A song celebrating the famous bandit boss, Bello Turji, is trending in northern Nigeria to the outrage of many residents who have suffered from the continued atrocities of bandits in the regions.
Mr. Turji, from Shinkafi in Zamfara State, is believed to lead gangs terrorizing communities in Sokoto, Zamfara and parts of the Republic of Niger.
Gangs are responsible for the killing and displacement of hundreds of residents. A characteristic act of the gangs was the December 6 massacre of travelers who were burned alive on the bus in which they were traveling in the Local Government Area of Isa de Sokoto State.
The approximately 14-minute long song was performed in Hausa by a man who identified himself in the song as Adamu Ayuba with the female chorus hailing Mr. Turji as a hero among heroes.
Turji’s atrocities
Last week, the Gobir Community Development Association (GCDA) through its leader, Ibrahim Alhassan, wrote an open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari about the fate of the area.
The group said the bandit Turji has usurped the authority of the federal, state and local governments, the Sultanate of Sokoto, the Shinkafi Emirate in Zamfara state and all the heads of districts and villages under them.
The group said that Sabon Birni, Goronyo and Isa LGA in Sokoto state and Shinkafi LGA in Zamfara state are now under the firm control of Turji, with his troops kidnapping and raping at will. “He blocks roads, loots markets, confiscates food and whatever material he wants and kills anyone who resists,” the letter to Mr Buhari reads in part.
“Fire the village chiefs and appoint your own village chiefs. Collect taxes from the communities. If any village fails to pay its taxes, Bello Turji visits with an instant and ruthless attack and kills anyone he can find, including women and children.
“Among the villages that Turji ransacked were Gajit, Lajinge, Tarah, Unguwar Lalle, Kurawa, Gangara and Garin Idi. A month earlier, Bello Turji looted the village of Garki, five kilometers from Sabon Birni, and killed 80 people in one night.
“On Tuesday of last week, this bandit carried out one of his most heinous acts yet. His thugs stopped a bus from Sabon Birni to Gusau, set it on fire and burned 23 people alive. His men stood guard around the bus as people were roasted.
“There is no agriculture, no travel, no markets. The biggest problem we face today is that you are at home and terrorists come and mistreat you in front of your family. And all the communities that I told you about pay taxes and have paid. But even though they have paid, they have not found peace, ”the group said in the open letter.
Convictions
Abba Ya’u, a resident of Kano, described the song released in praise of Mr. Turji as shocking, adding that “it has exposed complicity in the fight against banditry in the area.
How can a rational-thinking person sing a song for a bandit who is causing mayhem, killing innocent people? To be frank with you, our people are not serious.
“This banditry will only come to an end when the community wants it to end because it is a community problem,” Ya’u said.
Another Kano resident, Abbdullahi Kausi, also said the government is handling the problem with children’s gloves, which, he said, has forced some residents to support bandits in exchange for protection.
Kausi said that someone singing a song for Turji, a renowned assassin, shows that the problem is community-based and that people must wake up and address it at the community level by identifying the accomplices of banditry.
“The federal government must guarantee the autonomy of the local government by bringing the government closer to the locals with total financial autonomy. That will alleviate the suffering at the grassroots and help address the problem of banditry, ”he said.
Abubakar Danhausa, another defendant in Kano, called for the singer’s arrest. “He must be arrested and treated like a bandit, most have been one of his informants.”
He said that the pampering of criminals by some state governments motivated the singer. “Many people are still aware of how one of the state governments gave money to bandits for the peaceful conduct of the 2019 elections.”
Nazifi Scorer, another Kano resident, said the musician must be one of them to find out where Turji lives and urged security agencies to arrest him to take them to the place where Turji is hiding.
“The late Mamman Shata is a popular musician in the north. He sang many songs for many people but he never sang for a person he did not know because most of them usually gave him money in appreciation.
“So also, this man who sings for the leader of a criminal gang knows him, he needs to be arrested,” Scorer said.
Nura Habib, a tailor in Kano, said the singer was emboldened because the government is reluctant to broach the issue. He said that was causing some people to line up with the bandits.
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“If the government doesn’t take this seriously, the worst will come. Many innocent people will side with criminals because they have no alternative, ”Habib warned.