EbonyHerald Stores Ebony Herald News24
Related Articles
LAKURAWA: RELIGIOSITY OR HUNGER DRIVEN.
Since last year, especially from December 2023, we have witnessed how our region and the people continue facing evolving banditry and difficult challenges along the borders of our towns, villages and even our boarding institutions. We continue to ask ourselves how best can we manage the menace of banditry and kidnappings of our citizens, and how can we prepare ourselves to respond to this inhuman scourge around us with courage and conviction to fight it.
The recent interview with Dr Murtala Ahmad Rufa’i of Usman Danfofio University, Sokoto that went viral on social media highlighted a renewed scourge with the reentry of LAKURAWA Bandits in and around Sokoto, Kebbi and the contiguous states including the Republic of Niger, Mali and Burkina-Faso.
From the interview, we were made to understand that the coming of this group was not new and was firstly initiated by the elders and stakeholders of these communities who sought their help in checkmating the activities of the home grown bandits in the likes of Bello Turji, Dogo-Gide, Kachalla etc, who kept terrorising the communities by kidnapping the people for monetary ransoms and rustling their livestocks.
I have recognised that the anchor to the interview is indeed someone who is very familiar to the interviewer as well as knowledgable of the areas where these crimes are being committed. It is my conviction never to grant recognition to any interview conducted if the interviewer has not familiarised himself to the area the person is being interviewed.
HISTORY OF INVOLVEMENT OF LAKURAWA IN NOGERIA.
The synopsis of involvement suggest the followings:
That the LAKURAWA also known as JAMIL (Jama’atu Islami) is a 25 years old Jihadist movement that lived in Nigeria for about 8 years, with intent to create Islamic Republic either in Nigeria or in the Republic of Niger.
Its membership is made up of
many tribes from the Sahel region of Mali, Niger, Nigeria, B/Faso, Libya etc, principally the Hausas, Fulanis, Kanuris, Zabarmawa, Touregs/Buzaye, and some other tribes. It is headed by a Malian named Ahmadu Kofa whose ancestry is traced to Tangaza/ Balle/ Kudu in Sokoto/Kebbi states in Nigeria.
EXTRA-TERRITORIAL INVOLVEMENT.
At the height of insurgency and kidnappings in Zamfara State around 2016, community leaders of Tangaza/Balle and Kudu decided to invite their kinsmen, LAKURAWA with whom they had inter marriage relationships, to help in checkmating the activities of the Bandits. It was after succeeding in the operations, that they remained behind and enforced their sectarian beliefs on the community, especially around Kudu where Danfodio settled after his migration from Degel to avoid threats from Sarkin Gobir of that time.
Presently, LAKURAWA entered Nigeria from Niger where they are being fought by the Nigerien security. They have spread all over Kebbi and Sokoto states including town and villages of Augie, Tagimba, Tangaza, Illela, Gwadabawa, Kwari, Silani, Binji and Kangiwa. They are highly mobile and cannot be pinned on one location. They move around on their motorbikes and could hardly be engaged militarily, unlike our local bandits whose parents and relatives are known and could easily be located, identified and engaged.
LAKURAWA group uses the ongoing hunger and redundancy to recruit Nigerian youth. This particular group is known to be proficient in using modern arsenal and were observed deploying Drones in their operations. These drones were sighted in Balle and the surrounding districts.
Their previous philanthropic gestures on their first visit to Nigeria remained very dear to those communities who invited them and encouraged their settlement by marrying into their communities. Their successes against local Bandits was legendary and was responsible for the sympathy they enjoyed in the past.
LESSONS FROM THE INTERVIEW
The interview was very incisive. Dr Murtala Ahmed Rufa’i spent close to an hour drawing from historical antecedence, how the group was intent at establishing Islamic state like all separatist groups; Boko Haram and other similar separatist organisations.
Governor Babagana Umara Zulum of Borno State has highlighted the improper teaching of Islamic knowledge/studies as a contributing factor to the Boko Haram and similar religious motivated insurgencies in the region. This statement makes a lot of sense, especially when you realize that the problem in Northern Nigeria is our unwillingness to speak in the language of sincerity. We, in the North cannot declare that we are not part of the problem, for reality denies it. In many communities, the number of destitute youth and elderly found has more than doubled, a trend that reflects precipitous rise in conflicts and school dropouts
We are a significant portion of Nigeria’s government, with ministerial portfolios and cabinet members. We make up nearly 60 percent of the population (and a far large proportion of those clamoring for Islamic/Sharia regime) soliciting and receiving help from Islamic states and many of our people are proud of it.
On the other hand, we struggle to grant official recognition to Islamic identity, which could harm the fragile nature of our communities and threaten the communal identity and belief.
Lacking sincerity, we are overly occupied with unconvincing justifications for our refusal to confront these sects who are brain washing our societies into confusion and instability. Indeed, without reforms for the Almajiri education system, focusing on integrating more comprehensive educational practices to prevent negative outcomes associated with traditional methods, our societies are doomed for a start.
Whether you’re new to studying Qur’an and islamic law or you’re well-versed in Hadith and Shari’a texts, Dr Murtala Ahmed Rufa’i and Borno state Governor Zulum’s insights will help you connect even the most obscure injunctions to the fabrics of our life and our history.
Time has come where we must be able to discover and understand how Islam has influenced our history, and how it can help preserve the culture of our people.
Malam Mohammed Kabir Ilyasu a retired foreign affairs officer author and public affairs analyst writes from Kaduna Nigeria
15th November 2024
