—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.
