By Rotimi Bello
Since the emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) as the elected president of Nigeria, the Fulani pastoral stock (Fulani Bororoje) has gained traction negatively by engaging in one act of violence or the other. Initially, it was issue of grazing, which led to violent attacks on the farmers specifically in the North-Central region with a spillover into pockets of southern states in the country. The herdsmen attacked villagers in Benue which culminated into the mass burial and displacement of large portion of the Benue State indigenes in early January 2018 – an act which still remains evergreen in the subconscious realm of many Nigerians.
The herdsmen/bandits’ coordinated attacks on the villagers in Benue, Kaduna and Taraba States, most especially the Christian dominated areas which made it look like ethnic agenda which were not. If one microscopically visualizes it from the prism of herdsmen/farmers age-old tradition of movement and struggle for space within the Northern axis, one would realize that, occasionally there used to be herdsmen/farmers skirmishes in these areas, but with the emergence of PMB, it disproportionately became electrifying and life-threatening with little or no strong statement coming out of Aso Rock to condemn the issue in entirety by issuing stern warning against the perpetrators, and mobilizing the security apparatus to track them down with a view to nipping it in the bud.
Unfortunately, at the inception of all these crises, the statements that emanated from Nigeria power base were disjointed, uncoordinated and feeble excuses to justify the onslaught on innocent citizens with unfulfilled promises to provide adequate security for life and property which is lacking in all frontiers of the nation. The thought of many Nigerians who are not Fulani is that PMB deliberately fiddles to protect his Fulani bucolic from been attacked by the security agencies. The Miyetti-Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) and other Northern groups have made a lot of radio-active comments that made people to suspect their intention and relationship with the killer squad that are scattered across the country.
The urban Fulani people who hone their skills in various fields of human endeavour are not happy about the turn of the event. Majority of young herdsmen have turned to kidnapping and banditry to make ends meet, having realized that it is lucrative. They make their millions in ransom collection from any large catch victim. For instance, in the rural areas of Zamfara and Katsina States, villagers were compelled to pay monthly insurance premium for protection on their land and people. Those who default to pay this monthly and unholy imposition due to one reason or the other are severely dealt with by summary execution of the family members to compel obedience. This is the unfolding situation in the rustic areas of North-West where the sheep and cattle roam freely.
The killer herdsmen have murdered peace having extended their iniquity beyond tolerable limit of Katsina and Zamfara states where the governors have surendered their sovereignty to negotiate with this bunch of criminals who kidnapped and murdered people with impunity. These killer herdsmen have committed series of atrocities in Oyo North (Oke Ogun) axis without retribution whatsoever. A number of people were kidnapped by the killer herdsmen. The evicted Seriki Fulani was fingered as the go-between and negotiator in many instance.
Based on the available information on media, the displaced Seriki Fulani has questions to answer in relations to the incessant kidnappings in the area and on the death of Dr. Fatai Aborode. The death of Aborode infruriated the Igangan youth which culminated into Sunday Igboho declaration of eviction notice and final eviction of some of this criminal elements. Sunday Igboho does not have legitimate rights to evict any citizen from Oyo territory but citizens have the rights of self-defence in situation where there lives are in danger.
Similar incident happened in Oke Ogun axis during late Lam Adesina administration in which then GMB involved in serious altercation with the governor by taking side with Fulani settlers without listening to the opposing views. An eye witness account said that GMB maintained jaw-dropping silence at the end of the meeting when fact and figures were presented to him. He left Oyo state quitely and sobered like a chicken beating by heavy downpour. As the Fulani herders have the rights to live in any part of the country, so do the farmers have the rights to defend their farmland from been violated by the primitive and conservative herders who often stray into farmland to feed their herds. Where the rights of herdsmen end is where the farmers right begings. There is going to be an endless altercation unless wisdom prevail and something urgent is done to ameliorate and find lasting solution to this agelong crises that has consumed uncountable numbers of innocent citizens on both side of the fence.
The real Fulani Bororoje that tender cattle are still in the rustic areas of the South where the sheep and cattle roam freely, tendering their herds undisturbed by their host communities as long as they do not violate communities social contract. In fact, their settlement is called “GAA Fulani” meaning “Fulani settlement” in Yoruba language. They are well known to their host communities and some of them have been permanently integrated through inter-communal marriage. They are friendly and peaceful in nature, if they are not provoked. One thing is that, they love their herds as they love their family.
It is not an overstatement to have said that, the Fulani Bororoje have been permanently embedded in different communities across the country. The recent pervasiveness of strange herdsmen whose conduct and disposition betray the real Fulani known to the people and the MACBAN (Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeding Association of Nigeria) inability to dissociate itself from this deadly clan, and the Federal government inability and incapability to track down and identify the culprits masquerading themselves as herdsmen to commit heinous crime across the land sends wrong signal to the spine of the people.
The activist Sunday Igboho’s role in all this saga could be questioned by interrogation and not by blanket killing pronouncement said to have been issued by the presidency as was widely reported by social media. The real culprit that need to be apprehended and unmasked are the killer herdsmen; any attempt to play politics with this issue at stake may lead to an eruption and explosion of anger by the “Agbekoyas” and the “Yorubas” which may destroy the extant peace in the country. Nigeria Army is already grappling with the menacing activities of Bokoharam and bandits unabated. They cannot afford to face another insurgency from the South-West, thus as Fani Kayode rightly said, “the government need to tread softly” or else this may be the begining of an end.
Rotimi S. Bello wrote this piece from Abuja and could be reached via [email protected]