Danger Signals In Nigeria

By Chijioke Egbo 

Tension is building up across Nigeria. At the forefront of the heightening tension are two groups: the Fulani herdsmen and the Biafran agitators. Boko Haram which seriously threatened the territorial integrity of Nigeria is now at the mercy of the country’s military might. They are feeling the heat now; they are boasting less these days. Their defeat is as good as done.

 

*Buhari 

We must commend our gallant soldiers and the govern­ment for their sacrifice which is giving us this victory. However, Fulani herdsmen ap­pear to be determined to continue from where Boko Haram is stopping. In fact, they have started even before we finish with BH. And in their own case, they are spreading their violence across the entire country. The herdsmen are about the biggest headache Nigeria has now. They are spreading hate and attracting same to themselves. Almost every ethnic group in the North Central zone of the country who are the Fulani tra­ditional neighbours, have had or are still having serious issues with them. The climax is the recent Ag­atu crisis which some dub massa­cre, while others say it is a case of genocide.

Over 500 Idoma people of Benue State were said to have been killed in their own village by the invading herdsmen. The Yorubas in the Southwest are clashing with the herdsmen. Olu Falae, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation may eventually abandon his farm, having suffered many attacks in the hands of the herdsmen. The Chief was once kidnapped by these men and only got back his freedom af­ter paying ransom to them. Some Odua People’s Congress (OPC) men employed by Falae to guard his farm have reportedly lost their lives in the hands of the herdsmen. If Falae is not spared by the men, then tell me who is safe!

In the Southeastern Nigeria, the story is not different. Farmers dai­ly complain of destruction of their farms, raping of women in their farms and even killing of farm­ers who dare protest the activities of these men. The herdsmen, who are accused of grazing their cattle in the farms of their host commu­nities which is said to be the real genesis of all the crises, don’t seem to see anything wrong with that. There are reports that the herds­men move about openly with sophisticated weapons such as AK47 assault guns. Why the Fulani herdsmen have decided to take on Nigeria beats my imagination. I see collabora­tion between them and the Biafra separatist agitators. Those of us in the Southeast who see the Biafra project as unattractive are now be­ing mocked as unrealistic because of the activities of the herdsmen. The “Biafrans” point at that as a clear sign that Nigeria can never be one. Those sitting on the fence eas­ily fall for such argument. And so, the message of Biafra is spreading. Okada riders and other not-well-informed people, who are not few in number, are daily being recruited into the “Biafran strug­gle.” They are brainwashed into believing that the name “Biafra” is a magic wand that will turn around their lives. The present econom­ic depression in the country is not helping matters. The agitators eas­ily blame the woes on the Feder­al Government. And because their propaganda is not being effective­ly matched by the government, the gullible downtrodden fall for them.

Unfortunately, the recent state­ment by the Department for State Security (DSS), accusing IPOB of killing some 50 Fulani herdsmen and burying them in a mass grave was a serious infraction on peace and security. The statement was to­tally at variance with professional conduct on the part of DSS. The department which is sup­posed to be discreet in its opera­tions went public with such sen­sitive statement. Whether or not the statement is true is not the is­sue here. The issue is the implica­tion of such statement on nation­al peace and security which is the primary duty of the department. Why it chose to aggravate the al­ready high tension in the land is confusing well-meaning citizens. It is more confusing because the DSS has not been quick at mak­ing such statements all the while that there have been reports of the menace of the herdsmen across the land. The department has never re­ally been known to take interest in the growing threat to peace and corporate existence of the country by the herdsmen. Why it sudden­ly woke up from its slumber and quick to go public with a statement even before concluding investiga­tion calls for concern.