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Alhaji Aminu Masari, Katsina State governor.
Mr. Yemi Adebowale.

By Yemi Adebowale
Political leaders and security agents in Katsina State now act as if massacre is a normal occurrence. Bloodbath is no longer a big deal here. Human lives do not matter. Whenever scores of people are killed in the unending war between Fulani herders and Hausa farmers over grazing land, the unfeeling political leaders and security agents simply do some showboating and life goes on. Attackers are hardly prosecuted. This is the level this state has degenerated; it is in a big mess compounded by politicians and security agents that have refused to act impassively.

Political leaders and security agents know who the killers are but for almost six years, they have failed to act decisively. They know that bandits are Fulani militias fighting for herders that want unfettered access to farm lands. They know that herders often call the militias when they suffer casualties. These leaders know that Hausa farmers also have their militias called Yan Sakai. They know that Yan Sakai retaliates for Hausa farmers when their farm lands are destroyed and farmers killed. They know all these but care less. So, the killings go on.

There is hardly any week that huge human blood is not shed in Katsina State. Just 10 days ago, residents of Diskiru and Unguwar Baki in Dandume and Faskari local government areas were bombarded by these bandits. 29 people were slaughtered in the two farming communities, with scores of houses set ablaze, leaving the villagers in despair. Those killed in Diskiru were mostly women, children and the aged. A large number of women and children were also abducted. Residents of Diskiru and Unguwar Baki are still mourning as I pen this piece. The tears here would probably never dry.

The Katsina State Police Command confirmed the killings but gave a lower figure. That’s what security agents in this state do regularly. So, where were policemen before and during the attacks? Where were the soldiers and Air force personnel deployed in the state? Have they arrested any of the Diskiru and Unguwar Baki killers, 10 days after the massacre? Any government interested in ending these killings must insist on answers to these pertinent questions. Unfortunately, they don’t do these. It was annoying seeing the Katsina police last Thursday parade just one suspect, Idi Dila, as being responsible for the attack in Diskiru and Kadsau, where many were killed.

The Katsina State Government and the government at the centre are hardly perturbed that thousands have been sent to early graves in this state. Daily, the Katsina killers are getting stronger.

Survivors of the Diskiru and Unguwar Baki attacks confirmed that over 200 terrorists stormed the villages on motorcycles and were armed with sophisticated weapons for the October 29 killings. This tells how robust the bandits are in Katsina State. There are thousands of them across the state. That was why they spent over three hours in Diskiru and Unguwar Baki unhindered, moving from house to house, killing, abducting and stealing cows, sheep and other valuables.

The list of gruesome killings in Katsina in the last five years is frightening. Local government areas like Jibia, Safana, Tsafe, Batsari, Dutsinma, Faskari, and Dandume have been turned to killing fields. Many will never forget how scores of people were killed in Tsauwa and Dankar villages (Batsari Local Government) early this year. Back in February, 21 persons were killed in Gurbi, in Kankara Local Government Area. Early October, 11 suspected bandits were killed in Wurma, Kurfi Local Government Area, by Yan Sakai.

Where does Governor Aminu Masari stand in all of these killings? This governor is a big letdown. He did not even bother to pay a condolence visit to Diskiru and Unguwar Baki.

What a governor! As a leader, Masari has refused to dispassionately respond to the endless killings. I am convinced that he is tacitly supporting Fulani militias. This was why his hopeless amnesty programme for bandits failed. I was shocked when Fulani militias killed scores in Tsauwa and Dankar villages (Batsari Local Government Area) last February, and all Masari could say, from the comfort of his office, was that two Fulanis were earlier killed in the communities and that the Fulanis simply retaliated. This governor needs to be reminded that those who kill innocent people are as guilty as those who retaliate. Masari, after massive criticism, grudgingly paid a condolence visit to the traumatised residents of Tsauwa and Dankar.

Last Wednesday, Masari was at his best, as usual, showboating when security agencies brought two supposed repentant bandit commanders to him from Illela village in Safana Local Government. He charged the security agencies to be ruthless with the bandits, meaning he knew they had been slipshod all along. The two bandit leaders, Sale Turwa and Muhammed Maidaji, were also granted amnesty by the governor, as if the previous ones granted amnesty renounced violence. Turwa and Maidaji should be on trial, not meeting with Masari. If the killers in Katsina are consistently arrested and put on trial, it would have sent a strong signal to all the warring factions that government is serious about ending the crisis. But it does not happen. I fear it may never happen. This governor has to raise his game and end tacit support for Fulani militias. The killings by the so-called bandits will persist for a very long time if political leaders and security agents continue to act in support of a faction.

Katsina is our President’s state. So, how has President Buhari fared in stopping the Katsina killings? He has failed woefully here too in terms of security of lives and property. Even when his community’s Magajin Garin Daura, Alhaji Musa Umar Uba was abducted, it took almost three months to rescue him. The conflict was minimal prior to Buhari’s emergence as President. But immediately he became President, the Fulani herders were bolstered, because “our brother is now in charge,” and the drive for unencumbered access to farm lands assumed a frightening dimension.

After the Tsauwa and Dankar killings, Buhari was busy analysing the “retaliation”, saying the killings were done in reprisal for what the farmers had earlier done to the bandits. He said bandits had been subjected to jungle justice by the affected communities, causing the miscreants to return to the places to wreak havoc. If justice had been served to the killers in the first place, there would probably be no retaliatory killings in these troubled communities. I have not heard of a single bandit convicted in Katsina State since this crisis escalated. The Katsina State chapter of the Coalition of Northern Groups was apt when it said the Buhari government had failed the state and the country in general for not protecting the lives and property of citizens.

The group, in a communiqué issued after a recent meeting in Katsina, that discussed renewed banditry attacks, killings, and kidnappings in the state said: “The government’s attempts to reassert public confidence with repeated rhetoric of being on top of the situation seem to be worsening as killings and kidnapping for ransom have become a daily occurrence in most parts of the state.” The communiqué, co-signed by the group’s chairman, Jamiu Charanchi, and the secretary, Abubakar Kabir, demanded a review of the entire national security architecture and the Katsina State Security Committee in order to inject higher levels of competence, integrity, and accountability.

It’s so sad that thousands of lives have been lost on both sides of the divide in Katsina. The killings continue unabated. Those in the position to end the Katsina debacle have been irresponsible and insensitive. This is the truth that must be told. They should be ashamed of the endless killings. I will like to see a dispassionate commitment to ending these killings. Killers must be apprehended and punished, while victims should be appropriately compensated. A pragmatic and result-oriented military operation must take off immediately; not this jaundiced “operation Sahel Security”. The herders looking for unfettered access to farm lands must be firmly told that this is intolerable. For peace to reign, herders must be compelled to cuddle ranching. Masari should provide technical and financial support to the herders to settle in the ranches.

Ring true
Phone number 08054699539
Email: yemi.adebowale@thisdaylive.com
• Culled from https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2020/11/07/the-katsina-state-debacle/