time they needed to turn the socioeconomic and political fortunes of the region around. No thanks, to ethno-religious factors and the inequitable manner succussive state governments treated the zone.

The present version of Borno State was created in 1991 after Yobe was curved out. Before then it was part of the defunct North Eastern State, comprising today’s Adamawa, Bauchi, Taraba, Gombe and Yobe states. The North East State was highly diverse in terms of faiths and ethnicnationalities. Maiduguri, the then state capital was a laid back and accomodating metropolis. Non of the ethnic groups namely; Fulani, Hausa, Bachama, Mumuye, Tera, Mandara, Tangale, Marghi, Bolewa, Babur, Bura Chibok ,etc tried to lord it on each other.

The Kanuri power was diluted. Across the state too Muslims, Christians and the various ethnic groups that made up the state (NE) lived in peace with minimal distrust. People like Minso Gadzama, Azi Nyako, Bello Kirfi, Abubakar Umar, Maina Waziri, Ibrahim Biu, Gujbawu, Yerima Balla, Shehu Awak, etc were collectively united in moving the NE state forward.

A spirit that resonated with Borno state’s current mantra thus becoming the “Home of Peace and Hospitality”; a mantra, now turned on it’s head, so it seems. Three decades down the line Borno State had turned out to be one of the most inequitable in the Nigerian federation. The state as configured in 1991 gave the muslim Kanuri absolute dominance that literally made smaller ethnic groups and the Christian religion punching bags. With a reduced surface area the Kanuri is able to exert absolute political and economic control over the rest with impunity. This, they do through both tacit and overt policies including divide and rule along fault lines such as ethnic, religious differences and cultural affinity.

The overt discriminatory policies started with the late Musa Dagash’s circulars nos.CSC/2/89, Ref: BO/CSC/459/5.2/1 of 17th April 1989 and CSC/3/89, Ref:BO/CSC/459/S.15/5 of 21st April 1989 respectively. The import of the circulars was to place embargo on the recruitment and promotion of Southern Borno indigenes in the the Borno State service. Their crime was that they came from the wrong region, besides they were considered “too many” in the civil service which called for decimation. Dagash then was incharge of the State’s Civil Service Commission.

The discriminatory practice didn’t stop there, as successive governments in the state found it difficult to equitably include Southern Borno people in state nominations for Federal appointments. People from the zone have to struggle on their own or through friends to secure places. Nominations for appointments as ambassadors, Chairmen and/or board memberships are exclusive preserve of the Kanuri.The attrition or the blocking tactics didn’t end with appointive opportunities; this has been extended to religion especially the non Muslim folks. Government’s posture towards the non Muslim community in state has become a source of concern for lovers of the state and her future. Today, the state would find it expidient to train Arabic teachers but not CRK.

Government too could provide state resources in support of mosques/Islamiyya but did so minimally for non Muslim worship centers. And in matters of career progression, non Muslim folks in the state civil service are not having it easy, compared to their Muslim counterparts from the same South. These and many more are sure recipes for instability, given the centrality of religion and ethnic identity in the lives of our people. Unfortunately in their quest for redress the Christian faithfuls tend to elienate the very southern Borno Muslim brothers, they should ordinarily join hands with, through omissions or commissions. First they overlook historical realities. Realities of inter and intra ethnic interactions across Southern Borno and indeed the Kanuri nation. Second, Islamic values have a binding characteristics that shape perception among the faithfuls. They see themselves as one Ummah. Thus it becomes naive to expect equal levels of reaction or despair among the Muslim and Christian groups in Southern Borno regarding the government’s widespread inequalities.

For a fact, Muslims from the South may not be faring any better but the religion and cultural affinity have numbing effect, especially when they stretch far back in history. The relationships among some of the groups predate the 19th century Islam (in action) and Christianity in parts of Borno during the 1920s. Early Churches include the CBM established in Garkida and then Waka in 1927 under the defunct Borno province. was in 1923 and came to Waka in 1927.

It is therefore obvious that the feeling may not be the same in terms of intensity. In specific terms, the Marghi (Damboa), the Mandara, the Babur enclave of Babur-Bura, the Tera, and the Fulani (in their midst) may feel less grudge towards the Kanuri. Not so good a development but that is the reality. Realities that should be born in mind in building a united front in the South in checkmating the powers that be, from the continued exploitation of this fault lines. The reality of Southern Borno is not a black and white issue which calls for contextual appreciation of the challenges. Internal wrangling, name calling and aggression as a strategy can only be counterproductive. Referring to each other as being slaves to the status quo, sycophants, sell outs, ignorant, enemies of progress for not sharing a stand amounts to shooting oneself in the foot. Worse still, the defeatist attempt by some elite Christians to railroad Borno South into the Middle Belt region.

The frustrations may be justified or even palpable, but it’s a defective strategy. For, it will solve one problem especially the Christian faithfuls but constitute a new challenge for their Muslim brothers (the unwilling co-travellers) in the new environment in all its complexities. The way forward is for the christian South to appreciate its relative size which is about 15 to 20 percent of the state population. It can not therefore force its way through.

The faithfuls should engage and educate/ engage the ethnic minority and Muslim brothers to collectively rise against marginalisation and uneven development in Borno State. Building such a consensus however requires being realistic and open, away from wishful thinking and blackmail. The current posture by some to the effect that ” you are either with us or against us” doesn’t help much. Peculiar problems born out of injustice should be presented and treated as such; and brought into sharper focus and context.

The battle requires numbers and a critical mass as such everyone counts.The Muslim and the Christian, the informed and the uninformed, the wise and the foolish, the enlightened and the unenlightened, the educated and the uneducated, all have a place. The reality is, they are not only in the same boat but are facing the same storm! They will have to depend on each other to prevail. Let’s all come clean. agbarewa@gmail.com

SOUTHERN BORNO STATE WHERE RELIGION AND ETHNICITY TEAR AN OPPRESSED PEOPLE APART.
By:A.G.Abubakar

Related Topics:SOUTHERN BORNO STATE WHERE RELIGION AND ETHNICITY

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News

Zulum mourns death of Jigawa Gov’s mother, son

Published

14 hours ago

December 27, 2024

Ochuwa Ibrahim

Zulum mourns death of Jigawa Gov’s mother, son

By: Our Reporter

Borno State Governor, Babagana Umara Zulum, has expressed heartfelt condolences to the Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Umar Namadi, over the tragic loss of his mother, Hajiya Maryam Umar Namadi, and his eldest son, Abdulwahab Namadi.

Governor Zulum, who is also the Chairman of the North East Governors’ Forum, described the loss of two beloved family members within 24 hours as devastating and acknowledged it as the will of Almighty Allah.

“On behalf of the people of Borno State and the entire North East region, I wish to extend my deepest condolences to Your Excellency and the people of Jigawa State over the tragic loss of your beloved mother and son,” Governor Zulum stated.

He described as painful, losing both a mother and a son in such a short period and called for faith and resilience in the face of such trials.

“As Muslims, we believe that everything that happens, whether positive or otherwise, is destined by the Almighty,” Zulum said.

Governor Zulum prayed Allah to grant the departed Aljannatul Firdaus.

He also prayed for strength and fortitude for Governor Namadi, his family, and the people of Jigawa State to bear the irreparable loss.

News

Borno Widows, Orphans Laud Gov Zulum Over Christmas Gifts

Published

1 day ago

December 26, 2024

Ochuwa Ibrahim

Borno Widows, Orphans Laud Gov Zulum Over Christmas Gifts

By Francis Okoye

Widows and orphans including less privileged in Maiduguri have lauded Borno State Governor, Babagana Umara Zulum for donating gift of N50,000 to over 250 of them for Christmas celebration.

The widows and orphans who were assembled on Tuesday, 24 December , at the pompomari area of Maiduguri, said the Governor’s benevolence has raised their hope of celebrating the festive period amid the economic crunch bedeveiling the citizens due to high cost of living.

Speaking, Maram Saleh who lost her husband four years ago, said she was thinking how she can even get some cups of rice and condiments for the Christmas before the Governor’s gesture came their way.

She therefore, lauded Governor Zulum for making the celebration a reality for so many of her kinds who are feeding from hand to mouth due to the loss of their bread winners, saying that she can now go home and celebrate the Christmas with her children with joy.

In the same sentiment, Patience Bitrus, a mother of five children who lost her husband at the pick of the Boko Haram insurgency, said her hope of celebrating the Christmas with members of her family was rekindled by the Governor’s benevolence.

” We are really grateful to Governor Zulum for coming to the aid of the widows and orphans especially, at this year’s Christmas when there is high cost of living and economic hardship. We will continue to pray for the Governor for more wisdom, good health and courage to continue to deliver dividends of democracy to the citizens as he has been doing,” she said.

Also speaking, trio of Eunice Onwuchekwe , Sarah Hakila and Elizabeth Ani, expressed their joy over the Governor’s gesture describing it as one of the best gifts coming their way.

The Coordinator/ Zonal Chairman Ohanaeze All Progressives Congress ( APC ) , Chief Ugochukwu Egwidike, commended Governor Zulum for coming to the aid of the widows, orphans and less with the Christmas gifts.

He noted that the Governor had been celebrating Christmas for the widows and orphans since 2020 to date with cash gifts, adding that 250 beneficiaries were targeted from benefiting from the gesture, but due to the harsh economic reality facing people of the country , more people turned up to benefit from the gesture. End

The Secretary of the Ohanaeze APC Support Group, Asiwaju Alabi , expressed gratitude to Governor Zulum for providing free transport scheme to 710 non indigenes in the State to travel to their various States for the celebration of Christmas and new year with their loved ones, as well as the cash gifts to the widows and orphans in the State.

Borno Widows, Orphans Laud Gov Zulum Over Christmas Gifts

Crime

Four Drug Lords Get 28 Years in Jail, Forfeit VGC Houses, Large Cash

Published

1 day ago

December 26, 2024

Ochuwa Ibrahim

Four Drug Lords Get 28 Years in Jail, Forfeit VGC Houses, Large Cash

By: Michael Mike

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has gotten for drug kingpins arrested in connection with the historic seizure of 2,139.55 kilogrammes of cocaine at an Ikorodu residential estate in 2022.

They were convicted by a Federal High Court, Lagos presided over by Justice Yellim Bogoro who sentenced them to various jail terms totaling 28 years with hard labour.

The convicts: Soji Oke, 71; Wasiu Akinade, 55; Emmanuel Chukwu, 67; and Kelvin Christopher Smith, 44, a Jamaican, were charged with six counts in charge number: FHC/L/607C/2022 in October and December 2022, while the trial of the fifth suspect, Oguntolure Sunday arraigned along with them is still ongoing in court.

The charges border on conspiracy to form and operate a drug trafficking organisation (DTO); management and financing of a DTO; importation and possession of 2,139.55 kilogrammes of cocaine, among others.

A press statement on Thursday by the spokesman of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi read: operatives of a special operations unit of NDLEA had in a well-coordinated and intelligence-led operation on Sunday 18th September, 2022 raided a house located at 6 Olukuola crescent, Solebo estate, Ikorodu, Lagos where the over 2.1 tons of cocaine were seized, the largest singular cocaine seizure in the history of Nigeria’s anti-narcotic operations.

He added that the drug kingpins were picked from hotels and their hideouts in different parts of Lagos between the night of Sunday 18th and Monday 19th September, 2022.

Babafemi said after over two years of diligent prosecution, the trial judge handed the Jamaican, Kelvin Smith four years imprisonment with hard labour; Emmanuel Chukwu got a total of 16 years; Soji Oke got five years with hard labour and Wasiu Akinade three years with hard labour.

He disclosed that the trial judge however gave the convicts varying options of fine with the exception of one of them who will serve his full jail term without an option of fine.

Babafemi said they were also to forfeit a grey colour Toyota Tacoma SUV marked AAA-734HT registered in the name of Emmanuel Chukwu; $50,000:00 belonging to Chukwu; N55,099,509.50 also belonging to Chukwu; the sum of N9,003,168.06 belonging to Wasiu Akinade and N3,052,295.20 also belonging to Akinade.

The spokesman said the agency also in another suit marked FHC/L/MISC/672/2024 and filed before Justice Bogoro on 9th December 2024 after an initial interim forfeiture order, secured the final forfeiture of two houses linked to members of the drug cartel.

The trial judge said: “That an Order of final forfeiture and confiscation is granted in favour of the Federal Government of Nigeria, Landed Property/House Number 6 Olokunola Street, Sholebo Estate, Ikorodu, Lagos State, as contained in Exhibit NDLEA 2A, 2B, and 2C attached to this application used for the storage and concealment of 2,139.55 kilogrammes (More Than Two Tons) Cocaine, an illicit substance similar to Heroin and LSD.

“That an Order of final forfeiture and confiscation is granted in favour of the Federal Government of Nigeria, Landed Property/House Number J9, Road 3, Close 1,
Victoria Garden City (VGC) Estate, Lagos, Lagos State, as contained in Exhibit NDLEA 3 attached to this application reasonably believed to be bought with proceeds derived
from trafficking in illicit drug substances (proceeds of crime) as in relief 1 of this Motion.

“That an Order is granted directing the sale or disposal by any other means provided by law of the forfeited House/Landed Property by the Applicant and the payment of the proceeds therefrom to the Federal Government of Nigeria.”

Meanwhile, the Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd) while commending all the officers and men of the agency involved in the extensive investigation and prosecution of members of the drug cartel, said the case is a historical blow to the drug cartels and a strong warning that they’ll not only go to jail but will equally lose all their investments in illicit drug consignments including all the properties and wealth acquired through the criminal trade.

Four Drug Lords Get 28 Years in Jail, Forfeit VGC Houses, Large Cash