Joseph Odok|6 January 2018
On a close analysis of facts, the Fulani Oligarchy is becoming unbearable. We are talking of Fulani herdsmen leaving their nomadic settlements, going into the territories outside their settlement and then destroying the source of livelihood of those who accommodate them. As if that is not enough, these herdsmen not only destroy people's crops, they are ready to kill any one who complains about their destruction of people's source of livelihood and prefers the life of a cow to that of a human being.
Nigerians who talk of anti-grazing law are very good people. They are creating a space for the cow and their continued grazing but through a ranch system. No space have been created for a yam, cocoa, plantain, palm tree farmer etc. to go into a territory that is not theirs, and destroy other striving businesses for the propagation of selfish interest.
One wonder why Nigeria can sacrifice so much for a cow that does not yield any income to the national treasury besides the cow meat, I am aware the herdsmen do not pay tax because of their nomadic lifestyle.
Come to think of it the cow is not even the economic base of Nigeria, yet has been most accommodated in most laws in Nigeria. Some legal systems are even talking of the possibilities of grazing laws in areas that don't even have a space for the cow. The cow for instance is not a business for most Benue people, the Cross River people, the Ibo people, yet it is accommodated and people are continually killed in preference for the cow.
Intelligence agencies have long declared herdsmen as a terrorist group even in the days of Obasanjo, GEJ, and now Buhari but the Nigerian government have continued to pretend about the Fulani herdsmen because of the Fulani Oligarchy.
Global Terrorism Index has named Nigerian Fulani militias as fourth deadliest terror group in world; Only Boko Haram, Isis, and al-Shabab were deemed deadlier than the little-known militia group from West Africa. This fourth deadliest known terrorist group has been named as the Fulani militant group operating in Nigeria and parts of the Central African Republic.
The little-known group, formed of individuals from the semi-nomadic pastorial ethnic group Fula people existing across several West African nations, has seen a dramatic escalation of its activities in the past year.
In 2013, the Fulani killed around 80 people in total – but by 2014 the group had killed 1,229. Operating mainly in the middle belt of Nigeria, opposed to the north which is dominated by Boko Haram, the group recorded 847 deaths last year across five states, and has also been known to stage attacks in the Central African Republic (CAR), according to the latest report from the Global Terrorism Index.
Little is known about the group, despite the high toll they are inflicting on local civilian populations, but it is supposed the increased instability in CAR and Nigeria – despite some government successes against militant groups – has facilitated the group's expansion.
As much as 92 per cent of their attacks target private citizens, reflecting the group’s primary concern over the ownership of farmland. Each attack claims an average of 11 lives, with the largest known in April 2014 killing as many as 200 people after a group of the militants targeted community leaders and residents during a meeting in central province Zamfara.
In the past year Nigeria has experienced the greatest increase in deaths from terrorism, with 7,512 deaths reported – an increase of over 300 per cent – most of which have been claimed by Boko Haram.
Today the group activities is expanding to South Eastern and South south States, yet the government is yet to declare them as a terrorist group
Fulani herdsmen are not faceless, they have association with visible leadership. The Association of Fulani herdsmen is headed by the leader of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association just like IPOB is headed by Nnamdi Kanu, I just think there are lots of bias in handling the Fulani herdsmen as an emerging terrorist organization. The presidency must no longer pretend to us.
This pretence about the herdsmen should not be seen to begin with the Buhari's administration, it is one that began with previous government and is accommodated by the Nigerian Senate, the Judiciary, and the Nigerian security agencies.
#DeclareFulaniHerdsmenAsTerroristGroup
Joseph Odok
Social Change Agent
