Ortom to Presidency: I wonder what you smoke in the Villa

Mohammed O.Taoheed

Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has asked those in the Presidential Villa in Abuja what they smoke that makes them reason the way they do.

He was reacting to a reply of presidential aide, Garba Shehu, that President Buhari gave a upper hand to herders.

Ortom had said the President had ordered security agents to be soft towards herdsmen killing people in parts of the country, especially Benue State.

But reaction, Shehu faulted the governor on several parameters on which he based his comment.

However, the Benue State Governor, who spoke through his Principal Special Assistant (New Media), Raymond Magen, said: “While being a weak line in the hope of making a rebuttal of the governor’s revelation, it smacks of ignorance to make the claim generally, that, Nigeria’s top security personnel would not share confidential information with a state governor. To be clear: on a number of cases, they do. And for a state governor battling with herdsmen attacks, it’s a no brainer, he must have feedback from all security outfits involved in arresting the herder attacks. And such feedback always includes “off record” or ‘don’t quote me’, information.

“But then, Shehu would also add that, if indeed Gov Ortom is saying the truth, he should ‘name names’. In Garba’s words: ‘Let him name the military personnel who told him this story’.

“I once wrote that, I wonder what they smoke there at the villa.

“Garba’s outing here reinforces my curiosity.

“If Garba expects Ortom to give out the identities of people who give him information on their devilish plans, he’s clearly overrated.

“It’s sufficient that they know, the Governor and the country now knows of this order that has long been widely thought of as, merely the body language of the President.

“It’s worse. It’s now a communicated order.

“In phrasing the title for his State House press release on the subject, Shehu coined it ‘Ortom’s lies insults nation’s security system’.

“An alternative title more befitting, I might add, would be ‘Ortom’s revelation helps in understanding the emboldened attacks on communities by armed herdsmen’.

“This is especially so because, one can now make better sense of the prevalence on the one hand, of gun wielding herdsmen freely moving across the country and the shoot on sight order for possessors of AK 47 – the latter, being a so-called Presidential order.

“There is now, a guided understanding to how particular weapons are strangely withdrawn from battle fields wherein their use was mostly responsible for inflicting high number casualties on enemies of state. It addresses our curiosities (Ortom’s revelation) on strange military tactics like sending out numbered personnel to battle fields with weapons that, easily gathered intelligence already points to possession of way higher grade weaponry by the enemy. It addresses our sense of wonder and helps our appreciation of the many puzzles on bizarre military responses with regards timing, armed levels, personnel numbers, reluctance or refusal to go after known targets/camps etc.

“To have as President, someone with a military background, should ordinarily assure of their loyalty to country, their broad mindedness and triumph over such common prejudices as ethnicity, religion, region etc. Instead, we have a soldier who embraces vulnerabilities in these areas and presides over country with every security decision and appointment influenced by these parochial leanings. Shame!

“It does point to a deep sense of dissatisfaction, frustration, when high placed military personnel begin to reveal unpopular orders. When these reveals do not lead to reviews and then reversals, options available as resorts are considered and they may not be pleasant options. Ortom’s revelation can not be waved aside.