Kenny Ashaka
Mallam Musa Ajogie is the National Chairman of Patriotic Indigenes of Northern Publishers Association and the Editor-in-Chief of the Kaduna based National NewsEnquiry magazine. In this interview, Musa blamed the formation of Amotekun on the behavior of the North and wants members of the Coalition of Northern Youths to apologise to the North for the embarrassment the name Shege Ka Fasa caused the people of the region.
What’s your position on Amotekun and the Shege Ka Fasa, the Northern security initiative announced recently by the Coalition of Northern Youths?
Amotekun is inspired by the misbehavior of the North because the Yoruba claimed that some people who are ostensibly not of their race but from somewhere in the North have been kidnapping, killing their people and raping their women and whereas they expected the Federal Government to intervene and find out what the problem is, nothing whatsoever happened. And you know there has been this complaint from that part of the country and the South as a whole that the security architecture is tilted in favour of the North. Every time they complained about the activities of herdsmen, for instance, nothing happens. The height of it all was the killing of the daughter of one of their leaders, Pa Reuben Fasoranti. Before then, Pa Olu Falae was kidnapped in his farm and like I said, women who go to farm were always molested by those they see as Fulani herdsmen. As we speak, the killers of the daughter of Pa Fasoranti are yet to be apprehended and they are sure Fulani herdsmen did it. And you know like it is said, self preservation is the law of nature. So if theYoruba can come up with a security system that can genuinely defend their interests, rather than being hostile to them, it is better we listen to them. So, let the North allow reason to prevail rather than being hostile to them. That is the reality. Now if you analyse the reactions of Northerners to Amotekun through their own security initiative they call Shege Ka Fasa, that is very provocative. By this initiative of the North named Shege Ka Fasa alone, it confirms the need for self defence. The Yoruba raised the alarm, wept and called the attention of the powers that be, but they got no reprieve from the government. And the reaction of the youth to Amotekun by the initiative called Shege Ka Fasa is not a good one and that is why the Northern oligarchy, traditional rulers, Northern publishers, governors and elders of the North rose up against it and said no to its formation. We the publishers in the North say no to Shege Ka Fasa. We are rejecting the Northern initiative because there are always laid down processes in any endeavour. You don’t just wake up one morning and announce to the consternation of those who are in charge like governors, traditional rulers and elders of the region and pronounce something that is as serious as a security outfit. These are things that ought to have been coordinated by the governors who are the chief security officers of the various states in the North. For instance, the Amotekun initiative came from the governors of the states that make up the South West zone. They involved traditional rulers, elders by engaging them in a meeting and so they spoke in defence of the outfit with one voice. If for any reason the youth felt concerned about the security problems in the North, they shouldn’t have assumed that the governors would not like the idea of a security outfit for the region. This idea that the governors and the elite in the North are always against any laudable initiative is not true. The North has very responsible elders and traditional rulers and to come out with an initiative they saw on television for the first time and expect they would embrace it is carrying their luck too far. It was very embarrassing even to us as publishers, not to talk of governors, traditional rulers and elders. Those who coined the Shege Ka Fasa as the name of a security outfit of the North have not been fair to well meaning Northerners. So, the Northern publishers join the teeming traditional rulers, elders and governors to say no to ShegeKa Fasa. It was dead on arrival. The proponents of Shege Ka Fasa should realise that the North is a component of the Nigerian state. We are not Nigeria. Whatever that is in the general interest of the people of this country, the North should uphold it and not reacting with insulting code-name as a security outfit.
The Coalition of Northern Youths says the Northern elite are opposed to the security initiative they came out with but that they have not come out with any alternative even when the people are dying everyday. Do you have any alternative to Shege Ka Fasa?
The alternative we have is not only restricted to the North alone but to the entire country. And the alternative is the Federal Government’s position. The government has set up a committee to look into the issue of security in the country. You have also seen the Inspector General of Police preaching the doctrine of community policing. That is the way to go and not to embarrass us with this Shege Ka Fasa of an initiative. So, because the South West formed Amotekun, we should also follow with Shege Ka Fasa? Is that what they are telling us?
Would you have supported the initiative if it had come from governors of the Northern states, elders and traditional rulers just like the case of Amotekun?
Yes, I would have supported a security initiative that is well thought out and that engages all stakeholders in the North, but not the one from a group which called itself a coalition of youths from the North that didn’t consult with stakeholders. The Amotekun was pronounced after the youths, leaders, elders, governors, traditional rulers of the South West zone met to discuss. Shege Ka Fasa is a rebellious name. We are not rebels in the North. This is why there is progress in the initiative the people of the South West pushed out. Now, the coalition knew that some of the elders in the North were against Amotekun because it was not backed by law. Is it then we in the North that will now support an initiative that came out of the blues without legislation? Would we have been fair to the people of the South West if suddenly we announced support for such an outfit that even elders, traditional rulers and the governors who are the chief security officers are not privy to? They should ponder all these points being made. Yes, they have demonstrated their concern over the security situation in the North but could they not have adopted a more dignifying approach? They probably were in a hurry but anything done in a hurry is never done well.
What is your alternative because the coalition says the Federal Government has been foot dragging on the issue of community policing and playing politics with that of state police while more Northerners are dying?
Our alternative is that of the Federal Government. Like I said, the government has set up a committee to look into the issue of insecurity in the country as a whole and the Nigeria Police and the military are making efforts to secure the country, not only the North. North is a component of Nigeria. Why don’t we wait for the report of the committee? If the government comes up with exclusive security for the North, what happens to the rest of the country?
The coalition says the elite in the North and that includes the governors, elders and traditional rulers are disconnected from the people and that these classes of Northerners created the problem of insecurity in the first place by not providing for them. Would that be the reality on ground?
I don’t understand what they mean by the word disconnect. We said your approach to the issue of security outfit is wrong and you are talking about disconnection between the elite and the people. Are they not part of the elite themselves? Those you saw on television when they launched the Shege Ka Fasa, are they ordinary Northerners? Is Abdul Azeez and his ilk claiming they are ordinary people? These are people who have been using youth organisations to advance their interests. So, today and suddenly the elders, traditional rulers and even the governors have become the problem of the North. If they had consulted and insisted on stakeholders meeting over insecurity in the region and those concerned turned down their request, it is then you can say there is a disconnect. A child had an idea about buying a car and without informing the father about it, he goes ahead to buy the car and the father saw the car for the first time as he was showing his friends, is that not an embarrassment to the father. When eventually the father came up with the reason why he is not happy with the child, he says the father is envious. If there will be a forum to itemize what we want and what we do not want and we did not respond to that call, there could be a disconnect; but there was nothing like that for now. And this is why I have always blamed the Arewa Consultative Forum. If there is a problem of the magnitude of this insecurity we have in the North such that whole villages are wiped out, people killed and they are not talking about it, instead they are talking about the presidential election of 2023, then this is pure sycophancy on display. With this kind of insecurity who knows who will survive till 2023? ACF should be result-oriented. They should have the interest of all Northerners at heart and stop this sycophancy and hypocrisy. We will not stop challenging the forum until they get it right. Consultative forum means you should consult on all issues that affect the Arewa people of Nigeria. In fact, they should have been in the forefront of the quest to secure Northerners. No, that is not their interest. We have retired Generals, officers, policemen, Air force personnel, former diplomats, name them in the forum, yet when we have been experiencing insecurity in the North, they are talking about 2023 elections. What a shame. It’s all about bread and butter. I think they should be more than that. The Yoruba have given them a task to showcase their value in consultancy.
What is your advice to members of the Coalition of Northern Youths?
My advice is that they come publicly and apologise for that name Shege Ka Fasa. That name does not suit the North. We reject it. They should apologise to the Governors or to the entire North for coming out with this insult of a name. It is a display of hostility against an equal component part of Nigeria. The 19 Northern Governors should also meet over this issue of insecurity in the region and come out with an acceptable solution to the problem. They should carry traditional rulers, elders and even the members of the Coalition of Northern Youths along in taking decisions on security. And if government is indeed foot dragging as claimed by the coalition, the stakeholders should think of a Northern security outfit after exhaustive discussions.