An Open Letter To Professor Yusuf Usman

 Dear Professor Yusuf Usman, 

Greetings to you, sir. I am writing to express my profound disappointment and concern over your recent call for Nigerian Government to engage in dialogue with terrorists and bandits. As a highly respected academician and public figure, your opinion carries weight. In contrast to expectation, however, it is disheartening that you suddenly became a stooge for the roguery-blooded Northern oligarchy advocating for approach that undermines the very fabric of the Nigerian society. You are standing against Government's policy to deploy troops to crush terrorists and bandits in the pristine forests and rocks of the North. Prof., before asking the Nigerian Government to dialogue with terrorists, bandits, kidnappers, and rapists, and arsonists, you should have known what both Government, terrorists, and bandits represent in the society. Sir, I want to define government, terrorists, and dialogue before proceeding. 

Government refers to the system or group of people governing an organization, typically a country, state, region, or local authority, exercising authority, power, and control over its citizens. It is the sole apparatus through which a society organizes itself, makes decisions, and exercises power to maintain law and order and provide public services. Terrorists are individuals or groups using violence, intimidation, and fear to achieve political, ideological, or religious goals, often targeting vulnerable civilians or non-combatants. Bandits, in this context, refers to armed groups, engaging in violent crimes such as arbitrary killings, kidnapping, robbery, rape, arsonry, and attacks, often for personal gain or to exert control over territories or communities which they deem important. The above definitions show that governments, terrorists and bandits are not the same at all. They do not follow the same direction. The do not have similar goals and objectives. They are horizontal lines of Latitude which cannot meet together. One is for public good and advancement, whilst the other one is for public detriment, endangerment, and backwardness. Dialogue refers to a conversation or discussion between two or more people, or group, typically in a formal or structured setting, aimed at exchanging ideas and intelligence, resolving conflicts, or reaching a mutual agreement or understanding for the advantage of all parties. 

There are categories of people that governments are eligible to dialogue and negotiate with, and why. There are also other categories of people that governments should not, for whatever reason, dialogue with, and there are reasons that make such ineligible, even at the pain of death. Every sovereign State like Nigeria can constitutionally dialogue and negotiate with:

1. Legitimate representatives: 

Elected officials, opposition parties, and recognized leaders of marginalized groups to address governance, policy, and representation issues

2. Civil society organizations:

These include NGOs, advocacy groups, and community leaders, to address social, economic, and environmental concerns 

3. Business and industry leaders:

To discuss economic policies and development, investments, and regulatory frameworks. Now, why should governments engage in dialogue and negotiations in some cases and stoutly reject them in other cases? The reasons are as follows:

1. To promote understanding and cooperation 

2. To foster inclusive decision-making and participatory governance 

3. To resolve conflicts peacefully 

4. To build trust and legitimacy 

There are also groups of people that governments cannot dialogue and negotiate with, except if such government works with two faces (hypocritically). They are:

1. Terrorists, bandits, kidnappers, rapists, arsonists, drug peddlers and barons, armed robbers, cultists on the campuses, currency traffickers, and other enemies of the State. 

2. Individuals or groups promoting hate speeches, religious extremism, and radicalism capable of fermenting tension and unrest in the society 

Prof., from the above definitions and explanations above, could you please show the world where governments, terrorists, and bandits are related, similar with common goals, objectives, and aspirations. Government and those categories of people are permanent enemies. They are latitudinal lines which cannot meet together forever. They are unlike the lines of Longitude which start together at the North Pole and meet again at the South Pole. One is for good, the other is for evil. One is for life, the other is an agent of death. One is a nation builder, and the other is a nation destroyer -- a bundle of sadism. Their differences are too many. Everyone knows that! Concerning dialogue, your memory has been refreshed about the true definition of dialogue, including categories of people that governments should dialogue and negotiate with, and why it is essential.

Dialogue with terrorists and bandits is not a solution; rather, it is a proven recipe for propagating and legitimizing terrorism and other societal vices. It is the surest means of encouraging people to resort to arms and violence to eke a living. One of the worst things people do is to do wrong things and encourage others to do so. Dialogue with terrorists and bandits sends a clear message or lends credence to the fact that violence and criminality are potential business ventures and that governments are ready, willing, and able to negotiate and dialogue with those who wield guns and ordinances (bombs). This cowardly approach emboldens perpetrators of evils against the Nigerian State, encouraging them to continue their nefarious activities, knowing too well that they will richly be rewarded with concessions and wealth. Terrorists and bandits do not care a hoot about whose ox is gored. They thrive on chaos and anarchy. They have no interest in genuine and permanent dialogue or peaceful resolutions. Prof., without any equivocation, you know that they hate peace and stability. If there is peace and security, how will they and their financiers earn billions of dollars from government? They want dialogue and negotiation with governments today, tomorrow, and next tomorrow (ad infinitum) in order to grow and flourish more and more. The more any boneless government gives them chance for dialogue and negotiation, the more ransoms they demand for; the more richer they become, and the more weaponized they are more than the Nigerian Army. With more ransoms, they build industries. Presently, it is on record that Boko Haram has successfully built and established some functional manufacturing companies across Africa and Arab Peninsula countries though not in their names. One of them is called Leaf Tobacco & Commodities Ltd. It has branches in Africa and Asia. The Northerners know about it as truth.  

Prof., you have shown unflinching support and concern for the murderers and rapists, but you don't care about thousands of Nigerians who died in the hands of the terrorists and bandits you Northern elites established for your ulterior motives. It doesn't concern you how bereaved families cope with the loss of their dear ones. A lot of children are out of school today because they have no parents to pay their school fees. It doesn't concern you that over 650, 000 rural dwellers are displaced in Benue State alone, and another 2.7 million in the western part of Plateau State are also displaced, wearing rags and turned into refugees in their own country. All these displaced victims are Christians. Their dreams are shattered by terrorists' activities against them. Do you know that thousands of girls and young women (many of them are married) are held up in hostages in the forests and rocks of the North? They are forcefully subjected to sexuality daily. Some of them have born children there. Their parents do not know their children's whereabouts till today. Inspite of that, an internatiovnally-acclaimed academician like you is toeing the path of barbarism and injustice just because of selfish interests and tribal sentiments. Do you know that some of your colleagues in the diaspora have heard that you supported terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, and burning of Churches? Prof., you goofed so much! According to a reliable report from a kidnapped medical doctor whom I met in Minna, Niger State, nothing can be as hellish as somebody kidnapped by bandits. 

 The doctor told me how terrorists use and change women like handkerchiefs. Some of them have up to 20 girls for one man. They defile them daily with impunity. Those that tried to escape were caught and cut into pieces. Some parts of their bodies were thrown into burning fire in the forest. They do not kill with gun. They cut them gruesomely into pieces with knives. Did you hear that, Prof.? All these innumerable calamities have befallen Nigeria because the Fulani Elders are strongly behind the devils and Tinubu is afraid to take a bold action against them. How many times have you asked Government to compensate some families which lost so many lives? Some families were totally wiped out. The Benue State nursing mother that lost her husband and five children is a citizen of Nigeria too. Why don't you ask government to compensate some of them who lost husbands, wives, sons, and daughters? You refused to do the needful and ended up warning that there should be no military action against terrorists and bandits in Nigeria as if you have the ability to slap President Tinubu's face if he does that. You even went ahead to call those Fulani armed robbers "freedom fighters", as if you don't know the meaning of freedom fighters. You forgot that freedom fighters are not killers. They are not kidnappers. They are not rapists. They dont burn Churches with worshippers in them alive. They don't demand for ransoms because nobody is under their custody. They don't destroy crops in the farmlands the way Fulani jihadists do. They don't catch farmers and impose annual royalties on them. If the terrorists and bandits had killed your wives, sons and daughters in the most gruesome manners as they did to others, would you sincerely have stood against a military action against them? No! You would have supported a swift military action against them to avenge your wives and children's blood. Now that you lost nobody in the rampage, you are advocating for leniency to them. Now that 99% of people killed by jihadists are Christians, you are celebrating victory in your hearts. How much did the Northern Nigeria politicians pay you to support evil openly and call murderers "freedom fighters" like a stark illiterate? 

You are telling Nigerians that there cannot be any military action either led by President Trump or President Tinubu against terrorists and bandits. But, you want President Tinubu to continue dancing to the music of the North, including the payment of millions of dollars to the Fulani armed robbers and their bank-rollers. Isn't it? You want President Tinubu to dialogue and negotiate with the following Fulani bandit commanders:

1. Bello Turgi:

A notorious terrorist and armed robber, leading daylight and nightfall operations around Zamfara, Sokoto, and Niger States. He's from the same village with Gumi, the anti- Christ. Turgi Bello was responsible for the 2022 Zamfara massacre, where over 200 people: men, women, and children (mostly Christians) were slaughtered. The North knows where he is, but has hidden him. He is Gumi's mentee. It is commonly said that Bello Turgi proudly called banditry "our profession." He is a Fulani bandit commander. Professor Yusuf Usman wants President Tinubu to dialogue with him so that ransom will be paid.

2. Buharin Daji: 

He is a highly notorious bandit. He is a Fulani bandit commander. Professor Yusuf Usman wants President Tinubu to dialogue with him and pay him ransom. 

3. Halilu Sububu: 

His father was a notorious armed robber who was a thorn in the flesh of the North. His son took after him. He is a Fulani bandit commander. Professor Yusuf Usman wants President Tinubu to dialogue with him and pay him ransom so stop the Sun from falling on the head of Nigeria. 

4. Dogo Gide:

He is a fierce bandit commander. He is a Fulani jihadist too. Professor Yusuf Usman wants President Tinubu to dialogue with him and pay him a princely ransom too.

5. Ada Aleru:

He is another Fulani bandit commander whom Professor Yusuf Usman wants President Tinubu to go and bow before him and give him princely ransom under the euphemism of dialogue. 

6. Isyaku Boderi:

He is also a notorious Fulani bandit commander. Professor Yusuf Usman is also advocating that President Tinubu should dialogue with him and pay him a benefiting ransom. 

7. Nasanda:

He is another highly notorious Fulani bandit commander. Professor Yusuf Usman is also asking President Tinubu to dialogue with this armed robber too, and pay him a worthy ransom. 

8. Dankarami:

He is also a dangerous Fulani bandit commander. Professor Yusuf Usman also wants President Tinubu to go and prostrate before him so that Nigerians would not run short of oxygen supply in their lungs.

All these daring bandits have killed thousands of people for many years. They walk freely everywhere in Nigeria. The Fulani leaders adopt the approach of looking at the other side. They share ransoms together with them. Their families are all living in Nigeria with us. Northern communities and villages live together with them in the neighborhoods. They know their respective cattle-grazing routes. Rugas is their common military camps and factories for abducted persons. Why do we have terrorists' mediators, intercessors, and negotiators, yet, without knowing their sponsors? The answer is very clear, except if we intentionally continue to deceive ourselves. All these people from the North who advocate for dialogue and negotiation with the devils are exactly their funders and financiers. Period! The North hides the terrorists and bandits. 

On several occasions, the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa'ad Abubakar III, has falsely claimed that the Fulani jihadists who terrorize Nigeria come from nearby African countries into Nigeria to commit atrocities and escape through the porous borders. But, it is evidently clear that he lied. All the banditry commanders in Nigeria are Nigerian Fulanis. They speak the Nigerian Fulfilde very fluently. Engaging in dialogue and negotiation with the devils legitimizes their actions and gives them a platform to spread their ideology. Government's primary responsibility is to protect citizens, not to dialogue and negotiate with those who hate them and want to harm them. If terrorists and bandits have access to President Tinubu, would they leave him unhurt and unkidnapped? Would they not kidnap him and demand for billion dollars ransom? They will. Dialogue and negotiation should not be option when dealing with those Satan-incarnates. Instead, Government should train a special squad like the ones in Burkina Faso to kill all the terrorists and bandits, including all their funders. Romantizing terrorists and bandits simply implies complicity. No more, no less. Government should focus on building robust security apparatus that can effectively destroy these threats. The argument that dialogue addresses the root causes of terrorism and banditry is flawed. Poverty, unemployment, and marginalization are real issues, but they do not justify terrorism and violence. Banditry and terrorism in Nigeria are not caused by poverty and unemployment. They are cultures of armed criminality and violence, enriching the perpetrators and their mentors. Addressing these issues should be a separate process, not a bargaining chip with terrorists and bandits.

Professor Yusuf Usman, your call for dialogue with criminals and armed robbers, the greatest enemies of Nigeria, is exceedingly puzzling and unbecoming, given the harm these groups have caused. Nigeria needs a zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism and banditry. I know that you have friends and colleagues in Africa and diaspora. Ask your friends in Ghana, Egypt, South Africa, and Kenya if their own governments go into dialogue and negotiations with murderers and rapists. Ask them how many times their governments coughed out whooping millions of dollars and paid to bandits to effect the release of hostages. Ask them also if thousands of their young girls are held up in the forests and rocks of the North by terrorists and bandits, and subjected to forced sexuality daily. Candidly speaking, your dignity has drastically dropped to the lowest ebb by supporting the agents of death, and even calling them "freedom fighters." Which freedom are the Fulanis fighting for? Who conquered them? Who marginalized them? Who took their lands? Which tribe has ruled Nigeria more than the Fulanis even though they are among the last tribes to migrated to this land? Are they not the one which conquered the Hausa kingdoms and subdued them till today? They imposed their own people as rulers over the North. Can you mention one Hausa man who ruled Nigeria as a president? How many Hausas have emerged as governors in the North? You don't know History, sir! How can a learned man like you call Fulani jihadists "freedom fighters"? Are the Fulanis not responsible for the hunger killing Nigeria today? Do the bandits allow people to go to farms except they agree to pay them annual royalties? Are they not the ones destroying farmlands to starve the nation? You have truly provoked the Nigerian people to anger! If you die without apologizing to this nation, you will get it very hot at the other side.

I am disappointed because your position contradicts the principles of truth, justice, and rule of law. The loss of gold is much. The loss of time is more. But, the loss of honour is such a loss that no man can restore. The world is very annoyed with you for supporting terrorists and bandits who killed over 800, 000 people: men, women, and children in the last 20 years. The world is asking what came over you to support and protect murderers, rapists, and arsonists responsible for the displacements of 650, 000 rural dwellers in Benue State alone, and another 2.7 million in Plateau State. Over 4, 000  Churches have been burnt down to ashes with the worshippers burnt inside the buildings alive. Yet, you supported them because of your personal interest, interest of the North, religion, at the expense of national security. I want to tell you that your game is up. President Tinubu will not dialogue and negotiate with the uncircumcised Fulani jihadists any longer. Neither shall he pay you any more ransoms for the release of kidnapped hostages. History will judge the Fulani nation in no distant time!

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