Killings By Fulani Herdsmen Could Trigger Civil War, Ogbebor Warns
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Loading ...A veteran of Nigeria’s civil war, Col. Paul Ogbebor (rtd), has warned that killings by suspected herdsmen in several States of the country could provoke another civil war, if not nipped on the board.
This is even as he described the statement of Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (rtd), calling for self-defense as “disappointment taken too far.”
Recall that Danjuma had indicated the military, the military and also asked Nigerians to take up arms and defend themselves.
Addressing a section of journalists in Benin, Edo State, on Wednesday, Ogbebor who served under the command of Danjuma, said based in his training and experience as a military officer, Danjuma’s body language suggests “disappointment over what is happening in this country today…he is taking it too far.”
He said: “First of all, the duty of internal security is in the hands of the police, not the army. The military is supposed to safeguard the country against external invasion and to assist in internal security.
“If the military capturesโ a place during the war, we will reorganize the place and secure it and after that, handover to the police. It is the police that will carry out the internal security.
“To assist the police, we have the mobile police who are trained in the use of arms and go into combat. However, if need be, the military could be called upon to give additional firepower.
“That is why when you talk of herdsmen, you are blaming the military. It is not the military, it is the police duty, they are internal security specialist.
“For the whole of North East, the military have done their best to ensure that the local government that were captured by Boko Haram have been taken from them. We should praise the military for that.
“There is no doubt that we made initial mistakes, now we are having a new challenge of herdsmen. The issue of herdsmen is in Ivoiry Coast, Sierra Leone and Ghana. So itโs a regional issue.
“Herdsmen are people who are from failed countries like Libya and Syria and members of Boko Haram. They have sophisticated weapons. These are not weapons you can buy from the market. They must have inherited them from these failed countries.
“If their countries have failed, they are looking for new frontiers to settle and Nigeria can provide those things and they are getting them.
“For my former GOC to have blamed the military for that one and ask Nigerians to take up arms, I think it is disappointment taken too far. What we should do is to put our heads together and proffer solution to the problem of herdsmen.”
Asked to suggest solution to the issue, Ogbebor who said the total officers and men we have in the military today are so few, suggested that retired officers and men should be recalled as reserves.
“Since the military and police cannot effectively hold the ground, retirees of police and military in the last 10 years should be mobilized to hold the ground in each of the State were they reside because they know their area best.
“Without holding weapons to hold the grounds, their presence along enough, they should be able to give early warning to the organized police and military so that if anything happen, the security will be able to come there within a short time, they will be able to come there and act.
“So, let use retirees. During the civil war, we used that one because the number of soldiers were too few, we recalled all the soldiers who fought in the Second World War. And those were the people we used.
“We are in a state of war, we should do the same thing; recall those that are retired to reserve, policemen or military personnel. That is my immediate solution to herdsmen problem in this country,” Ogbebor said.
Herdsmen killings is not good for this country. If we leave them like this, they can provoke a civil war and disturbances that Nigeria would not be able to curtail.
Herdsmen problem is along West Africa. It has been reported in Ghana, Serrialone and Ivory Coast. All the heads of State of West Africa should meet and discuss this problem.
Recall retired military, police personnel that retired 10 years ago, mobilize them to take the land where they are.
Arguably, Col Paul Osakpamwanย Ogbebor (rtd), 70, is the first Nigerian to be enrolled into the Nigerian Defence Academy, NDA. Among the 61 cadets of Course 1, he was one of the 34 that graduated. He is also one of the 18 who are still alive.
He fought the Nigeria-Biafra civil war of 1967-1970 and opines that the war has cemented the countryโs unity. Although at the NDA, he was one of the best in academics, sports and soldiering where he won many laurels, Ogbebor was one of those whose military career was short-circuited by high-wire intrigues and witch-hunt that characterize Nigeriaโs military and public service.
