After meeting the president, Alhaji Asari Dokubo casually briefed the press. In front of the coat of arms, seated on that green chair, huffing and puffing, it was a puzzling watch. But there is a popular motor park wisdom that commuters should disregard the inscriptions on a bus and board the bus. Perhaps we can avoid the debate about the propriety of that press conference and delve into the speech.
Without hesitation, Asari accused our military of deception and grand theft of crude oil. In times past that would have been unforgivable. The military didn’t brook lousy jokes. But Asari was relentless. He doubled down and said the military chiefs were blackmailing the nation. Now that’s an allegation of treason. If Asari had spoken from the creeks to a Facebook audience, we could have dismissed it as ogogoro talk. But Asari was in the villa, and the villa assembled the press. Had Asari stopped at theft, it could have been bearable. After all many armies in the world corner spoils of war. But in addition to corruption, blackmail and grand theft, Asari accused the military of cowardice. Let’s take a deep breath.
We have many great young men and women in the military. This country has produced only a few real heroes. Most of them were ordinary men and women in the military who laid down their lives fighting for the country. Many of our soldiers had other career options. But they chose the military for selfless and patriotic reasons. So we owe them the utmost respect. That said, Asari said troubling things. Asari might not be the most credible witness. His past might be tainted. Yet the military ought to engage in a clear-eyed sober reflection.
For many years bandits had seized the short link between the nation’s political and military capitals. It was a disgraceful capitulation. The Abuja-Kaduna road became so haunted that everybody, including the lords of security agencies, dreaded to use the road. Many of those who dared were abducted and ransomed. Soon the train became the only safe means of transport between the two critical cities. A major national highway of strategic military importance was abandoned to criminals.
But the criminals wanted more. The bandits came for the train and blew it. Many died and many were kidnapped. The nation was being thoroughly humiliated. The big men returned to flying and the poor folks had to use the treacherous road. But soon, security agencies sniffed an economic opportunity. They formed squads for hire. Intending travellers booked and hired armed squads from national security agencies for fees to see them through the nightmare. The shamelessness was confounding. The nation was on its knees. So Asari’s smoke wasn’t without fire.
Later, the situation improved. The General Officer Commanding the 1st Division carried out raids in the infested areas. And the army celebrated its exploits in clearing the nest of bandits and freeing up the road. That was the truth we knew until Asari Dokubo came to the Villa and took the military to the cleaners before the press. Asari said his mercenaries were responsible for clearing the insurgents from that strategic artery. He dared the army to contradict him. He mocked the army. Before that bizarre press conference, no one knew Asari still had armed men.
He was one of the militants that had surrendered arms in exchange for amnesty funds. When the Federal Govt signed him up to provide mercenaries, no one was informed. If the public had been informed, folks would have accorded him due respect. So when he threatened those who wanted to protest the outcome of the 2023 presidential elections in Abuja, the protesters would have appreciated the risk. They would have realised they were confronting a GOC with the military capability to curb nuisance rather than a loquacious ex-militant shooting from the mouth.
Asari addressed the press like a visiting head of state. Almost. Before the state house press corps, he made many outlandish claims. He said the military was actively involved in economic sabotage. He said the military’s cowardice fed bandits with weapons. He said that if drastic measures weren’t taken to re-organise the military, the nation wouldn’t curb crude oil theft. He was involved in counter-insurgency operations in Abia, Imo, Anambra, Plateau, Abuja and Kaduna, to mention a few states.
While the military is doing soul-searching, the Federal Government should be compiling a list of friendly bandits it uses for internal security. So that ordinary folks can take heed and avoid engaging them in arguments. Because we had been advised not to quarrel with a man with a gun. When asked if he now ran an army? Asari said no. Yet he said his men had achieved so much with less than one per cent of the armament of the military.
Clarity is important. When a notorious bandit called Dogo, who had terrorised Niger state was killed, encomiums were showered on the military. But before the State House press corps, Asari beat his chest and said that the glory for neutralizing Dogo belonged to his men and not the military. Since Asari made these claims, nobody has bothered to counter him. The federal government must come clean. So that we don’t give Asari’s accolades to the military just because we love the military.
But there is another major reason we must understand Asari’s profession and position. In a video that recently went viral on social media, Asari Dokubo was bragging about how his ancestors sold the Igbo and how he would have been selling Igbo had the British not intervened with colonization. He capped his diatribe with a threat. He said, if provoked, he would go after the Igbo, one after the other, to eliminate them. Ordinarily, such noise-making wouldn’t have instigated mass apprehension.
But in that video clip, Asari brandished assault rifles. Whether five months old or brand new, that video is an instrument of terror. The federal government doesn’t have to arrest or prosecute Asari if it doesn’t have the nerve. But it must do the Igbo a favour. If Asari is allowed to run an army and carry assault weapons, the government should let its citizens know. So they can begin to respect and perhaps worship him. Every banana republic has many scared cows. But many of these folks who are pets of the country trouble no one. These are folks the state loves to cuddle and pamper.
They are not really problematic beyond reinforcing the idea that all animals are not equal before the law. But, sometimes, there are an endowed few against whom the state is powerless. If the state now shares its monopoly of legal violence with Asari and his dogs of war, the state must let all citizens know. So they can bring tithes, offerings and honour to whom they are due.
The nation’s security challenges are daunting. The new government has hit the ground running. It must now take the bulls by the horns by reforming the military and engaging in sustained surgical military strikes while fashioning out the political solutions that will guarantee sustainable peace. People like Asari must remain in the backyard.
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