letter to Sultan of Sokoto
PRESIDENT Buhari’s silence and inaction 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.?
Jonathan with Afenifere chieftains at Pa
Fasoranti’s residence
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.
Countrywide menace
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.
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 to be expelled from any
part of the country.
Criminal gang
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.”
Tribal war
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 http://
www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php/news/
national-news/150242-scores-killed-in-fresh-
attacks-on-borno Published Thursday, 20 February
2014
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…” 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.”
Causes of the crisis
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.”
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.
Sporadic attacks
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 surrouding 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.
Recently, 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.
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….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. —The Fulani Militia—The rise
of new warlords and why they are killing 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.
Introduictory reading
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.
Criminal herders
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
No comments:
Post a Comment