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Politics / Re: Tinubu To FG: Recruit 50 Million Youths Into Army To Fight Insecurity by BlackBaron: 6:42pm On Mar 29, 2021 |
Never seen so much garbage. 1/4 of the population doing security. Might as well toss that country in the bin. His stolen wealth is enough to leave 30,000 families better off. Bastardo 12 Likes 1 Share |
Politics / Re: Tinubu to chair 11th Arewa House lecture by BlackBaron: 6:58pm On Mar 25, 2021 |
If desperation had a name, it'll be called 'Tinuke Jagbajantis' lol. 1 Like |
Politics / Re: Geraldine Obinali: Imo Revokes 49 Plots Of Land Belonging To Okorocha’s Sister by BlackBaron: 3:12pm On Mar 23, 2021 |
Shouldn't this Okorocha be in jail if we actually had strong institutions. Literally pocketed an entire state and their resources. 4 Likes 1 Share |
Politics / Re: Ganduje: My Dollar Videos Were Fake by BlackBaron: 7:43am On Mar 20, 2021 |
Lol, the illiterates in his region would probably believe him. 1 Like |
Politics / Re: Bandits Shoot At Emir Of Birnin Gwari’s Convoy, Destroy Vehicles by BlackBaron: 12:05pm On Mar 17, 2021 |
Chickens coming home to roost. This report shows the terrible state of education in the core North. Nine out of 10 five- to 16-year-olds were able to add together two single digit numbers in Lagos, but this achievement got progressively worse further north. In Sokoto, Nigeria's northernmost state, fewer than two out of 10 children were able to complete the sums, the Icai report found. That was 2012, who knows the situation now? 2 Likes |
Politics / Re: Extortion: Bus Drivers Protest On Lagos-Badagry Expressway, Commuters Stranded by BlackBaron: 6:22pm On Mar 06, 2021 |
Tinubu's protégé, Oluomo and Co stacking ill gotten wealth via extortion on the backs of hardworking Nigerians. This country is so badly messed up. #Crime Central sponsored by the self styled feudal lord of Lagos. Kontinu... 29 Likes |
Politics / Re: Plight Of Northern Youth: Chased By B/haram, Bandits At Home, Hunted By ‘task Fo by BlackBaron: 5:50pm On Mar 06, 2021 |
Sponsor a bill to make it illegal to be out of education until the age of 16 years all over Nigeria especially in the North. Large proportion of Northern youths would play second fiddle to their peers down South if they fail to fix some of their indices. |
Politics / Re: Fresh Crisis Brews In Igangan As Herdsmen Resume Farm Destruction by BlackBaron: 10:45am On Mar 06, 2021 |
Yewandequeen: These are bottlenecks. Doesn't mean we can't get it done. An extension of it is butchers would need to document who brings in cattle for slaughter via their tags. Would drive down incidences of rustling. |
Politics / Re: Fresh Crisis Brews In Igangan As Herdsmen Resume Farm Destruction by BlackBaron: 9:46am On Mar 06, 2021 |
Yewandequeen:Some African countries do this. It's simply a matter of a state government picking up this Policy Template and passing it into law. |
Politics / Re: Fresh Crisis Brews In Igangan As Herdsmen Resume Farm Destruction by BlackBaron: 7:41am On Mar 06, 2021 |
All livestock in Nigeria should be tagged, registered and require a documentation before moving them from place to place. I hope there'll be concerted efforts towards solving this issue between herders and farmers. 1 Like 1 Share |
Politics / Re: Seyi Makinde: Oyo Won’t Provide Land For Ranching by BlackBaron: 4:36pm On Mar 03, 2021 |
Southerners should take priorities in their respective states. Piss them off again and they're likely to pull blockades or withdraw their livestocks. Templates to follow is for example, Kenya. They source expertise from South Africa and Netherlands. |
Politics / Re: Adesina: Those Demanding Buhari’s Resignation Only Exercising Freedom Of Speech by BlackBaron: 8:37am On Mar 03, 2021 |
I'm only surprised the Vice President is still staying put putting up with this level of oppression and dictatorship perpetrated under Gen Buhari. |
Politics / Re: Sambo: Why We Need Value-Driven Education System by BlackBaron: 1:41pm On Feb 28, 2021 |
Pass a law to make it absolutely illegal for a child to be out of full curriculum education until the age of 16 years of age. |
Politics / In-depth Report: Zamfara Crisis -The Beginning - January 2021 (New Humanitarian) by BlackBaron: 10:45am On Feb 28, 2021 |
The longshot bid to end rampant banditry in Nigeria’s northwest ‘We simply have to find a way out of this criminality.’ Obi Anyadike Senior editor, Africa GUSAU, Nigeria The scale of Boko Haram's insurgency in northeastern Nigeria has long been clear. But it took the abduction last month of more than 340 schoolboys for many people – even within Nigeria – to appreciate just how bad the insecurity has become in the country’s neglected northwest. The abductors pulled up on motorbikes at the all-boys secondary school in Kankara, in Katsina State, spent an hour rounding up the students who didn’t manage to bolt, and then marched them into Rugu forest in neighbouring Zamfara State. In a video message, the kidnappers said they were Boko Haram, a claim endorsed by the jihadist group. But that connection was quickly debunked. The group was identified as known “bandits” – one of the scores of armed gangs that have killed, raped, and plundered across the northwest, forcing more than 200,000 people from their homes. There was a happy end to the schoolboys’ six-day ordeal. Surrounded by the army, unable to escape, the kidnappers released them – with the government insisting no ransom was paid. But the raid underlined the “utter vulnerability of people to the bandits, who can do whatever they want”, Zamfara-based analyst Yusuf Anka told The New Humanitarian. At the heart of the rot of banditry in Nigeria’s northwest is lawlessness in Zamfara State, where the governor, Bello Matawalle, has staked his political future on bringing it to an end. The jury is out on whether he will succeed. Wild northwest The Kankara raid was out of the ordinary only because of its scale and audaciousness. But it was no aberration. Across the under-policed northwest, there has been an alarming erosion of government authority that organised crime has exploited. The crisis in resource-rich but developmentally-starved Zamfara has been at least a decade in the making, but analysts warn the window is rapidly closing to finding a solution. No peace will mean more criminality, more sexual violence, further recruitment of children, the accelerated spread of insecurity south, and potentially formal links established with the jihadists in the northeast. “I’m travelling to Katsina tomorrow. It’s just a two-hour journey, but still you have to fear,” academic and Zamfara banditry researcher Murtala Rufa’i told TNH. “Kidnapping can happen at any point at any time.” What’s worse, he added, it can be your greedy friends or relatives that sell you out. Kidnapping is now an established criminal industry in Zamfara, overtaking cattle rustling – an earlier but riskier money-spinner. Criminal gangs inhabit the vast forests that fringe the state – where there is little to no government presence and clandestine paths criss-cross the region. “If they wanted to, the bandits could overrun this town in an hour.” The military has launched repeated operations, but all too limited in scale to secure the state’s 40,000 square kilometres. Helicopter gunships and ground-attack jets have strafed and bombed suspected bandit hideouts, but it’s boots on the ground and a political response that is needed, analysts argue. “If they wanted to, the bandits could overrun this town in an hour,” Anka said, referring to Gusau, the Zamfara State capital. “But military [might] alone is not the answer. What will bring success is for the government to resolve the [underlying] issues.” Start of the trouble In Zamfara, as in the rest of the northwest, the term “bandit” is shorthand for nomadic Fulani pastoralists. The elision not only stigmatises an entire community but skates over a complicated shared history with the politically dominant majority Hausa population. Competition with Hausa farmers has sharpened over the past decade with both the intensification of agriculture and a drying climate. The expansion of farms across stock routes has meant access to both grazing and water have become issues of lethal contention. Fulani herders outside Gusau. The risk of cattle rustling by bandits is now an occupational hazard for pastoralists. Fulani herders are typically accused of ignoring boundaries, and their young men of being quick to violence. But the Fulani have also been victims of land-grabbing by the well-connected, and of extortion by local authorities when it comes to the levying of fines. Organised Fulani raids began on Hausa villages from around 2014 in an escalation of what had been more localised conflicts. In self-defence, vigilante groups formed with the backing of the state government, but their revenge was often indiscriminate – turning towns into no-go areas and driving some Fulani communities into the forests. Fulani militia responded with even greater ferocity – and better weaponry – calling on nomadic kin from across the region for assistance. Sweeping into Hausa villages on motorbikes, they typically killed all the men they could find, on the assumption they were all vigilantes. One man’s bandit ... What has resulted from the mayhem are two groups of forest-based armed men who both kill. There are Fulani militia that claim to defend their own, but equally intimidate their communities; and then there are hardcore armed criminals that are predominantly Fulani, but include Hausa – and anyone else attracted to making money. In Tsafe, about an hour out of Gusau, is the run-down office of the local chapter of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACABAN) – the main lobby group for Fulani pastoralists. There’s a hole in the ceiling, outdated calendars on the walls, and the only furniture is a wobbly chair for guests. “Some of the bandits have gone too far, but they are still part of us.” The men gathered to talk try to thread a needle between disavowing the violence, but also argue that the militia are their only protection against what they see as ethnic cleansing by the local Hausa community and the security forces that turn a blind eye. “Some of the bandits have gone too far, but they are still part of us,” said Bello Muhammed, the local finance secretary. “They are killing for a cause – any place there is killing means there is a bigger problem.” That cause, they said, is to force the government to provide services and to end Fulani “marginalisation” – a word repeatedly used. “Bring schools, roads, and development and [the insecurity] is over,” said Umah Mohammed, the association chair, in the embrace of a more settled lifestyle. Who’s who The challenge to building peace in Zamfara is to correctly identify the two groups in the forest, and then deal with them separately and distinctly, said pastoralist researcher Mohammed Tukur. “Those who have genuine grievances, you address them,” he told TNH. “The criminals: You have to address them through legal mechanisms.” The previous state government tried a simpler approach. It introduced an amnesty and guns-for-cash programme in 2016 for all the armed men. This initially seemed to work, but within two years the programme had fallen apart. The money incentivised gun ownership, creating more criminals, which a negligent state government then failed to pay. Some bandits – being bandits – also cheated and only pretended to quit, returning to crime full-time when the cash ran out. Retired police commissioner Maman Anka – the uncle of the analyst – lives in a modest home in Gusau and drives a badly dented car parked on the narrow street outside his house: not the usual state of affairs for powerful public servants, even those on pensions. Anka was part of a commission of inquiry examining the causes of banditry and tasked with finding solutions. Its report in 2019 sensationally accused five emirs, 33 district heads, and 10 military officers of being implicated – laying bare the governance vacuum in Zamfara that is both a consequence and enabler of the chaos. Sitting comfortably on the carpet in his living room, Anka explained how traditional systems of security and surveillance have unravelled over the years and left emirs and chiefs – a key rung of local authority – cowed or co-opted by criminal gangs that now operate with impunity. “[Traditional rulers] are just in their big gowns and turbans, but really they are very vulnerable,” he told TNH. “What protection do they have when the nearest police post is miles away – and the police themselves have been penetrated by the bandits?” The politics of peace The commission of inquiry was ordered by the new governor, Matawalle. He came to power in an electoral fluke in 2019 – awarded victory by the Supreme Court on a technicality after losing the actual ballot. Matawalle has relaunched the mismanaged amnesty programme – this time promising cows rather than cash for every AK-47 returned. He has also ordered the disarming of the vigilantes, and pledged support to Fulani communities through a federal government initiative aimed at settling pastoralists on land reserves and then bringing in development services. The Fulani men in the MACABAN office in Tsafe believe Matawalle is sincere but recognise that success is far from guaranteed. “Politics is the problem,” said Muhammed, the finance secretary, referring to the widespread perception that the opposition will work to frustrate the governor – to boost their electoral chances in 2023. “What protection do they have when the nearest police post is miles away – and the police themselves have been penetrated by the bandits?” Hausa communities are even more wary – worried that in granting amnesties the governor may be rewarding men responsible for mass killings. “They [the government] are underestimating the gravity and scale of the problem,” said Rufa’i, the academic. Yet Matwalle can point to some early success – it was “repentant” bandits that helped negotiate the release of the Kankara schoolboys. Amnesty on its own is not enough, argues Chitra Nagarajan, who investigated the violence in Zamfara in a study last year. "You need proper DDRR (disarmament, demobilisation, rehabilitation and reintegration) processes, and to build social cohesion and transitional justice that allows communities to reconcile and heal,” she told TNH – although it’s unclear if the state government really has the capacity to deliver this. There are some quick wins the governor could implement to ease the grievances of both communities, including the restocking of stolen herds and returning land to the dispossessed, which would help calm frustrations and build confidence – but time is running out. This is the year the state government “must deliver” on its promises to stop Zamfara’s collapse, said Anka, the analyst: “We simply have to find a way out of this criminality before it’s too late.” |
Politics / Re: DSS Denies Attempt To Arrest Sunday Igboho by BlackBaron: 7:43pm On Feb 26, 2021 |
DSS use tavor rifles. 1 Like |
Pets / Re: Harvest Of Rice And Snakes (pics N Vids) by BlackBaron: 10:52am On Feb 26, 2021 |
Have you thought of having a mongoose family on the farm to deal with your snake problems? Your workers should invest in boots, will do a lot of good. |
Politics / Re: Breaking!!! Trucks Carrying Foodstuffs From North To South Are Being Blocked. by BlackBaron: 10:36am On Feb 26, 2021 |
GuyWise101:pipelines should be blown up? How about people in the South depending on it or the resulting pollution? Ill thought suggestion that does more harm than good. |
Politics / Re: I Won’t Apologise For Opposing Fulani Profiling - Bala Mohammed by BlackBaron: 7:51am On Feb 25, 2021 |
Ethnic profiling should be condemned. However I hope he's taking steps to forestall the wave of banditry At the same time, the Core North should rethink their stance on education. They are going to be a MAJOR calamity for this country if an increasingly literate South has to absorb their inadequacies. 2 Likes |
Politics / Re: Why Nigerians Should Support Tinubu For 2023 - Akeem Adeyemi by BlackBaron: 11:07am On Feb 24, 2021 |
Notice only his beneficiaries are the ones shouting themselves hoarse, so they can reap more benefits. As for the common man, he's content with distributing ororo and rice plus a palmful wad of cash while he loots their future. Kontinu! 2 Likes |
Politics / Re: Scarcity Of Beef, Tomatoes, Onions Loom In Southern Nigeria by BlackBaron: 7:51am On Feb 23, 2021 |
There is such a thing as economics. Growing foodstuffs for months only to hold back will lead to economic losses for farmers. Best believe the northern regions suffers the most as they will lose billions. Another 1-2 years will see the South adjust and the North finally losing their advantage as a food basket. |
Politics / Re: How Rochas Okorocha Was Arrested & His Convoy Destroyed (Photos, Video) by BlackBaron: 4:57pm On Feb 22, 2021 |
You see why Governors fight tooth and nail to annoint successors, so as to cover up their tracks of fraud, corruption and misdeeds. |
Politics / Re: Dayo Adeyeye: Tinubu Is The Best Successor For Buhari by BlackBaron: 11:12am On Feb 22, 2021 |
Oshigun:That is my opinion of a possible candidate. He is benefitting from the flaws of democracy. Apparently, he only appeals to the lowly educated and certain criminally minded elements of society. Your institutions are failing due to people like Tinubu amongst others. Acting on his whims, corrupt and an insincere leader helping himself to the treasuries in the SW. That his type hold sway in the SW with his handout and thugs is the result of 'Demagoguery'. Irrational poorly educated electorates would be the only ones who see him fit as leader! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLJBzhcSWTk |
Politics / Re: Dayo Adeyeye: Tinubu Is The Best Successor For Buhari by BlackBaron: 9:40am On Feb 22, 2021 |
Since you all like to suffer with convicts, criminals ruling over you...How can a Failed Drug baron even aspire to lead a country successfully. 1 Like |
Politics / Re: Oyo House Of Reps Member, Odidiomo Empowers Constituents With Goats by BlackBaron: 1:45pm On Feb 21, 2021 |
Who knows, they might be a agrarian community. I wouldn't mind a pair too; male - female. Grow them into a herd, get milk and sell off the offspring for meat. |
Politics / Re: Names Of 21 People Kidnapped In Yakila, Rafi, Niger By Bandits (Picture, Video) by BlackBaron: 10:10pm On Feb 16, 2021 |
This is beyond the capacity of the Police now unfortunately if they're wielding RPGs. I hope a solution can be found to the incessant insecurity problems in the country. I'm tired and your President is an incompetent one. 2 Likes |
Politics / Re: Kidnappings, Killings That Exposed Oyo Herdsmen Crisis: Sarkin Fulani's Real Sin by BlackBaron: 2:42pm On Feb 11, 2021 |
Lol. What am I reading?! Will continue to emphasise without education, Pastoralists will become a dangerous problem - they already seized and settled on land outside of their enclave because it belongs to God. One said Abacha gave them land. I pity Southern States that'll hand out land for ranching. Southerners need to start filling up the vacuum and establish their ranches and whatnot. |
Politics / Re: Those Agitating For Biafra, Oduduwa Republics No Different From Bokoharam - Gumi by BlackBaron: 10:41am On Feb 07, 2021 |
Lol. A referendum would say otherwise. I don't mind a United Nigeria but learnt over the years how different we are to core northerners boggles my mind. That region needs to FIX UP on all indices else we'll have a massive stockpile of problems in the future. Not saying the South is exactly heaven too... |
Properties / Re: Why Is Eko Atlantic Development So Slow? by BlackBaron: 11:48pm On Feb 06, 2021 |
Funds and investors. |
Politics / Re: MURIC On Fulani Herdsmen: We Have Frightening Evidence Of Heinous Activities by BlackBaron: 11:58am On Feb 05, 2021 |
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhfYj3X9fIQ Always wanting to start a farm in the countryside but for the fear of pastoralists. Let's see what initiative this government takes. I'm willing to float small/medium scale greenhouse farm plus we own livestock (cows) within my extended family. |
Politics / Re: MURIC To FG: Give Bailout Funds To Herders To Buy Land For Ranching by BlackBaron: 11:08am On Feb 03, 2021 |
Surprised at the furore over the statement made. For the sake of peace, a stop-gap measure is highly needed. The northerners should move back to their states or countries and should embrace ranching. Of course, will require capital investment but should be taken up by respective state governments. Its only a loan. Livestock is an industry and shouldn't mean we want others to lose their means of livelihoods. |
Politics / Re: MC Oluomo's Book 'My Service To Humanity' Goes Viral (Photos) by BlackBaron: 4:56pm On Feb 02, 2021 |
Lack of jobs means local strongman cum criminal extortionist like Oluomo becomes a role model for aspiring young criminals all over the country. The evil seeds Tinuke Jagaban et al are sowing... |
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