EXPOSED: Those Responsible for Killer Herdsmen And Boko-Haram in Nigeria

By Lucky Okoedion

Today, as it is becoming clearer that Nigeria is at the verge of disintegrating, we need to ask some salient questions.

Though the nepotist posture of the seemingly clueless General Muhammadu Buhari, the Fulani president of the federal republic of Nigeria, who seems obsessed with filling all government political appointments with his Fulani tribesmen, has greatly contributed to the division and has probably hastened the arrival of the doomsday of Nigerian disintegration, yet he (Muhammadu Buhari) is not to blame for the root cause of the problems of killer herdsmen and Boko-Haram which are the two monsters that could finally end Nigeria.

Yes, “end Nigeria” because the country seems to be fast losing the war against insecurity which has almost completely consumed the Northern part of the country and is now spreading down South.

Coupled with paying huge kidnap ransoms to bandits and Boko-Haram, an act which is equal to funding the criminals, and also considering the dwindling economy of the country, of which the new recession is only a tip of the iceberg, it is clear that no wise person will continue to be optimistic about Nigeria’s future, unless there is a drastic overhauling of the whole system of government from top to bottom.

As at today, Nigeria’s debt is already hitting sixty (60) trillion naira. The federal budget for the 2020 fiscal year was $4.79 trillion (dollars). Total revenue was #5.84 trillion (naira) which was not more than half (50%) of the total expenditure of #10.81 trillion (naira). Unemployment rate in Nigeria broke records and reached an ALL TIME HIGH of 27.1% in the second quarter of 2020. And as if to add petrol to fire, between December 2019 and December 2020 the cost of consumer goods which the ordinary man survives on increased by at least 14.9% on average. These are facts that no one can ignore, regardless of tribal sentiment or political affiliation, since everyone is suffering the consequences.

In terms of insecurity which is the focus of this write-up, last Christmas holiday, we saw what was probably the worst insecurity situation nationwide since the Nigeria-Biafra civil war. Fulani language speaking criminal groups took over all high ways from North to South of Nigeria, kidnapping travelers and claiming ransom. The records are there in all police commands in the 36 states of Nigeria. The Inspector General of Police who is also Fulani has access to the books filled with the heinous crimes by Fulani herdsmen. He can’t deny it. Records of those arrested who have confessed are there too.

Though some were released from police custody through phone calls from above, yet those who are still in police cells all over the 36 states of the federation are there as evidence. They have become a nuisance to the whole of Nigeria – beheading, raping, kidnapping and claiming ransoms from members of their host communities is now the order of the day as they go about freely with AK-47 assault riffles without the “Fulani Federal Government of Nigeria” doing anything about it.

And we wonder, “What other outcome apart from another civil war or a violent disintegration of Nigeria does the “Fulani Federal Government of Muhammadu Buhari” expect to reap from sowing UNPRECEDENTED seeds of nepotism in the country, allowing herdsmen to go about freely with AK-47 assault riffles and calling police commands from above to release those arrested as alleged by leaders of several host communities?”

But let us first focus on answering the question of “How did Fulani Herdsmen suddenly become associated with killings, kidnapping and all sorts of crimes in Southern Nigeria?”.

Recall that decades ago, this was not the case. Fulani herdsmen were law abiding. They did not graze on people’s farmland in the south of Nigeria. The Fulani herdsmen in the South of Nigeria comported themselves in Southern Nigerian communities in the same way the Southern Nigerians who lived in the North comport themselves till date with utmost respect for the culture of their host Northern communities.

Right from time, even though we all believed in one Nigeria, every Nigerian comported themselves with utmost respect for their host community when they live in the North as Southerners or in the South as Northerners. To the extent that, till date, Southern Nigerians living in the North are careful not to disrespect the culture of their northern host communities, given our religious and cultural diversity.

As a Southern Nigerian, breaking cultural and religious code in Northern Nigeria some times attracts persecution, talk-less of Southern Nigerians living in the North going as far as forming criminal groups to rape, behead, kidnap and claim ransoms from members of Northern host communities like Kano, Sokoto, Taraba, etc. It is unheard of. It cannot happen.

But why will Northerners come to the South and have the audacity to do that, and to continue for several years without the Federal government doing anything about it? How did we get here? That is the focus of this write-up. The answer is simple – the Northern youths have been neglected by their elites who have all focused on Abuja politics. Consequently, grassroots government and human capacity building is at its lowest in the North.

Northern elites and Fulani politicians have neglected their people to focus on Abuja politics and lust for crude oil money from Southern Nigeria. Whereas the crude oil money only benefits them (the northern elites) who are in government, and their immediate families. They use from it to pay state and local government workers and embark on a couple of projects in the state, and soon the money is finished, and they go back to Abuja to wait for the next allocation.

They are not aware that if they can only provide local and grassroots leadership for these their youths who are joining Boko-Haram and becoming killer herdsmen for lack of grassroots leadership, they would discover that their huge population and land mass has more financial potentials than crude oil which the world is gradually moving away from.

Till date, northern political elites think that calls for restructuring Nigeria will only benefit Southern Nigerians who may then have the crude oil money to themselves. Hence, they foolishly reject every piece of legislation and calls for restructuring that will free all states from the bondage of Federal allocation and help each state to look inwards and develop their local resources and use same to plan their future, thereby allowing for a healthy situation in which each state tries to outperform the other in terms of innovation and development.

The consequence is that though Northerners, especially Fulani politicians have received most of the political appointments from General Muhammadu Buhari, yet more and more youths in the north remain neglected. And the archaic nomadic culture of cattle rearing which ought to be reformed into a more modern cattle rearing model by ranching, as is obtainable in other civilized parts of the world remains in its archaic ‘Abrahamic’ mode. The poverty and insecurity in the North has worsened.

Getting all the political positions in Nigeria did not transform their lives as they were promised it would. Why? Because it does not work that way. It never has. Not anywhere in the world. Not anytime in history. Political position mostly benefits the direct holders and their immediate family. Only a workable system and good policies can benefit the whole population.

But now that they have probably learnt this bitter lesson, are they ready to join us to call for the restructuring of Nigeria? Again, the answer is No ! They are opposed to it. It seems it is in their nature to be opposed to every progressive initiative just as their grandparents were initially opposed to the independence of Nigeria when it was first proposed, which led to the 1953 Kano riot. There seems to be an inherent feeling of insufficiency and inferiority complex that makes Northern Nigerians to think that they cannot survive alone.

The Northern political elites who ought to join in the calls for restructuring, true federalism and local government autonomy so that they can focus on developing their large population / priceless human resources are busy playing Abuja politics which benefits only 1% of northerners who are in the political bracket.

The rest are left leaderless. The family units are ravaged by poverty and reckless childbearing, and hence kids grow up as sheep without shepherd – neglected by government and neglected by parents.

Sometimes, they turn to Islamic leaders to fill that leadership void and provide them the human capacity development, and the cultural reformation they need, only to be sold conspiracy theories and jihadist doctrines. And soon, coupled with the government neglect, a nomadic cattle rearing system that no longer works, parental neglect, radical indoctrination by religious preachers, and the extreme poverty and hunger, it becomes easy for these Northern youths to be recruited into Boko-Haram and all forms of bandit groups.

The Northern political elites only see their huge population as votes for winning elections and not as human resources to which government should be focused to build a prosperous Northern Nigeria.

At this rate, if care is not taken, Northern youths may wake up one day and do unto political elites in their region a greater plunder and horror than what angry Yoruba youths did to the Oba of Lagos recently during the #EndSars protests. The earlier northern politicians stop thinking that they cannot survive without crude oil from Southern Nigeria and join us in the calls for true federalism so that they can focus on developing their huge population that are currently going wild all over the place, the better for them.

Lucky Okoedion is a believer of a new Nigeria where true democracy is practiced. He writes from Benin City, Nigeria. He can be reached on +2347038820118.