We may end up without a country, as no country survive two civil wars – Ex-CDS asks Buhari to read riot act to Fulani herdsmen, bandits
Lieutenant General Alani Akinrinade (rtd) has said, we may end up without a country, as no country has been known to survive two civil wars.
He urged President Muhammadu Buhari to read the riot act against Fulani herdsmen, armed bandits and agents of destabilization
He made this known at the instance of the Governor of Osun State Gboyega Oyetola, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen TY Buratai was hosted to a State banquet at Government House Oshogbo on 14 September 2020.
He said that he wanted the COAS to convey them to the President, Commander-in-Chief.
The first matter according to him “is the pervasive public perception/believe that the President was an ‘ethnic bigot, an irredeemable religious fundamentalist that firmly subscribes and promotes the possibility of his ethnic Fulani to take over the country, which was the reason why he does not interfere in curbing the brigandage of the Fulani herdsmen.”
Furthermore, the elder statesman concluded that going by the perception or believe of the public, the President has performed woefully in the fight against the Boko Haram terrorists and that he cannot rise to the occasion when it comes to reflecting the heterogeneous composition of the country in appointments to sensitive positions in his government.
He therefore called on the president to read the riot act against the perpetrators of this mischief.
The second matter according to the former CDS is that sometimes he hears that there are Fulani mercenaries from outside Nigeria being sponsored by some Nigerians.
From what he heard, the situation is so dire that in collaboration with unexpected bad weather this year, a famine is imminent as the country is “already burrowing grains from the ECOWAS countries” because farmers are being forced to abandon their farms”.
He therefore suggested that the President should “read the riot act to the Fulani herdsmen”.
That it is not acceptable for any foreigner by whatever name to enter Nigeria illegally and molest Nigerians because “they are not welcome”.
According to him,” the country should not, by mistake of omission or commission allow Nigerians to degenerate to self-help which is a sure route to anarchy and perdition that will not go away”.
He thereafter accepted that these difficult matters cannot be addressed in abstract as the whole buck stops on the President’s table.
He therefore suggested that the President “needs to shape up, read the riot act to our people and enlist them in unwavering cooperation to participate fully in the redemption of their country “.
According to him, since he was sure the President is aware of the hues and cries from all corners and crannies of the country for secession as if the country has not been there before, there is a need for him to “stand on his table against the motley crowd of advisers and take a firm stand on the restructuring of the country, physically, politically, economically and socially”.
He also advocated for the reorganization of the Armed Forces “which is long overdue and over flogged as if it is such an impossibility because it is what is required to move the country out of the doldrums into modernity and cannot afford to pass it on”.
According to him “We may end up without a country, as no country has been known to survive two civil wars. He can take better counsel in the appointment to the sensitive parts of his government.
“There are capable loyal men and women from every village in the country,” he further advised.
He concluded by profusely thanking the President and the COAS for sorting out the pension scheme for the NA.
According to him, Army retirees have stopped the culture of queuing quarterly in the army barracks for recognition and documentation parade.
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