By Yushau a.
Shuaib
On December
12, 2015, my phone displayed missed calls from the Army Spokesperson, Colonel
Sani Kukasheka Usman. Such missed calls from security spokespersons, can
signify ‘fire on the mountain.’
I had been
in Maiduguri the previous week on a special assignment where I encountered a
team of Lt General Tukur Buratai, the Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff. They had
been regular in the North-East zone probably in anticipation of meeting the
presidential deadline to rout Boko Haram terrorists by December 2015.
There is
this general impression of Buratai from not only his team but ground troops and
the local community who refer to his exemplary conduct of humility, simplicity,
probity and integrity. A son of a soldier, General Buratai is a Soldiers’
Soldier who is passionate about soldiering.
I gathered that he hardly stays in the cosy Army Headquarters but at the
battlefield coordinating military offensives against terrorists. Rather than
merely directing the commanders, he leads in some daring military campaigns of
pursuing terrorists, recovering villages and rescuing captives from Boko
Haram’s dens.
His troops
have become accustomed to his trademark infectious smile and can readily vouch
for its genuineness. They are also at home with the fact that his words are
constantly reassuring and his promises especially on welfare are kept. In the
thick of the battle, he stays close to his troops, interacts, eats and sleeps
with them - a risky undertaking for his rank and position. But like a leader
who matches his words with actions, he does that to prove his sincerity and
share in their critical moment of sacrifice for the nation.
When I
returned the missed call on that Saturday, Colonel Usman Kukasheka narrated an
incident that happened in Zaria when the convoy of Chief of Army Staff on a courtesy
visit to Emir of Zazzau was obstructed by protesters. As we were talking his
line went off and I could not reach him again.
I reached
out to an embedded journalist in the convoy who narrated the incident. He said
that some miscreants blocked the convoy of the Chief of Army Staff and that
they remained adamant despite the pleadings and admonitions of Col Usman and
other senior officers who pleaded that they allow the convoy a passage. The
journalist disclosed that General Buratai had cautioned his team not to shoot
but to plead even when the protesters were shouting and brandishing arms like
Knives, catapult and clubs, in most provocative manner against the military
convoy. He added that “The officers prevented the Army Chief from stepping out
of his vehicle, to avoid being harmed by the protesters…”
I therefore
sent a text to Colonel Usman requesting for an official Press Release on the
incident for syndication by PRNigeria which he obliged with photos and video
clips from the incident.
After the
episode of December 12, 2015 with fewer casualties, the following days
witnessed unfathomable confrontations that claimed over 300 lives of men, women
and children, based on official estimates by Kaduna State government.
Many had
expected an immediate response from the government. In the previous
administration of Goodluck Jonathan where similar incident occurred in July
2014, the former National Security Adviser and Sokoto Prince, Sambo Dasuki led
a government delegation to empathise with the community, sympathise with the victims
and condole Sheik Ibrahim ElZakzaky whose children were also killed then. At
that time, the then opposition leader, Nasir Elrufai tagged the incident
“Genocidal Jonathanian Army kills Once Again” on his facebook page. But as a
governor of the state one year after, his (Elrufai) state officials were prompt
in demolition of residence, institutions and places of worship belonging to
the Shiite group.
Meanwhile
before the December incident in Zaria, there were some official releases by the
Army that cautiously warned about attempts by undesirable elements to frustrate
the war on terror. For instance, the Army Press Release of September 8, 2015
disclosed that it had “uncovered plans to thwarts efforts on War on Terror” by
some organisations to create situations for human right abuse. In another Press
Release of September 25, 2015, the Army warned “prominent individuals and
political groups who hailed from Borno State in particular and North East
generally… over plans to undermine and scuttle the fight against terrorism and
insurgency in Nigeria.” It went further to state that the individuals and
groups “are employing the services of marabouts and other unethical means in
order to frustrate our efforts and the operations in addition to campaign of
calumny.”
Similarly,
there was also a final warning to terrorists in October 20, 2015, where the
Army cautioned “All Boko Haram terrorists wherever they are, to desist from all
acts of terrorism, surrender themselves and face the law (and that) … failure
to surrender will result in serious consequences as our troops have closed up
on them.”
Finally, on
November 23, 2015, the Army issued an alert on impending smear campaign by some
disgruntled elements. The release clearly stated that “The Nigerian Army has
received report of some elements both within the Nigerian Army and outside… to
ridicule the Nigerian Army and the person of the Chief of Army Staff for
reasons best known to them. They intend to execute this plan as from next
month, December 2015, using all means possible….”
The release
also alluded to the existence of fifth columnists in the system when it added
that “the Nigerian Army has identified some of the officers involved and their
collaborators. The officers are being investigated to unravel their motive and
motivation.”
Going by
those warnings and alerts, could it not be possible that some undesirable
elements infiltrated the protesters in Zaria by acting the ugly script since
the Shiite group are claiming that they had been holding such processions and
demonstrations for more than 30 years? Can the speedy action of Kaduna State
Government in the demolitions of Shiite’s places have other motives? Apart from
the military presence could there be some unknown forces remotely triggering
the reported carnage? Were some members of the community who are now blaming
the Shiites for nuisance in Zaria be directly or indirectly involved in the
whole shoddy incident?
I was
delighted to accompany the management of Centre for Crisis Communication (CCC)
on a visit to the Chief of Army Staff in Abuja last week with the hope that
General Buratai would say something on the issue. During our interaction
however, the quintessential General narrated the successes of the military
campaign in the North-East and other initiatives on human right compliance in
the armed forces. When the issue of Zaria incident came up, his countenance
changed: his head bowed with jaws resting on his hands. For some seconds the
room was silent.
When he
raised up his head, looking towards our direction, his smile had disappeared,
and with emotion, he merely said: “I don’t want to join issue with anyone…. But
I must state that by our culture and professional training, soldiers don’t just
attack anyone arbitrarily without provocation and justification. We abide by
the rules of engagement which guide every action we take. We have a
responsibility to protect our citizens from insecurity and impunity.
“We have
been fighting terrorism with all our might, spirit and energy and would avoid
anything that will distract our efforts.”
“How can
anybody accuse a responsible armed agency of government of murder? On the
contrary, the people were attacking the soldiers with petroleum bomb and other
weapons. In actual fact, not all of them knew how to handle Molotov they were
trying to use against the Army and it back fired on them.”
After his words,
I realise that there is an urgent need for a thorough, independent and unbiased
investigation on Zaria carnage to unravel the mystery behind the sad incident.
Yushau A.
Shuaib
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