The National Coordinator, People’s Democratic Party Coalition, Chief Dr. Emeka Kalu has lent his voice to the burning issue of a brewing crisis in Nigeria between Fulani Herdsmen and their indigenous host communities which is gradually escalating into open confrontation as a result of the haphazard manner with which the present administration had handled it abinitio.
Chief Kalu said President’s body language of shielding some monstrous, murderous-bloodthirsty and bloodletting criminals through the federal government and allowing them to be operating among good Fulani citizens has made it impossible to separate the chaff from the corn, in order words, the president had done more harm than good to the Fulani nation.
For clarity’s sake, Fulani people as I have come to know, associate with and do business with are very sincere and respectable people in all ramifications, but a handful of them have gone out of their way to dent the reputation of this many because they enjoyed overwhelming protection in wrongdoing.
Mr. President Buhari should understand that no sane Nigerians will ask another Nigerian to quit his area because he has his people in another people’s area too. But it is not legal that a group of herdsmen would choose, not just to live in the forest, but to constitute a security threat to the people hosting them through kidnapping, rape, and other forms of violence that we have witnessed since the advent of this “Herdsmen Friendly Government “.
I will repeat it for the umpteenth time, Cow rearing is a noble and legitimate business, but cow business at the expense of agriculture and security of the indigenous people is evil and should’ve been addressed from day one. But because the president slacked in this respect, it is resulting in self-help which is a more dangerous path for our nation.
For years now, the president has looked the other way while herdsmen operated unhindered. He has paid a deaf ear to endless tantrums of the leader of Miyetti Allah, Badejo who has severely threatened a whole tribe and went ahead to make good his threats only to react so promptly to ordering the arrest of another Nigeria, Igboho who spoke out for his people.
That is the highest level of a double standard in a complex nation like Nigeria. This is time to be a Nigerian president by addressing security challenges through dialogue rather than towing some unreasonable path that will further heat the already tensed polity.
The call for the arrest of Sunday Igboho even with overwhelming evidence of a crime against the people he gave the notice to quit is unpatriotic and must be condemned by anyone claiming to care about the unity of Nigeria.
The Fulanis just like any other law-abiding Nigeria must never be chased out of any city they are carrying out their legitimate businesses. But the federal government in the spirit of unity and one Nigeria should flush all criminal elements from the forest so that we don’t create another incubator to hatch more terrorists in the south as we are fighting them in the Northeast forests.
Nigeria cannot afford to fight a war from every side because we must not all be sacrificed on the altar of President Buhari’s love for his Fulani race. The truth remains that Nigeria, her peace and unity is far much bigger than Buhari and any tribe. He should for once act like the Nigerian President by using dialogue to achieve a more lasting peace as threat and intimidation will be counterproductive in the Nigeria we have found ourselves today.
