At the advent of renewed mindless attacks by Fulani herdsmen on
fellow Nigerians with the height of it all coming in Agatu and Enugu where, as
usual, hundreds of innocent and defenceless citizens were mowed down in cold
blood, invasions which caused a huge outcry among well-meaning Nigerians and
the international community, several eminent Nigerians have risen in defence of
the herdsmen designated the fourth most dangerous terrorist group in the world
by the Global Terror Index, claiming an alibi for them by saying that they are
not Nigerians.
Sometime earlier this year, Lai Mohammed, the nation’s Minister of
Information and Culture, had claimed that the violent herdsmen were not
Nigerians but that they migrated from countries like Mauritius and others.
About the same time, Heineken Lokpobiri, the Minister of State for
Agriculture, had also claimed, during a public hearing set up on the Fulani
herdsmen attacks, that “…the herdsmen attacking Nigerians across the country
are not Fulani but another gang of Boko Haram insurgents from other countries”.
Not done, another high-ranking government official in the person
of Audu Ogbeh also came out to say that many of the herdsmen were not
Nigerians.
Although Nigerians have insisted that the herdsmen were not only
Nigerians, but also terrorists of Fulani descent, there seems to be an
ill-thought out script by the oligarchs of Fulani origin and their misguided
collaborators from the Middle Belt and the South to push the heinous crime of
these terrorist herdsmen to places of no connection with the sad development
all in a bid to continue to shield the criminals from scrutiny while they have
a field day executing the evil agenda of the script writers against their
southern brothers using the Fulani militia.
As if to confirm the existence of such a script meant to create an
alibi for a murderous lot, the Sultan of Sokoto, a foremost
traditional/religious leader, during the last Sallah festivities, and in his
usual message to Nigerian Muslims as part of activities marking the religious
observances, had declared to the consternation of many that the rampaging
Fulani herdsmen terrorists are not native Fulani whom he described as “very
peace-loving and law-abiding” people.
When a man of that calibre makes a pronouncement, it has to be
taken seriously especially as he is known to have also caused the extension of
a national holiday by an extra day single-handed through instructions to the
federal government.
However, the fact of the matter remains that these terrorist
-Fulani herdsmen are not only Nigerians, they are exactly who they are: Fulani!
The facts are there for all to see.
In an exclusive interview with Premium Times, Saleh Bayeri, who
was (as at the time of the interview) the Interim National Secretary of Gan
Allah Fulani Association, had narrated the reason behind the gruesome attack on
the people of Agatu community in Benue State, claiming that the attack was
actually a reprisal for the killing of one Ardo Madaki, a prominent Fulani man
back in 2013. The newspaper confirmed in its piece that the Gan Allah Fulani
Association is an umbrella body of Fulani associations in Nigeria.
Also, sometime in May, one Muhammadu Zurai, a Fulani reported to
hail from Taraba State, and among the major actors of the massacre carried out
on Nimbo community, Uzo-Uwani, Enugu State, confessed to the killings,
describing it as vengeance on the people of that community. Narrating how the
attack was coordinated, Zurai “confessed that they were more than 100 and were
selected from different states especially from Taraba, Kogi, Benue, Nasarrawa,
Kastina, Niger and Kaduna states” to execute the mass murder. These states are
not in Mauritius or Libya, or Mali, or Niger, or Chad. They are all Nigerian
states.
Therefore, it becomes a subject that everyone should be sincerely
concerned about that despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, some
northern leaders and elders are still living in denial. This has further
widened the gulf of suspicion among the various parts of the country as there
are now genuine fears that those who perpetrate these heinous crimes would
never be made to face the wrath of the law.
This also does not in any way present the northern leaders as
sincere especially as the president who himself is Fulani hardly spoke against
the nefarious activities of his kinsmen but only made a passing reference to
them after much pressure from Nigerians. This is unlike the well publicized
tough words and stance he has taken against IPOB and the Niger Delta Avengers.
The implication of this is that these leaders have deliberately
turned a blind eye to a major sore in national peace and security, and the
unfortunate situation continues to endure since no problem is solved that is
not identified. Not to admit that the perpetrators of herdsmen attacks are
Nigerians is a way of sending messages to security agencies that the real
culprits who are obviously Nigerians are untouchable. This is most unfortunate!
These Fulani leaders, whether religious, political or traditional,
must learn from their southern counterparts, who, instead of denying the
existence of hostilities and their perpetrators in the southern part of the
country, have since constructively engaged the aggrieved fighters on ways to
ensure that all hostilities cease as soon as possible. They have not only
acknowledged the hostilities, they have always had the courage to even refer
the perpetrators as ‘sons’, promising to help bring the hostilities to an end.
Hence, Pa Edwin Clark has been seen and heard calling his ‘sons’
to order; governor Seriake Dickson has been seen organizing town hall meetings
on how to stop the hostilities; governor Nyesom Wike has been issuing warnings
and threats to whoever is involved in giving his state/region a bad name;
governors Okezie Ikpeazu, Willie Obiano and other south eastern governors have
been seen organizing peace meetings and supporting the security agencies in
their respective domains with logistics to root out criminality no matter who
is involved. The list goes on and on. That is the way to go!
But what do we have our northern leaders do? They keep denying the
ethnic origin of a well established terror group while their acts of
criminality go unpunished. Such denials embolden the Fulani militia since their
true identities remain covered by their leaders, an act that is easily
interpreted as a tacit support for their nefarious activities, or, which some
have read to mean an undeclared approval for the terror they unleash on
innocent Nigerians. Such denials have also caused criminality by people of the
Hausa/Fulani stock to graduate to religious persecution as Christians have now
become targets of unprovoked attacks in the north.
In situations like this, one expects all Nigerians particularly
the leaders, to rise above partisanship, ethnic or religious considerations in
fighting the nation’s common enemies and help bring perpetrators of violence to
book no matter who they are.
No doubt, the Sultan has the moral and religious clout to call on
leaders and members of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, Gan Allah
Fulani Association and such similar groups whose members have been accused of
being behind this terrorist acts to order just the way his southern counterparts
are doing.
This is the least expected from the Sultan and other leaders of
Hausa/Fulani extraction! The tension in the land is too much for leaders to
continue to live in denial!
—jrndukwe@yahoo.co.uk; Twitter: @stjudendukwe
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