Former defence minister General Danjuma tells Nigerians to defend themselves against armed herdsmen

FORMER defence minister Lt General Theophilus Danjuma has urged Nigerians to defend themselves against armed militias that attack their communities because the country's security forces chose to take sides in such matters.

Of late, Nigeria has been feeling the effects of ethnic and community divisions as Fulani cattle herdsmen attack farming communities across the country. In the northeast too, Boko Haram continues to attack remote towns and villages and regularly abducts school pupils and young men who it recruits into its army.

Speaking at the maiden convocation of the Taraba State University, Jalingo yesterday, General Danjuma said: “I am not a politician and politics is one profession I don’t want to belong to because if I am a politician, I will not say what I am going to say to you now. When I arrived in this arena, I saw rich cultural display and I was amazed at the rich cultural heritage of our people.

"Taraba is a mini Nigeria with diverse ethnic groups living together peacefully but the peace in this state is under assault. There is an attempt at ethnic cleansing in the state and of course, some rural states in Nigeria but we must resist it, we must stop it and every one of us must rise up."

Only two days ago, the residents of the Takum and Ussa Local Government Areas accused the Army Operation Ayem Akpatuma (Cat Race) of providing cover for the killer herdsmen to attack and kill villagers in the areas. Shiban Tikari, the chairman of Takum and his Ussa counterpart Rimansikwe Karma, accused the operatives of Operation Cat Race, currently going on in the state, of brutality, extortion and providing cover for herdsmen to kill the locals.

General Danjuma said: “Our armed forces are not neutral as they collude with the bandits to kill people, kill Nigerians. The armed forces guide their movements, they cover them, so if you are depending on the armed forces to stop the killings, you will all die one by one.

“This ethnic cleansing must stop in Taraba State and other rural states of Nigeria otherwise Somalia will be a child’s play. I ask everyone of you to be alert and defend your country, defend your territory and defend your state and defend yourselves because you have no other place to go. God bless our country.”

Also, at the convocation, the state governor, Darius Ishaku, expressed delight at the growth of the university within 10 years of its establishment. Governor Ishaku commended the founding fathers of the institution for their foresight in bringing university education to the doorsteps of Taraba people and pledged to continue to support the university to attain a world-class status.