—Part 2 of the Series
“Buhari’s 100 Days—an X-ray”
By Chinweizu
21oct15
President Buhari’s silence
and inaction, during his 100 days, on the issue of Fulani herdsmen seems to
have poured petrol on the long smoldering embers of the Fulani menace in
Nigeria. So there is a need to raise two questions: (a) Is Buhari’s inaction
part of his Caliphate hidden agenda? (b) Is the Sultan of Sokoto, as the
Chairman of the Board of Trustees of MACBAN, the cattle breeders association,
not the Grand Patron of a criminal enterprise--an enterprise that uses, for its
economic gain, the crimes of trespassing, destruction of other people’s
property, kidnapping, arson, murder, ethnic cleansing etc.?
In his Inaugural Address,
President Buhari mentioned some security issues that he would solve as part of
his change agenda. Among them was “herdsmen/farmer clashes”:
“Boko
Haram is not only the security issue bedeviling our country. The spate of
kidnappings, armed robberies, herdsmen/farmers
clashes, cattle rustlings all help to add to the general air of
insecurity in our land. We are going to erect and maintain an efficient,
disciplined people–friendly and well–compensated security forces within an
over–all security architecture.”
-- President Buhari’s inaugural speech, on
May 29, 2015
Though he didn’t give it
the priority and emphasis he gave to Boko Haram, these herdsmen/farmers
clashes
have quickly escalated into a security problem of far greater countrywide
menace than even Boko Haram. Yet he has said nothing and done nothing visible
to solve it. Perhaps his change agenda does not include change in this long-established
security problem in Nigeria. If so why?
As we shall see further
down in this x-ray, because of its territorial scope and its potential to
ignite inter-ethnic war in 5 of the 6 zones of Nigeria, this Fulani menace is
by far a greater threat to the lives of Nigerians and to the peace and
territorial integrity of the Nigerian state than Boko Haram. Yet President
Buhari has thus far chosen to leave it unaddressed. Why?
Reports of the criminal
activities of Fulani herdsmen have captured the headlines since May 29. And
Afenifere, the apex socio-cultural organ of the Yoruba nationality, stung by
the exceptional provocation of the abduction of Chief Olu Falae, a
distinguished Nigerian, Yoruba grandee and one of Afenifere’s leaders, reacted
by renewing its threat of Yoruba secession from Nigeria.
*Buhari
Under
the pressure of bad publicity and the Afenifere threat, the Caliphate has,
among other measures, trotted out one of its Yoruba apologists to try to douse
the political fires. Femi Falana has tried to minimize the problem by reducing
it to one of effective law enforcement. He condemns as “unfortunate”
Afenifere’s escalating the matter to the constitutional and political level
that threatens the integrity of the Nigerian territorial state. According to
Femi Falana:
“But
the crisis of insecurity of life and property in the region became exacerbated
after the 2015 general elections . . .
the kidnap of Chief Olu Falae, a former secretary to the federal government in
his farm in the outskirt of Akure, Ondo state last month added a new dimension
to the kidnap saga in the region. . . . Chief Falae announced last week that
his farm had been invaded . . . and taken over by a group of Fulani nomads. In
a classical display of impunity, the Nigeria Police Force has failed to
dislodge the lawless group.
Instead
of calling on the security agencies to enforce the law by arresting and
prosecuting the group some Yoruba leaders threatened that the south-west region
would secede from Nigeria if Fulani nomads are not banned from entering the
region! It is unfortunate that the senior citizens who issued the threat did
not address the legal implications of their demand. It ought to be pointed out
that every Nigerian has a constitutional right not be expelled from any part of
the country.
. .
. Chief Falae is likely to be pained
that the illegal occupation of his farm by a criminal gang may degenerate to
civil disturbances between Yoruba farmers and Fulani nomads.
More
so, that Chief Falae was at the 2014 National Conference where it was
unanimously agreed by delegates that “In the long term cattle routes and
grazing reserves be phased out to lay emphasis on ranching” and that states
which have large livestock populations should “endeavor to maintain grazing
reserves.” It was further resolved that “An integrated development and
livelihoods modernization program should be designed and implemented to address
the issue of settling nomadic herdsmen into settled communities based on
established cattle ranches with fodder development technologies, and including
abattoirs, processors and other businesses along the livestock value chain.”
The recommendations have been ignored by the Federal Government.
--Beyond Chief Olu Falae’s kidnap, by Femi Falana,
on October 12, 2015
I will later return to the
Confab aspect of Falana’s submission. But let me start by quoting two newspaper
reports that put the Falae matter in its countrywide and historical context.
First, a February 2014
report from Benue State:
Speaking
with newsmen at the Government House yesterday, [Benue State Gov.] Suswam
lamented that the Fulani mercenaries
have continued to wreck havoc on his people despite several efforts by his
administration to foster peace with the herdsmen.
He noted that the average Fulani man now goes about with
AK47, and that if the situation is not
quickly addressed, indigenes might be forced to defend themselves.
“Yesterday morning, Fulanis numbering over 700 attacked and
destroyed the Tor Tiv’s village house.
For them to have targeted the Tor Tiv’s house is an affront and totally
unacceptable,” he said. “I have been trying since yesterday to control the
situation because emotions have risen.”
Consequently,
“our people have congenially been displaced from their homes by these Fulani
herders on a daily basis. Some of our children have not been to school in the
last two years because they have been displaced. If the situation is not
quickly addressed, I fear that it may result into a tribal war soon.”
-- Fulani attacks in Benue, Fresh attacks on Borno
-- Fulani attacks in Benue, Fresh attacks on Borno
http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php/news/national-news/150242-scores-killed-in-fresh-attacks-on-borno Published Thursday, 20 February 2014
*Fulani herdsmen
Here is a more
comprehensive magazine article that casts light on the constitutional and other
aspects:
On
Monday, 24th February, 2014, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of
Nigeria, MACBAN wrote what many Tiv indigenes in Benue State, North Central
Nigeria regarded as a highly provocative letter to President Goodluck Jonathan.
Titled, Mr. President, Call Governor Suswam to Order Now Before It Is Too Late,
MACBAN argued that their movement with their cattle across the country is
covered by Section 41, Subsection 1 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria, which says that “every citizen is entitled to move freely
throughout Nigeria and to reside in any part thereof and no citizen of Nigeria
shall be expelled from Nigeria or refused entry thereof or exit therefrom.”
The group also contended that the Constitution also expressly under Section 42, Sub-section (1) (a) forbids the imposition of any disabilities or restrictions on any citizen by any executive or administrative action against any citizen of any ‘community, ethnic group, place of origin, sex, religion or political opinion…”
The group also contended that the Constitution also expressly under Section 42, Sub-section (1) (a) forbids the imposition of any disabilities or restrictions on any citizen by any executive or administrative action against any citizen of any ‘community, ethnic group, place of origin, sex, religion or political opinion…”
MACBAN whose motto is Read, Rear and Farm insisted that the herdsmen have lost hundreds of their lives and hundreds of thousands herds of their ancestral and generational wealth of cattle to what they called “criminal, genocidal marauding tribal and religious murderers who are calling themselves indigenes, farmers and Christians.”
The group also called on the federal government to investigate the remote and immediate causes of the crisis between the herdsmen and farmers in the North Central Zone. “When the committee is set up, the government would see beyond the facade of wicked falsehood and propaganda,” MACBAN said.
Before the letter to the President, the Tiv also alleged that the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar said the “Fulani have been grazing on their traditional grazing land in Tiv land.”
*Falae
So, it is against this background that on Tuesday, March 11, 2014 Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue state set out on inspection of Guma Local Government Area of the State which had earlier been attacked by unknown Fulani herdsmen numbering over 100. The attackers, not only burned down the entire village but also killed more than 30 people. The governor was probably warned by his security aides not to underestimate the unknown killers, who during the invasion of the village were said to have used sophisticated weapons. As a precaution, he took on his convoy a detachment of soldiers from an army barracks in the state to strengthen his security which also included men of the Nigerian Police and Department of State Security, DSS.
But while approaching the besieged village, the soldiers suddenly stopped and informed the governor that they were instructed to turn back by their superiors whose names they never mentioned. The governor nonetheless proceeded on the journey but a moment after, he came under heavy gunfire from yet to be identified attackers, who laid siege at Tsekenyi where he stopped over to inspect the level of damage done by the invaders.
In trying to repel the attackers, the governor’s security engaged them in gun duel for almost an hour before they finally succeeded in whisking the governor away in his vehicle. The attack left in its wake, 40 people dead. It was learnt that the intention of the attackers was to kill the state governor who has spared no words in his trenchant condemnation of the activities of the Fulani herdsmen which have increased in the past few weeks.
.
. .
Describing
the attack on his convoy, Suswam stated that the Fulani killers have become
more sophisticated and needed to be tamed quickly. He called on the federal
government to intervene before the crisis turns into a bloodbath. But just few
days after he gave this warning, the invaders attacked again. This time the
invaders slaughtered over 22 persons at Anyii and Ayilamo and Logo villages
where the governor hails from.
Also, Guma where the supervising Minister of Aviation, Samuel Ortom hails from has been under sporadic attacks from Fulani militias since the beginning of this year. Before Suswam was attacked, The Fulani gunmen late February, killed 30 persons and razed over 14 villages, including the village of a former member of the House of Representatives, Godwin Ikerave.
Also torched during the attack on Guma was the palace of the traditional ruler of the Tivs, Tor Tiv Alfred Akawe Torkula and the surrounding villages which have now been taken over by the invaders who the magazine learnt, have set up settlement in the ‘conquered’ territories.
. . .
Also, Guma where the supervising Minister of Aviation, Samuel Ortom hails from has been under sporadic attacks from Fulani militias since the beginning of this year. Before Suswam was attacked, The Fulani gunmen late February, killed 30 persons and razed over 14 villages, including the village of a former member of the House of Representatives, Godwin Ikerave.
Also torched during the attack on Guma was the palace of the traditional ruler of the Tivs, Tor Tiv Alfred Akawe Torkula and the surrounding villages which have now been taken over by the invaders who the magazine learnt, have set up settlement in the ‘conquered’ territories.
. . .
Prominent
persons from Benue state are alleging a deliberate and systemic plan to wipe
out the Tiv and Beron people. They argued that the fact that the wanton
killings by Fulani herdsmen of their kinsmen has persisted for this long
indicates sinister motives. Senator Joseph
Waku, whose village is among those sacked by the attackers, accused the federal
government of not doing much to restrain the invaders. According to him, the
fact that the Fulani onslaught has been sustained, points to the bid of the
invaders to completely eliminate the Tiv race. A former Commissioner of Police
in Lagos state, Abubakar Tsav shares this sentiment. He explained that the
alleged support by uniform men for the Fulani to carry out these attacks
further proved that some interests have declared a deliberate war to eliminate
his people.
. . .
Since the violence started early this year, no fewer than 80,000 persons have been displaced across the three states of Nasarawa, Benue and Plateau where the recent violence took place. There are also fears that the same situation could spread to other neighbouring states where the Fulani have settled to graze their animals.
Since the attacks tension has been rising over the activities of the Fulani killers particularly in Benue state where people now live in perpetual fear. To forestall further break-down of law and order, prominent Nigerians particularly from the northern part of the country have called for calm. The Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammdu Sa’ad Abubakar III, last week called for end to bloodshed. He called for end to hostilities among the Fulani and their hosts, the Tiv. Abubakar who is also the Chairman, Board of Trustees of MACBAN condemned the crisis which he said has resulted in unnecessary bloodshed on both sides.
. . .
Since the violence started early this year, no fewer than 80,000 persons have been displaced across the three states of Nasarawa, Benue and Plateau where the recent violence took place. There are also fears that the same situation could spread to other neighbouring states where the Fulani have settled to graze their animals.
Since the attacks tension has been rising over the activities of the Fulani killers particularly in Benue state where people now live in perpetual fear. To forestall further break-down of law and order, prominent Nigerians particularly from the northern part of the country have called for calm. The Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammdu Sa’ad Abubakar III, last week called for end to bloodshed. He called for end to hostilities among the Fulani and their hosts, the Tiv. Abubakar who is also the Chairman, Board of Trustees of MACBAN condemned the crisis which he said has resulted in unnecessary bloodshed on both sides.
.
. .
Last weekend, the President of Southern Kaduna Peoples Union
(SOKAPU), Ephraim Goje, lamented that government and security agencies have
proven unable to protect the lives of the people of Southern Kaduna. According
to Goje, the Southern Senatorial Zone of Kaduna State has suffered 40 attacks
since 2010. Atakar and Marwa, bordering Plateau State are preferred
destinations for the Fulani herdsmen. Goje promised that since the government
and security agencies are unable to defend them in the face of the unofficial
jihad declared on Southern Kaduna, they have no option but to defend
themselves.
A disturbing trend since the attacks by the Fulani started in
2010 is the alleged role played by men in uniform. In Dogo Nahawa in 2010,
survivors alleged that Muslim soldiers aided the butchering of over 500
persons.
. . .
. . .
Though
some argued that the Fulanis and their neighbours in the Middle Belt states of
Nasarawa, Plateau and Benue have lived together in peace since the cattle
breeders in the quest to find green pastures for their animals migrated to
these areas, but investigations indicate that their
arrival normally left in its wake frequent bloodbaths, as has been witnessed in
virtually all the North Central states and places such as Oyo, Imo, Abia, Ogun,
Enugu, Delta and others.
Whenever they attack, they do so with stealth and considering the sophisticated weapons in their possession, their host communities are usually helpless during such attacks. Saki in Oyo state, Jos in Plateau state and Sagamu, Ogun state have witnessed the most deadly attacks from the invaders, who after bloody clashes with farmers left the communities desolate.
. . .
Whenever they attack, they do so with stealth and considering the sophisticated weapons in their possession, their host communities are usually helpless during such attacks. Saki in Oyo state, Jos in Plateau state and Sagamu, Ogun state have witnessed the most deadly attacks from the invaders, who after bloody clashes with farmers left the communities desolate.
. . .
the vulnerable looking Fulani man with his cattle has powerful
influential people that support them, whose cows they are rearing; e.g Sultan
of Sokoto, governors, ministers, senior military and government officials.
. . .
. . .
http://www.nationalaccordnewspaper.com/news/crime-news/1709-the-fulani-militia-the-rise-of-new-warlords-and-why-they-are-killing (Accessed 22June
2014)
This long excerpt is from a much longer magazine piece that
presents the many issues and sides of the matter, including the sourcing of the
weapons of the Fulani Militia from Turkey and Libya; and the recruiting of
Fulani mercenaries from across West Africa. It should be required introductory
reading for all Nigerians who wish to understand and solve this countrywide
security problem. Among its disclosures is that, in Benue state, these Fulani
militia on taking over Tiv villages, “set up settlement in the ‘conquered’
territories.” This would make them a Nigerian equivalent of the
ethnic-cleansing Janjaweed militia in Darfur. That means that MACBAN is an
organization that, for its economic gain, has resorted not just to the crimes
of trespassing, arson, kidnapping and mass murder, but also to the ICC crime of
ethnic cleansing. By the criteria of the RICO Act, the
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act, of the United States, MACBAN, would
qualify as a syndicate, an association of gangsters, and would be prosecuted for
racketeering: engaging in criminal activity as a structured group.
The Sultan of Sokoto, as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of MACBAN
would be seen as the grand patron of a criminal racketeering organization. All
appropriate Nigerian and international prosecutors should please take note.
The
territorial scope of this security problem
What is the territorial
scope of this security problem? The Fulani militia has been reported active in
many states of the North Central zone including Plateau, Benue, Nassarawa; and
the southern parts of Kaduna state in the North West zone. The Fulani herders’ crimes have been reported
from many other states and zones including Ondo, Kogi, Oyo, Imo, Abia, Ogun,
Enugu, and Delta. So the problem, if unresolved, could provoke ethnic and
inter-communal wars in the SW and NC, as well as SE and SS and NW—i.e. in 5 of
Nigeria’s six zones.
One must presume that Femi
Falana, in seeking to reduce and minimize this whole matter to a
law-enforcement issue, isn’t aware that his MACBAN friends, (or is it clients?)
were the first to make it a political and constitutional matter when they
quoted the constitution to defend the alleged right of these criminal herders
to invade and destroy other people’s property everywhere in Nigeria, on behalf
of the cattle of the Caliphate grandees which they herd.
From the above excerpted account,
it is MACBAN who first made this problem a political and constitutional matter.
Femi Falana, and all Nigerians, should please take note that Afenifere has
simply followed suit and upped the ante, turned up the political heat and begun
the pressure necessary to bring the Caliphate to the table for a political
solution. All the other nationalities victimized by the twin menace of Fulani
herdsmen and Fulani militia should wake
up from their passivity and join Afenifere on this issue and let the Caliphate
know that its criminal habit of murderous impunity shall no longer be tolerated. It is more than time for Nigerians, and
indeed the whole world, to wake up to the fact that the Fulani are a menace to all the
other nationalities in Nigeria, what with the criminal Fulani
herdsmen, Fulani ethnic-cleansing militia and the Fulani colonialist Caliphate
that insists on its divine right to rule and exploit all the other Nigerian
nationalities on the basis of the doctrine put forth in 1960 by the Fulani
leader, the Sardauna of Sokoto, that:
“The
new nation called Nigeria should be an estate of our great-grandfather,
Uthman Dan Fodio. We must ruthlessly prevent a change of power. We use the
minorities of the North as willing tools and the South as a conquered territory
and never allow them to rule over us, and never allow them to have control over
their future.”
–Sir Ahmadu Bello, Leader
of the NPC and Premier of Northern Nigeria, (Parrot Newspaper, 12th
Oct. 1960; republished on November 13, 2002, by the Tribune Newspaper,
Ibadan.)
The Caliphate has a choice to
make, and make quickly: Stop blocking the path to a peaceful change to the
pro-Caliphate-hegemony terms of the Nigerian Union by agreeing to negotiations
for a truly democratic Federal constitution devised and agreed to by “We the
People’, or the non-Caliphate Nationalities will pull out of the One Nigeria
that the Caliphate inherited from the British and treats as its colony. (The
book to read is Caliphate Colonialism: The Taproot of the
Trouble with Nigeria, by Chinweizu.
The publishers, Clear Coast Communications, may be contacted through cityvoiceng@yahoo.com; and
+2348026440272. )
Afenifere has done all
non-Caliphate Nigerians a signal favor by raising this matter in the dramatic
manner it did.
Buhari
and the Fulani menace
Now to Buhari’s role in this matter. With
Gen. Buhari now back in power as President Buhari, the escalation of the menace
of Fulani herdsmen in Yorubaland needs to be examined in the light of Buhari’s
hidden Caliphate agenda.
Back in August 2012 a scion of the Caliphate, Usman Faruk, who had been
the military governor of North-West State during the Yakubu Gowon regime,
boasted:
“North replies Asari: We subdued Yorubas &
conquered the Ijaws; We will do it again”, http://africanheraldexpress.com/blog7/2012/08/14/north-replies-asari-we-subdued-yorubas-we-will-do-it-again/#comment-311818 (Accessed October 2012)
Under
President Buhari, this subduing of the Yorubas triggered the on-going APC
crisis. It began by trying to force Asiwaju
Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the leader of the ACN (the Yoruba component of the
APC), out of the NEC of the APC.
[Plot to bar Tinubu from APC NEC meeting thickens http://sunnewsonline.com/new/plot-to-bar-tinubu-from-apc-nec-meeting-thickens/]
In the light of the Caliphate
project of subduing the Yorubas, is it a coincidence that the Fulani herders
have increased their menace in Yorubaland by attacking high status
Yorubas—including Chief Falae and Oba Adebisi Obademi, the traditional ruler
of Apaa-Bunu community in Kabba-Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State?
--[Yoruba Oba
kidnapped by Fulani Herdsmen in another daring move
Published: Thursday, 01
October 2015 13:34
Could these kidnappings be
part of the Caliphate effort to subdue the Yorubas? Is this upsurge a
coincidence or are the kidnappers being explicitly encouraged? Or have they
been emboldened simply by the fact that their champion is back in charge of
Nigeria? Whichever the case, their crimes and impunity are unacceptable to
peace-loving Nigerians.
Some may wonder why I call
President Buhari the champion of these criminal herders. Let me explain. Back in 2000, two retired Fulani generals,
Buhari and Marwa, acting on behalf of the Fulani herders, led a delegation of
the Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, that attempted to intimidate Alhaji Lam
Adesina, the civilian governor of Oyo State. Here is a detailed eyewitness
account by Agbaakin Kehinde Olaosebikan, the Chief Press secretary to Gov.
Adesina:
“It was on 13 October 2000, when words went
round that General Muhammadu Buhari was leading the Arewa team to the
governor’s office to confront the state over alleged killings of Fulani cattle
rearers in Saki, Oke Ogun Area of the state. Buhari did actually telephone the
governor that he was leading a team to his office.
In less than 30 minutes after the general
informed the governor of his visit, we noticed that the entire secretariat was
already filled with lorry loads of our brothers from the North. This created
some tension but we kept our calm. At about 2 p.m., Buhari arrived in a
long convoy at the governor’s office in company of the former governor of Lagos
State, General Buba Marwa, Alhaji Aliko Muhammed, Alhaji Abdulrazak and Alhaji
Hassan. They all wore long faces. In fact, the anger in them
was palpable as all pleasantries extended to them were ignored. “This is
trouble” was the expression on the faces of all of us in the governor’s office.
Shortly afterwards, the state Director of
State Security Service (SSS) and Commissioner of Police arrived. But their
presence did not change anything particular on the fears that had already
gripped majority of us. The two security chiefs did not come with any
operatives, they came almost alone.
The meeting was called to order after
Lam walked into the Executive Chambers. Introductions over, Buhari spoke
on their mission to the governor’s office.
Emitting fire, the general accused Lam and the government of Oyo State
of complicity in the killing of over 68 Fulani people in Oke
Ogun area and perversion of justice.
His words: “Your Excellency, our visit here
is to discuss with you and your government our displeasure about the incident
of clashes between two peoples… the Fulani cattle rearers and merchants are
today being harassed, attacked and killed like in Saki. In the month of May,
2000, 68 bodies of Fulani cattle rearers were recovered and buried under the
supervision and protection from a team of Mobile Police from Oyo State Command.
According to the general, they therefore
wanted immediate stoppage of the killings, justice and compensation to the
Fulanis.
As weighty and indicting as Buhari’s
allegations were, Lam remained unperturbed. He fired back with his
own well coordinated arsenals.
Lam identified all the points raised by
Buhari and simply asked the heads of the organizations directly involved to
respond to the allegations.
First to speak was the Commissioner of
Police who debunked all the claims. Instead of the allegation that the
natives were killing Fulanis, the commissioner said pointedly that the opposite
was the case.
“The killing of the natives by the Fulanis
was duly reported to the police and, of course, we can’t make arrest
because, as soon as they kill, they migrate to other areas. Who are you going
to arrest? That is the problem”. On the killing of Fulanis, which
he said was as result of “piled up anger”, the commissioner disclosed
that arrests had been made and the suspects were in police custody.
Next was the Director of SSS, who equally
debuked the allegations by Buhari. “The natives don’t have problem with
the Fulanis who are resident but those who are coming in, they don’t
care about anybody. They just go ahead and when they graze the
natives farms, whoever cares to challenge them runs into trouble. You said 68
people were killed, and people driven away. I am not saying there were no
killings but they cannot be more than five. The petition is on the harsh side,
there is nothing like that.”
Not done yet, Lam called in his Deputy,
Barrister Iyiola Oladokun; his SSG, Chief Michael Koleoso, both from Oke Ogun,
and the chairman of one of the affected local government areas, Mr
Ademola Alalade. They stated the true position of things, corroborating the
submissions of the security chiefs. At this point, all the tensions and
apprehensions evaporated.
Trust Lam any day, he must rub it in. He
spoke for about 20 minutes and the generals were at the edge of their seats for
the entire period. They were like chicken that had just been thoroughly beaten
by the rain.
Lam said: “Before I thank you for
this visit, you have come to tell me something. I also want to tell you
something and that something is to make an appeal. General Buhari has been a
former Head of State, Brigadier Marwa has governed Lagos for some time and with
credibility… so you are national leaders of this country. Even though, by
accident of birth, you are from the North, you can be born anywhere; may be
next time when I am coming to the world, I will be born in the North or the
South-South.
“My appeal will be that effort must be made
to unite this country and that will be in the best interest of all Nigerians. I
am appealing to the Arewa Consultative Forum, under which auspices our
distinguished Nigerians are here; in recent times, they have been sending wrong
signals to a number of us who believe in the unity and peace of Nigeria; you
have been too critical of the efforts of the Federal Government. I am saying
this because Nigeria, at this point, cannot afford to break and the words you
northern leaders utter are very weighty, at the South here, we normally analyze
them critically”.
On all the allegations, he said: “From what
they have written in the petition, this government is completely blameless
because we don’t interfere either with the judiciary or with the police
functions. I always preach peaceful co-existence in Oyo State and Nigeria
as a whole. We are all Nigerians and that is what we have been preaching
all along and we shall continue to be Nigerians, no matter the present or
immediate problems which will be solved by the grace of Allah.
“I want to say also that we really have to
appeal to our people, the itinerant Bororo people, that they should observe
less aggression. It is not good, it is not right just coming from somewhere
then you just pass through farm lands cultivated may be with the person’s life
savings and then over night everything is gone. That is not right, even Allah
does not approve of that.
We even wonder when they talk about this
people carrying dangerous weapons, I say do they really believe in Allah? When
you just take life like that and go away! Are we not forbidden not to take
human life? So I think General Buhari, General Marwa, you have to be educating
them… It is my pleasure to inform you that at the Presidential Lodge,
we have made some arrangements for refreshments so that before you go we can
refresh together”.
Buhari and his team did not wait for any
refreshments. They came in angry and left bewildered.
--Day
Lam Adesina clashed with Buhari, Marwa, others (over Fulani herders)
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/11/day-lam-adesina-clashed-with-buhari-marwa-others/ published on November 18, 2012
If Gen. Buhari, as a
private citizen, could attempt to intimidate an elected state governor on behalf
of marauding Fulani herdsmen, can we expect him to desist from championing and
protecting them now that he is President? Moreover, he probably has a personal
conflict of interest in the matter. The
cattle which graze other people’s farms belong to the Caliphate bigwigs. I
would be surprised if Buhari does not own any cattle being grazed by Fulani
herders in some part or other of Nigeria. His assets declaration should be
examined to find out whether he does or not. Appropriate NGOs, especially the FOI
Coalition, should use the Freedom of Information Act to investigate and report
to Nigerians about this. If Buhari is shown to own cattle in such a herd, then
he has a personal economic interest in the continued criminal activities of the
Fulani herders. That could be one of the reasons he has taken no action on this
matter that is a serious threat to security in many states in Nigeria and
which, by provoking Afenifere’s secession threat, is also a threat to the
territorial integrity of Nigeria. Let’s now return to
Femi
Falana’s submission.
Let’s recall that he
stated that the 2014 Confab had offered the following solution to the problem:
“In the long term cattle routes and grazing
reserves be phased out to lay emphasis on ranching ” and that states which have
large livestock populations should “endeavor to maintain grazing reserves.” It
was further resolved that “An integrated development and livelihoods
modernization program should be designed and implemented to address the issue
of settling nomadic herdsmen into settled communities based on established
cattle ranches with fodder development technologies, and including abattoirs,
processors and other businesses along the livestock value chain.” The
recommendations have been ignored by the Federal Government.
But why are the Confab
recommendations on this grave problem being ignored by the Federal
Government?
Two things should be
noted: Firstly, that with MACBAN’s use of the 1999 Constitution to justify the
Fulani herders’ crimes; with the Confab having offered a political solution;
and with Afenifere’s threat of secession, this security problem has already
ballooned beyond a law enforcement matter. Secondly, that the Fulani Militia
attacks began since 2010 and have not been ended by police action. And with the
Fulani militia in 2014 already fielding battalion-size units of 700 men armed
with AK-47s, and sacking and occupying villages, the Fulani militia problem has
long ago gone way beyond a police matter. This Fulani menace requires a
long-term political and constitutional solution that can restore peace. And the
2014 Confab report contains the seed of such a solution. So Falana’s law
enforcement approach is already obsolete. Why then are the Arewa leaders
pressing President Buhari to ignore the Confab report? [Northern
leaders move to block implementation of confab report http://sunnewsonline.com/new/northern-leaders-move-to-block-implementation-of-confab-report/]
Are they, perhaps, opposed
to a peaceful solution? Is it perhaps part of their Caliphate hidden agenda to
use the Fulani militia to seize and keep as much as possible of the lands of
the indigenes of Benue, Plateau,
Southern Kaduna and other states before these ethnic cleansing
operations are interrupted? In that case, going by the robber-friendly legal
principle that “possession is nine-tenths of the law”, the Fulani will hang on
to the territory they would have already seized from the indigenes of Benue,
Plateau, Southern Kaduna etc. Could that
be a factor in Buhari’s silence and inaction on this most dangerous problem?
If Buhari is really
interested in solving this security problem, why hasn’t he publicly committed
himself to implementing the Confab report? He should come clean on why he and
his Caliphate constituency are not interested in adopting and implementing the
Confab report even though, among its sensible solutions to Nigeria’s myriad
problems, it includes a peaceful and modern solution to the problem of the
Fulani herders—a solution that follows the practice in advanced countries? Why
are they so addicted to the fraudulent 1999 Constitution that nurtures most of
Nigeria’s problems? Buhari’s answer will show Nigerians whether he is really
interested in solving a security problem that is even more widespread in its
territorial scope and more serious in its potential for mass mayhem than even
Boko Haram.
Conclusion
To sum up, Falana’s law
enforcement approach is obsolete, retrograde and futile. Restraining even a
single 700-man militia contingent is beyond the capacity of the police and the
courts. A similar problem in Darfur, Sudan, has been in the hands of the UN for
many years now. So, regardless of whatever Buhari decides to do about this
matter, Nigerians should recognize that, given its international dimensions,
(including arms sourced from Turkey and Libya, and Fulani mercenaries imported
from outside Nigeria) this twin problem of Fulani nomads and Fulani militia is
long overdue for the UN and the ICC. Afenifere as well as the now victimized
“willing tools” that consists of the Northern minorities (Southern Kaduna
Peoples Union, SOKAPU; Waku, Tsav, Suswam, etc.) should please take note of
this peaceful UN path out of their plight.
All
rights reserved.
© Chinweizu 2015
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