Opinion
Danjuma’s Hypothesis Of Collusion
Some time in April, 2018, the Presidency described as shocking and scary, a statement made by a former Minister of Defence, Lt. Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (retd.). It insisted that such declaration could threaten national security.
The former army chieftain had called on Nigerians not to rely on security agencies any longer for protection but defend themselves in the face of what he tagged “unrestrained killings across the country”.
The retired general also allegedly accused the army and other security agencies of colluding with killers to attack Nigerians. He drew his conclusion from the visible bias in the killings, adding that the armed forces were not ready to defend the masses.
“Our Armed Forces are not neutral. They collude with the bandits to kill people, kill Nigerians. The Armed Forces guide their movements; they cover them. If you are depending on the Armed Forces to stop the killings, you will all die one by one”. He alarmed.
The above statement did not go down well with the Presidency. Instead, It was termed “unrestrained,” and so, capable of inflaming emotional passions, which in turn is tantamount to a threat to national security. The emphasis on the allegation of the military’s collusion with bandits against the masses underscored their ill feeling.
Their worry, therefore, stemmed from the fact that criminal gangs could capitalize on such declaration to feel justified in defying legal and democratic institutions, as well as authorities of legitimately elected democratic government.
Irrespective of what may have engineered such feeling in the presidency, it was rather berated by Nigerians for such a lopsided position it took in favour of the military, without recourse to first establishing the veracity of the said statement if any. They adjudged the government’s stand point as insenstive.
But without prejudice, is it not more pertinent to guard oneself against external aggression within the ambit of the law? What is wrong in bracing up for one’s own defence when hopes seem lost?
A retired Commissioner of Police, Olusola Amore, once said that self-defence is guaranteed by the constitution, hence a citizen has the right to defend himself against aggressors, particularly if his life be under threat.
Even in the Force Order 237, Amore said a policeman is only allowed to use a firearm when his life, or that of another person is in danger, and there is no other feasible way of defence. Come to think of it, self-preservation was the first law of nature and Nigerians have the right to defend themselves when attacked by any rampaging folk, Fulani herdsmen inclusive.
However, while the federal government had continued to view the call made by Danjuma as incendiary, coming from an influential personality in the country, and the public considering the government’s reaction as insensitive, time appears to have subjected the retired General’s alleged hypothesis of collusion to test.
What could be a better analysis of a tested hypothesis than the controversy surrounding the arrest and re-arrest of kidnap kingpin, Hamisu Bala aka Wadume?
The writer, therefore, thinks that all that is left at the moment is simply a determination of the degree of differences between the Presidency’s fears and the unfolding realities on one hand, and Danjuma’s proposal and the unfolding realities on another hand.
Beyond other undocumented reports of military collusion with the criminally minded in the society against innocent citizens, a critical analysis of the trending news of Wadume and his military cohorts, will undoubtedly reveal a no-significant difference between Theophilus Danjuma’s proposal on the relationship between the military and the helpless civilians.
Could Danjuma still be faulted for saying that the armed forces are not neutral in the killings? What about the element of collusion with bandits to undo ,Nigerians?
For now, I think it is becoming more glaring that the words of the retired lieutenant- general may well be written in marbles until further proven otherwise in the course of time.
Obviously, with the turn of event, I am afraid if any one could still fault Danjuma for saying that the armed forces are not neutral in the killings, especially on the element of collusion with bandits to undo Nigerians.
Sylvia ThankGod-Amadi
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