A particular incidence in my year one Uniben shaped my mentality. There was this huge dude with big chest at social science faculty. I saw a girl walk up to him and give him 3 slaps. The dude collected the slap and said nothing. The girl just continued to laugh and gist with her friends. It was the guy that quickly left the scene. In my innocence I asked why the guy did not beat the living daylight out of the girl and then someone said “na so and so babe oh”. That day I understood what “back up” meant.
Fulanis kill a whole village. They do not run and instead those killed run from their farmstead and streams and the Fulanis simply graze on like nothing happened. What happened in Aguta community just reminds me of that incidence in Uniben.
Also, my learning on Nigeria’s people and history teaches me that the White colonialists and their indirect rule succeeded more in the North because Northerners obey their royalty to the core. Islam means SUBMISSION and indeed these people “submit” to their leaders.
Based on the above, I researched Fulani herdsmen and wondered just how random they are and if anyone could control them. I found to my chagrin that all five top Emirs in the North were their patrons. I found they were a well-run outfit with a functional and interactive website at macban.org. I found that Buhari and Osinbanjo, despite their busy international schedule have found time to meet and smile and take pictures with them. I also found the herdsmen we see are not even the owners of the cattle. I found the cattle business goes up to Northern aristocracy.
When a pipeline is vandalized, Buhari has ordered the attack of ex militant leaders in Bayelsa, Rivers, Delta etc. A whole community in Delta State was threatened to produce the culprits or face army action. By army action we remember what happened to the shiites of Kaduna. Yet not one Fulani is accosted for killing babies.
So looking at all the Fulani killings in Nigeria and the lack of arrests and prosecution, looking at the confidence with which one of their lower level leaders said “we killed them because they killed our cattle”, one can understand the concept of “back up” at play.
And if you are wondering why children cannot get forex for schooling abroad or why Yoruba and Igbo businessmen cannot find forex for their trade and yet cattle wil get forex To buy grass from Brazil to feed cattle that is privately owned, these pictures will tell you why this anomaly is the most “normal” thing in Nigeria.
Remember, we cannot stop Fulanis from trading in any part of Nigeria. It is their constitutional right. How
ever it is not their constitutional right to have us feed their cattle. But then, look at the pictures and understand why this madness is happening.
Again, we cannot stop Fulani cattle from our farms. We cannot stop them from murder. They control the system.
What we can control is our eating beef/suya/kpomo/shaki etc. We can all make human beings of these people if we do not eat beef which will then force their leadership and cow owners to say “we are losing money. Stop killing them.”. Also they will learn to ranch their animals as done all over the developed world.
Like Oruru’s father, we cannot fight the Emir. What we can do is ensure we do all within our strength and publicity and public outcry is our strength. Tell someone not to eat beef today till Northern aristocracy order their Fulani herdsmen to behave like human beings, respect life and people’s farms and till they ranch their cattle
#stopeatingbeef. save lives of children from murdering Fulani herdsmen.
