Gabriel Dewan is former speaker of Plateau State House of Assembly. In this interview, he speaks on rising insecurity in the country, terrorists attacks on Plateau State and why government should not negotiate with bandits, among others
You’re a former speaker in Plateau State, and that state has been under attacks for many years now. How do you react to some of Sheikh Ahmad Gumi’s perspectives on attacks by terrorists?
I won’t want to address Sheikh Gumi’s opinion much because that’s his opinion, but as a representative of the people, I have every right to say I’m totally against his positions.
For over years now, Sheikh Gumi’s positions have been sympathetic to these bandits. Given what Nigeria is passing through, I don’t see any reason why a patriotic citizen would be talking about negotiation and peace deals with people who are killing and maiming citizens.
There’s danger in having peace deals with terrorists. Some people have been making reference to the peace deal with Niger Delta militants. If you go by that, they are trying to make it look like, since there was a peace deal with Niger Delta militants, there must also be peace deal with these bandits.
The question is: What are they fighting for? Niger Delta militants, made it clear they were fighting over the impact of exploration of the oil in their own land. Perhaps, they came to a roundtable, discussed with the Federal Government and they laid down their arms. What are the bandits fighting for? What is their mission? In some instance, Gumi said there is no single percentage of Nigerian budgets allocated to the bandits.
For crying out loud, are we in banana republic that we should allocate our national budget to bandits and those who are coming to kill us. They have told us time without number that these people are not Nigerians. Yet these same Nigerians are saying we should allocate our own national budget to them. I’m from Plateau State; I don’t think that’s a wise decision, I’m totally against it and I counter it with all sincerity.
But Gumi believes that the situation could have been worse without this non-kinetic approach and without reintegrating these people into the society…
To a large extent, I don’t blame him. I blame our system because by now, he would have been under security net. What’s the connection between him and any other person negotiating with those bandits, sitting comfortably with their arms and discuss with them and leave peacefully. Are we in a serious country at all? Do you know what is scaring me the most?
Not up to a week, a Brigadier General was captured and executed but look at the mood of the country. It is as if nothing happened and today, as a representative of my people, you want us to encourage our constituents to join the Nigerian Army. It was not as if he was killed during gun battle. He was captured alive and executed and look at the mood of the country.
Everybody has gone on with his normal business as if nothing happened. And someone will sit comfortably and talk about negotiation, peace deal. In a serious nation, by now, it should have been a full-blown war against these terrorists. Why am I talking about negotiating by now, when the Brigadier General was captured, executed? By now, we have been seeing fighter jets going after these terrorists and bombing them.
For me, I’m totally against any peace deal. Which peace are you talking about? What are they fighting for? Let’s ask them, what are they fighting for? What is their aim? What is their target? What have they been denied in this country? Which of their backyard has been taken that they are fighting for? When we get to that backyard, then we talk about peace.
Your governor, Caleb Mutfwang, believes there’s a Christian genocide. Does that represent the position of the state and do you believe we should get help from the U.S? Is that the kind of help for someone who comes from a state that has seen these attacks perhaps firsthand?
To start with, I’m totally with my governor on the question of Christian genocide, even though, to be fair, I believe that there’s a general genocide. But when you look at it, there are two different perspectives. If you look at the attacks going on in places like Benue, Taraba, and so on, you have to agree that there’s Christian genocide.
In some instances in my own state, the terrorists came and some of our own Christian brothers were saved by a Muslim Imam. In that kind of scenario, it gives you a clear reason to believe that, of course, it’s a religious genocide because the Christians ran into the mosques and they were saved. They were not killed; they were protected by the Imam.
It has a religious correlation. But when you look at what is happening in places like Zamfara, Sokoto and Kebbi, of course, Muslims have been killed but we in this part of the world are saying there’s Christian genocide because of their method of operation in our own areas. Of course, Christians are the target. But to shed the sympathy of our own brothers from other states, I can say that there’s general genocide.
Given what Nigeria is passing through, I don’t see any reason why a patriotic citizen would be talking about negotiation and peace deals with people who are killing and maiming citizens
But of course, as a political representative, I can tell you that in this part of the world, it’s more religious, it has a religious correlation, since some of our people have been saved in the Muslim mosques. But if you look at how they’re operating, you will agree with me that these are people who are after the Nigerian state.
That’s my own belief. So, I’m totally in support of what my governor said that there’s a genocide going on in this country, a massive one for that matter. Is it a big deal for Nigerians to seek help with this present situation we’re in? When we were growing up, we learned that our armed forces were sent to Liberia and to so many other countries for peacekeeping.
What were they sent there for? I believe it was to help those countries to restore peace in their countries. But the problem here is that it seems like up to this moment, some Nigerians believe that Nigeria is at peace because we can only seek help if you agree that we have a problem.
But it’s very unfortunate that we have been economical with the truth, we’re trying to be politically correct, and so we’re denying the reality. President Donald Trump’s statement, didn’t say he’s coming after any religion. He’s not coming after Christians. He’s not coming after Muslims.
He said he’s coming after Islamic terrorists who are terrorizing Nigeria. So, anybody who is against that statement, it means he is either a terrorist, or he’s a terrorist financier, or he’s a terrorist sympathizer. His statement was very explicit; that he’s coming against the terrorists. So, why are people crying? I’m fully in support of that help.
How do we dichotomize and save our people from getting killed, whether it’s economic, genocide, criminality, or otherwise?
In Plateau, I made reference to what happened in Barkin Ladi some years back, where attacks came. They were after Christian communities and they were saved. Over hundreds were saved when they ran into a mosque and an Imam protected them.
That same Imam was awarded a federal honour in the villa. But that doesn’t mean that Muslims are not being killed. I’m from Panshin Local Government Area. Under my federal constituency, where Kanaan is also located, many people are being killed daily, who are our Muslim brothers. I believe that these terrorists operate into different dimensions.
There are those with religious correlation, and there are those who are kidnappers and armed robbers. In some instances, they kidnap people they don’t kill. In some areas, they kidnap and they ask for ransom, and they set them free. In some instances, they come and kill, they don’t adopt anybody, they kill, burn houses, destroy families, and go away. They have different approaches to operation. Like what happened in Iruwata.
They didn’t kidnap people, they killed, maimed and destroyed families. That’s why in that kind of scenario, we say there’s religious correlation. But of course, when it’s linked with kidnapping, where they kidnap people and ask for ransom, it happens everywhere. They kidnap Muslims, they kidnap Christians, and they even kidnap security personnel. The problem we’re having today is, we must first accept that there’s a problem.
There’s insecurity in the country. And look at what is happening. These things are happening now in borders areas. A state like Plateau State cannot share borders with any country. We’re in the heartbeat of the country. But you begin to ask: Which route these terrorists used to enter Plateau? When you look at the weapons they’re operating with and their method of operation, you begin to wonder who is behind these people?
