Hunting expeditions are going on in Nigeria. They started from Mr. Obasanjo’s regime, who either neglected them or condoned them. They were called Jos Riots but the expeditions quickly spread to other cities in North Central Zone. Some of the killings were seen as a hunt for the Igbo and then a hunt for Christians. It quickly expanded to being migrant cattle grazers vs. farmers, natives vs. colonizers, etc. Whatever the name or the perception, the hunters were bagging their game (human beings) in large numbers. We do not know why Mr. Obasanjo did not tackle the hunters given his reputation for crushing his enemies or perceived state enemies.
Some people have alleged that this was because the hunting expedition was initially perceived as hunting for Igbo heads. I doubt this but such believers have not giving up and are still pushing the thought. What is clear is that the hunting for human heads is still going on at an increasing, increasing-rate. It is now concentrated in NE states with occasional warnings sent to Kano and Abuja. It is also clear the harvest (human heads) has been plentiful. Only yesterday 40 people were bagged. The hunters now include Boko Haram and the Nigeria military. In 2014 the killed number is in the thousands and as is true with numbers in Nigeria, nobody knows what the exact number is. One side captures Mubi and the other fights back and recaptures. Each capture and recapture bags a few heads. It is Nigeria and Biafra in Owerri all over again.
It appears to this writer that something could be done to minimize the hunting expeditions. As stated earlier the killings started in the NC zone. It still happens there but at a decreasing rate. I suspect that the attention paid to loss of lives in NC by state governments had something to do with the minimization of impact of the expeditions. The hunters live in the community and can be identified and dealt with. I believe that is what happened in NC. Why has NE governors not done the same thing? Have they studied the measures taken by their peers of NC?
I already know the questions or explanations coming from Ayo Ojutalayo and Mustapha: “It is the duty of the Federal Government under Jonathan to maintain law and order and to provide security to the country.” This view point has merit. We pay them a lot of money to carry out this responsibility (or rather they take a lot of our money). But the citizens have the responsibility to help them carry out this responsibility. It is called community policing. The hunters live in our mist. If we identify them and point them out to the FG may be they would harvest them. If the state governments that have security budget also could use a little of it in identifying the hunters maybe the military then could be more effective. One thing should also be clear fighting guerillas and defeating them is a very difficult thing to accomplish. The reason for this is that the guerillas dictate the pace and the place of engagement. They control the schedule. There is not a battalion on this side and “our battalion” on the other side. The entire nation is the battle field.
What is the answer?
The solution is rather obvious and simple. At least on the surface. Nigerians, individually and collectively would have to decide that hunting and killing Nigerians in thousands is a worthy or not activity. If we agree that it should stop then we work together to stop it. We join hands with each other to identify the perpetrators and hand them over to the military and police for prosecution. The more we identify them the weaker the hunters become. The harvest will become leaner.
What the answer is not is what we are seeing now. It is not APC blaming Jonathan and PDP for political gain. It is not Jonathan and PDP blaming Buhari and APC. It is not getting help from the West or the East or from Israel. We can continue with the blame game until the chickens come home to roost. And the problem will be there and more Nigerians are bagged as game. Just remember that the game are our husbands, brothers, wives, sisters, mothers, girlfriends, boyfriends and children. The Igbo say: “Onwehe ebe eji azu aga” loosely translated as one does not get far walking backwards.
Onwehe ebe aji azu aga.
Written by Benjamin Obiajulu Aduba.
