Many often, we chose to eliminate the importance of history, not by the effort of western education, but by neglecting the stories that haunted our past. David McCullough mentioned that ‘history is who we are and why we are the way we are’. Unfortunately, we are drastically obliterating the essence of knowing how we began and how we inherited the condition we are in. Sometimes, to know our history, is somehow, to know the truth about our situations. Karl Marx, was right when he said that ‘revolutions are the locomotives of history’. In what way, have some of us thought of the present chaotic condition that is staring us in the face?
There were two ethnic groups told in the history, called the Huntu and Tutsi. It happened that among these two groups, what demarcated them was just physical structure. Tutsi people were said to be lanky, while the Huntus are not. Surprisingly, the two ethnic groups, enjoy the same culture, the same language, neither of them has a difficulty in understanding themselves. This is to say, that language or tradition wasn’t a barrier. One of the greatest challenge spoken of was that the Huntu faction was mounting the weight of dominance on the people of Tutsi and considering how tall they are, they are likely to be a peril to realising their objectives.
The people of Huntu were said to be greater in number and they want to achieve their goals by appropriating the Tutsi to themselves. They began by labelling them infidels and raising propaganda that they originated from Ethiopia. In 1916, when the Belgian Colonists arrived in the country, they decided to print a new identity card for everyone and making the people of Tutsi (the minority) enjoy most of the Federal economy. Noticing the ill-treatment, they became indignant on the people of Tutsi, and have laid many traps to extract them from the populace.
As time goes on, resentment among the Huntus gradually enlarged, culminating in a series of riots in 1959. Approximately 20,000 Tutsis were killed, and many more fled to neighbouring countries like Burundi, Tanzania and Uganda.
Towards the time the Belgium colonists relinquished power and granted the country independence in 1962, the Huntus took their place. Over subsequent decades, the Tutsis were portrayed as the casualties of every crisis. This became the case that the country under the watch of the incumbent President Juvenal began to grow poorer.
It was later found that the Tutsi, who were refugees in other countries, formed a group called RPF, which was headed by Mr. Kagame. Their major reason was to bring justice to themselves and for that to be possible, they need to expropriate the present administration of the country and find their way into their homeland. The present President decided to exploit the threat as a way to lobby for the support of Huntus. Owning to that political treason, the people of Tutsi, who were residents of the country, were taken to be the RPF bystanders. Later on, in August 1993, a peace pact was signed, even though it never restored the political reels that overwhelmed the country.
A few months later, President Juvenal’s plane was shot down and the people of Huntu nursed that the carriers of the act, were the remnants of Tutsi. Because of that, they launched an attack on the people of Tutsi. The presidential guard initiated an unofficial announcement and recruited other security guards, politicians, businessmen and even young people of Huntu to kill every Tutsi people. In the process of carrying the heinous act, they were given incentives like money, food and were informed that they have the right to possess the land of any Tutsi person they kill. The mayhem claimed about 30,000 lives.
Towards the middle of 1994, the RPF group captured the capital territory and the government collapsed. At about two million Huntu people dashed out to Zaire, where we commonly call the Democratic Republic of Congo. Soon after, the country was restored with Pasteur Bizimungu, a Huntu as President and Mr. Kagame a Tutsi as the deputy. Much later, the pair fell apart and President Bizimungu was accused of inciting ethnic violence. He was jailed, while Mr. Kagame, a Tutsi, later became the President.
What you just read was the history of Rwanda. I decided to fling back the story because I felt most of you are already at home with the story of the Biafran war. I am writing as a Nigerian, who has read histories of many African countries, reeled off by war and political nepotism. I am having the thought that a good number of us, especially from the Eastern part of Nigeria, have forgotten what happened fifty-three years ago in Nigeria under the leadership of President Yakubu Gowon. I wouldn’t want to bore you again with that story, including how millions were starved to death. It is pertinent to remind you that there is a need to understand the handwriting on the wall and make haste before we become a waste under this section of slaughtering and maiming and ejecting people from their ancestral home, become normal.
To begin with, the RPF, means Rwanda Patriotic Fronts, while ESN means Eastern Security Network. The duo is typically related and used to achieve a positive goal. The Huntu people conceived the RPF as a pure political threat, whereas their major role, was to get back what belongs to them. The government of Nigeria has chosen to tag ESN as a terrorist group, simply because they are standing to defend the incessant killings been perpetrated by Fulani Herdsmen. I will like to take us back to Rwandan history, where the people of Huntu took the Tutsi as non-loyalists. And since the country was ruled by a Huntu descent, they took the bull by the horn to make the Tutsi group restless until they submit to their authority.
Let it be clear to you that I am not instigating rancour, anarchy or societal upheaval, but to notify us that if we relent in fighting for our rights and what personally belongs to us, which is the right to live and freedom as well, they will never let us rest, until they achieve their agenda. That we are asking the incumbent President of Nigeria to speak up or grant us a referendum, is never a wrong request. We are entitled by the Federal constitution to have a response to the killings that is sporadically claiming each city of the country, before twenty-four hours and failure to comply, means that he is aware of the coup.
And for the Christian people, which include all the denomination, should, as a matter of fact, bounce back to action, rather than prayer and reliance on prophecies alone. This is not the time to dwell in the house of God, jumping up and down. Remember, that one of the primary targets of the Huntu Militia, was the Churches, and it will interest you to know that such is applicable by the Fulani herdsmen. Quit the excuse that you are not ready to fight or your commandments forbid murder. If that is preoccupying your mind, let me for clarity sake intimate you about Saint Thomas Aquinas’ theory of Just War, which was an earlier postulation of St. Augustine of Hippo.
The classic Just-War Theory has its origins in Christian theology. Aquinas referred to the Bible and regarded some wars as necessary
to amend an evil. Notably, he revised Augustine’s version, creating three criteria for a just war, which include, that the war needed to be waged by a legitimate authority, have just cause and have the right intentions. The moral justifications for war are expressed in ‘jus ad bellum’; whereas, the moral conduct of the war is expressed in ‘jus in bello’. Furthermore, he outlined seven characters that can justify a Just-War, which include:
i) A just war can only be waged after all peaceful options are considered. Which means that the use of force can only be employed as a last resort.
ii) A just war is waged by a legitimate authority. A war cannot be waged by individuals or groups that do not constitute a legitimate government.
iii) A just war needs to be in response to a wrong suffered. Self-defence against an attack always constitutes a just war; however, the war needs to
be fought with the objective to correct the inflicted wound.
iv) In order for a war to be just, there must be a rational possibility of success. A nation cannot enter into a war with a hopeless cause.
v) The primary objective of a just war is to re-establish peace. This is to reaffirm that the aim of the use of force must be justice.
vi) The violence in a just war must be proportional to the casualties suffered. The nations involved in the war must avoid disproportionate military
action and only use the amount of force absolutely necessary.
vii) The use of force must distinguish between the militia and civilians. Innocent citizens must never be the target of war; soldiers should always avoid killing civilians. The deaths of civilians are only justified when theyare unavoidable victims of a military attack on a strategic target.
In the ratio of six over seven, you can see that fighting back is legitimate and there is nothing wrong with self-defence. This is for those, who will raise arguments that when it is not monitored by the government, it is rebellious.
To our Eastern Governors, however, it is time for you to understand that the growling of the electorates should matter to you. The quicker you abort the rat chasing, by giving support, not just in the installation of Ebubeagu group, it will lessen the destruction of your personal goods and the goods of the state. If something is not done, by placing the security of your people as the central issue, you may not as the security tension continues, have peace of mind.
