Standing on the graves of Agatu before crisis turns to tragedy—2

 Standing on the graves of Agatu before crisis turns to tragedy- 1 By Dele Sobowale “A journalist should be pursuing a fair rendition of truth without regard to popular moods; the journalist should not be swayed by public opinion, only by the pursuit of truth, as close as he or she can get to it. Malvin Kalb 1997. (VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS, VBQ, p 109). The main reason why no African nation had launched a spacecraft on its own and might never launch one is our inability to reason logically and allow facts, as they emerge to guide us. All the sciences are basically logical and logic is an integral part of Philosophy which Nigerian universities don’t teach as an elective course. And they should. Most American universities make Philosophy a compulsory course for all students. The results are there for all to see. Americans are not more intelligent than other people, they just reason better. The second reason we might never excel in anything requiring quantitative analysis is the African predilection for willful and stubborn ignorance,as well as laziness – even among extremely well-educated people. In Nigeria, it had taken almost one hundred years to get Southerners to understand that all Northerners are not Hausa/Fulani, and Yoruba people to get it into their (thick?) skulls that all the people inhabiting areas east of Ore are not “Kobokobo”. Yet, in 1967, taking a course in African Politics in the university in the USA, it took me only twenty minutes to correct a class including Americans, Spanish, Israeli and Australian students that there were more tribes in Nigeria than Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba. They were happy to be corrected. Last week, I remarked that I spent seven years in the North as a cattle owner; had two co-workers who were also cattle owners; we engaged herdsmen and women, many of who were not Fulani. The first text message I received on Sunday was from a Nigerian university graduate who exclaimed “Don’t tell me the herdsmen are not Fulani”. My reply was to ask him if he ever talked to any herdsman/woman. Silence followed. Unfortunately, that sort of willful and stubborn ignorance, which has kept Africa underdeveloped, is pervasive and in the most dangerous place – the Nigerian media; especially print media. And, it is easy to pin-point how we landed in this mess which would make the peaceful resolution of the herdsmen/farmers disputes more difficult. And ensure that the victims of Agatu and other places would have died in vain. So permit me to engage my own constituency – the print media. The Nigerian press, especially the leading newspapers, is stacked against Muslims and Northerners. Among the leaders, in alphabetical order, DAILY TRUST, GUARDIAN, NATION, PUNCH, SUN, THISDAY and VAGUARD, only the first one, DAILY TRUST has an editorial staff which is not predominantly Southern and Christian. Even the NATION, whose publisher is a Muslim, parades about seventy per cent Christian reporters, editors and especially columnists. Unknown to them, they wield enormous power over public opinion on matters of vital importance and as Malvin Kalb had told the journalists (I am not a journalist), they are expected to be impartial commentators and judges on every matter. Generally, they try to be. But, the minute a serious matter arises which pits Muslims against Christians or Southerners against Northerners, the biases show up immediately. A black African in Apartheid South Africa had a better chance of receiving justice in court than a Fulani or Hausa Muslim accused by a Christian Southerner from our newspapers. At least, the black person in South Africa was taken to court and given a chance to defend himself. Our reporters, editors, and columnists, most of who have never met or talked to a herdsman had condemned him in his absence. They have even proclaimed judgment and punishment. They have also been joined by the clergy; some of who bear false witness without a qualm. Let me give two examples of this sort of intervention in this crisis. Cardinal John Onaiyekan reportedly escaped death when his car was shot at on the notorious Benin-Ekpoma Road. The man of God did not accuse any particular person or group of making the attack. Ask anybody, people are attacked on that road virtually every day. Yet, one Moses Ihonde, a member of the National Christian Elders Forum, NCEF, in a report placed the blame on Fulani herdsmen. Did Pastor Ihonde provide any evidence? None was provided. The reporter being a Christian probably never doubted his fellow Christian. But how on earth can anyone defend this failure to find out if there were Fulani herdsmen in the vicinity at the time the attack occurred? Unless cows have started eating asphalt, it is hard to imagine why herdsmen would want to take over a road without grass on it. Did the Editor of the paper request for a reaction from the Fulani community in the area? It is doubtful. Indeed, why bother, when “they” are guilty anyway. As Mark Twain, 1835-1910, had remarked about white men trying an American negro, “Are you going to hang him anyhow and try him afterward?” (VBQ p 85). Just as Ihonde declared without proof that Fulani herdsmen are Jihadists, another newspaper on May 6, 2016, in its editorial was just as full of “Christian charity”. The title of that editorial tells the reader what to expect in the rest of the leader – which fell only just short of asking that Fulani herdsmen should be rounded up and shot without trial. The newspaper gave as one of its reasons for suggesting this mass annihilation of fellow Nigerians the story of Agatu. According to the paper, “The excesses of the herdsmen in March are still fresh in Agatu LGA in Benue State, a carnage that reportedly left over 400 people dead and their communities confiscated.” That is Nigerian journalism for you. As it turned out, I was in Agatu on the day the paper was advocating for the mass extermination of Fulani herdsmen. Reading the statement properly, the reader would quickly observe that the paper had not been to Agatu and I can confirm that. It relied on hearsay from sources unknown. Last week, I published the list of names of the Agatu 33. Today, two pictures from the lot are reproduced. Most of the people have returned to their, admittedly wrecked, homes. It is a wicked lie to say that the communities were confiscated. Who confiscated them? I am ready to lead any number of truth finders to Agatu. At any rate, the Agatu invasion was not about grazing land but a raid by mercenaries engaged by land speculators – who are not Fulani herdsmen. Incidentally, none of the “bleeding hearts” crying over Nimbo, Agatu etc had offered them any assistance. Only the State Government had provided relief materials. Perhaps my Christian brothers had forgotten about the Good Samaritan. If all he did was to wring his hands and write clever and un-researched stories in papers, he would never have entered the Holy Book as an example to follow. If this is journalism I am happy not to be a journalist.