Hon. Musa Olumayowa Yakubu (MOY), a former House of Representatives aspirant, has voiced his concerns over the comments made by Commander Jerry Omodara (rtd), the Chief Security Officer to the Kogi State government while recently giving a keynote address at the security summit organized by the Okun Development Association (ODA) in Kabba, Kogi State.
Omodara suggested that the rise in insecurity in Kogi West is largely due to the indiscriminate sale of land to non-indigenes by local residents.
In a statement to the media, Hon Musa said, “There can never be an immediate cause without a remote one or a significant flaw. You can’t see smoke without fire.”
While we can’t deny that selling land to ‘strangers’ from the north might be seen as a major factor in the insecurity in Kogi West, we need to ask ourselves how these outsiders ended up in Kogi West in the first place. Did they just wander in and ask to buy land? Were they invited? If so, who was it that extended that invitation?”
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“Let’s take a moment to reflect on nearly a decade ago when we enjoyed peace and unity. Our land was safe, and we felt secure with the few outsiders living among us. But then, something changed in November 2017, shattering our harmonious existence. The APC-led state government publicly announced that herdsmen were invited to graze in Kogi State. This was the beginning of the unfortunate situation we find ourselves in today.”
In an urgent meeting with state security stakeholders, which included traditional leaders, Fulani settlers, political officials, and security agents, the then governor Yahaya Bello expressed his opposition to the anti-grazing laws that some of his counterparts had put in place in response to the ongoing clashes between Fulani herdsmen and farmers across various other states, the governor has taken a strong stance against the anti-grazing laws put in place by some of his fellow leaders in Benue and Taraba states, insisting that herdsmen should have the freedom to graze wherever they please in Kogi State. He went on to say that herdsmen could even bring their relatives who have been displaced from other states to Kogi. He firmly stated, “I will not enforce any law that stops Fulani herdsmen from entering Kogi State. I will not back any legislation that restricts them from carrying out their usual activities here.”
He even threatened, “We will remove any traditional leader in a locality where such restrictions are imposed, including dismissing any local government administrator—whether they were appointed or elected.” This has led to a significant increase in the number of herdsmen coming into our Kogi West region”
“To show his seriousness, the governor announced, “From now on, there must be a representative of the Fulani in the local traditional council. This should also be reflected at the area traditional council, and the Secretary to the State Government must ensure that a Fulani representative is included in the state council. This will ensure that the Fulani are kept informed and involved in the state’s decision-making processes.”
This one decision has allowed herdsmen to encroach upon many of our lands. After all, the highest authority in the state has issued an executive order giving the Fulani the power to influence decisions about our territory.
“The governor also instructed his Special Adviser on Security Matters, who is none other than Commander Omodara, to start the process of taking a census of Fulani residents in all 21 councils in the state. Now, nearly a decade later, can we ask the CSO for the results of that census, if it even took place?”
Is it not painfully obvious how we ended up in this situation? We will always speak the truth, and the truth will set us free,” Hon Musa concluded.
