News Investigators/ A public affairs analyst, Mr Edward Auta, has faulted an statement credited to Yusuf Usman, former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), over an alleged plan by the Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, to wage war against the Fulani people.
Mr Auta, a historian and a Public Analyst from Kaduna State, made this known on Sunday in a statement made available to newsmen in Kaduna.
Prof. Usman had reportedly claimed that there was “a plan to wage war against the Fulani people,” which he allegedly rejected on the grounds that it would amount to targeting an ethnic group rather than addressing insecurity.
Mr Auta described the reported comments as misleading, divisive and capable of inciting ethnic tension, adding that at no point had Musa, the Ministry of Defence or the Federal Government threatened to wage war against any ethnic group.
He said: “Mr Musa, both as Chief of Defence Staff and now as Defence Minister, had consistently maintained that the Nigerian state must deploy lawful force against enemies of the state, irrespective of ethnic or religious identity.
“This security posture has contributed to notable improvements in national security and has earned widespread acceptance among Nigerians across ethnic and religious lines, including Fulani communities and respected northern leaders.”
He questioned whether Prof. Usman’s remarks implied that insecurity in the North was being framed as a “Fulani agenda”, warning that such a narrative dangerously ethnicises criminality and undermines national cohesion.
Mr Auta also queried whether the comments demonstrated the level of patriotism and commitment expected in supporting the current administration’s efforts to end over a decade of insecurity, or whether they suggested sympathy for bandits and other non-state armed actors.
He said: “Recall that under previous years, vast parts of the North became theatres of bloodshed, highways were converted into kidnapping corridors, and millions were displaced, but the narrative has begun to change under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“Since June 2023, several notorious bandit commanders have been neutralised, while hundreds of communities previously displaced or held captive have been liberated.”
Mr Auta said President Bola Tinubu’s declaration that all armed non-state actors operating outside state authority will be regarded as terrorists, aligned with Gen. Musa’s long-standing security philosophy.
He added that the president’s assurance that those who perpetrate, finance or facilitate violence will be pursued, resonated with the wishes and aspirations of the majority of Nigerians.
“Any attempt to portray decisive security action as an attack on a particular ethnic group amounts to appeasement of criminal elements and poses a grave threat to national security,” he said.
Mr Auta, however, urged that both serving and former public officials should exercise restraint and avoid reckless statements capable of undermining government policy or inflaming ethnic sentiment.
“Those who openly or indirectly sympathise with terrorists or bandits should either realign with national objectives or be made to face the full consequences of the law as security must be driven by national interest, not sentiment,” he said.
NAN