Taraba-based pro democracy organisation, Good Governance Group (GGG), is alleging that the All Progressive Congress- led federal government is planning to slam a state of emergency on Taraba state. In a statement signed by the group’s PRO, Ahmadu Sale, the group said a reliable source within the military hinted them of the plans which is in its advanced stage.
Sale said, “ever since Senator Yusuf A Yusuf made a call for an emergency rule in Taraba state, he and his cohorts in the APC have been busy. As we write this, plans have reached an advanced stage to slam our dear state with an emergency rule. Senator Yusuf made that call and now it is being seriously followed up. In fact, it has been finalized already by some top politicians and retired/serving generals who are Fulani by tribe. Even Senator Aisha Alhassan Jummai, minister of women affairs, condemned the call recently in her press briefing where she said an emergency rule would bring untold hardship to the people. But, inspire of her calls, and she is of the opposition too, surreptitious move had continued. Now they have finished the plans.
That’s why Miyetti Allah boycott the Public Hearing on the anti grazing bill yesterday. They are now waiting for a state of emergency since they have been assured of this. This is also why a certain lawyer, Yusuf Dankofa, a professor of law, has given the FG a seven day ultimatum. But they won’t succeed. You can’t impose a state of emergency on a peaceful state. This is not the first time there has been crisis on the Mambilla or anywhere else for that matter. You don’t go about slamming states of emergency anywhere there is a flare in relationships. In any case, the Sarduana crisis are not new and they are unrelated to the current issues of a bill that has not become law yet. We are using this medium to appeal to all people of goodwill to save our state from this invasion. We knew that minister of interior, General Abdulrahman Dambazau visit to Taraba state was an ill wind and a harbinger.
That’s how his visit many years ago led to a state of emergency in Plateau State. Now they want to do the same here. We have it on good authority that the plans have gone more than half way. They want to take Taraba by force and by all means necessary. Their plan is to embarrass General TY Danjuma (rtd). This is the same General Danjuma that supported the emergence of APC as the ruling party today.
This is how APC wants to reward him? But look at this: with all the horrible crisis in Borno state, they didn’t slam a state of emergency there. With all that is going on in Kaduna state, especially Southern Kaduna, no one has said anything about emergency rule. When Fulani were killing people in southern Taraba, there were no words on emergency rule. But now that Fulani are claiming to be at the receiving end of an unfortunate crisis on the Mambilla, we are suddenly hearing of emergency rules. The governor of Taraba state has asked this question and we shall repeat it here: are Fulani lives the only lives that matter to the federal government? Why is the response stamina of the federal government not uniform in all crisis? How come they were so swift in rushing to the Mambilla but stayed away when Fulani were killing people in Takum, Issac, Bali, Gassol and everywhere else? We shall continue to resist all attempt to truncate democracy in Taraba. We shall not allow the mandate of Governor Darius Ishaku be stolen through the backdoor.”
