By Jude Ndukwe
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 Clarke 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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