President Trump’s refusal to despatch the National Guard to protect the Capitol Hill building is identical to President Buhari’s unwillingness to unleash the Nigerian Army on armed Fulani herdsmen

Ayo Akinfe

(1) We are all still reeling from the high drama of yesterday when Trump supporters tried to stage a coup by taking over the US Congress. I actually like the fact that I am alive to witness these once-in-a-lifetime events which we will most likely never see again

(2) It was clear about a week ago that this would happen and the mayor of Washington DC, Muriel Bowser asked for the National Guard to be deployed to protect the building. However, her request was declined by the Pentagon as the acting defence secretary Christopher Miller is President Trump’s lackey

(3) In this picture is an image of the National Guard sent to protect Congress during the Black Lives Matter protests. As you can see, the deployment was carried out with military efficiency and protesters did not get within half a mile of the Congress building

(4) I see no difference here between what President Trump is doing and what President Buhari is doing with Fulani herdsmen. Look at how efficiently the Nigerian Army was despatched to deal with Ipob and the Shiites but when it comes to Macban, they suddenly become incapable

(5) President Trump needs his rightwing rednecks as his default army and President Buhari needs his Fulani herdsmen as his reserve militia. Both men know they cannot rely on the official organs of state to eliminate their political opponents and drive their personal agendas so have to keep these private armies in reserve

(6) If it had been say Muslim protesters or Arab Americans who invaded Congress yesterday, by now, the body count would have been at least 500. The National Guard would have opened fire with unprecedented efficiency

(7) During the recent kidnapping of the Katsina schoolboys, it was the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (Macban) that were liaising between the government and Boko Haram. As far as I know, no member of either organisation has been arrested or charged in connection with the kidnapping

(8) Between now and January 20, I expect more outrageous actions from Trump supporters. However, they are not as fortunate as Macban as US laws allow the security forces to carry out arrests and prosecutions irrespective of what the president says

(9) I hope this Capitol Hill incidence brings home the message to Nigerians that Boko Haram and Macban only exist today because President Buhari allows them to. If he wants to wipe them out, I believe he can easily do so within a fortnight

(10) Having said all that, I am actually pleased that yesterday’s incident was dealt with in a manner that resulted in minimum casualties. It just goes to prove that all these bloodbaths you witness at protests are premeditated. I want to see security operatives disperse anti-establishment protests with the same civility we witnessed yesterday