A nation treading on an egg shell; the tacit approval of Fulani herdsmen to bear arms -By Felix Okafor

Armed Fulani Herdsmen

There has been a recent worrying development in Nigeria. Another phase of terror where armless and defenceless citizens are displaced or butchered in the peace and quiet of their own homes. Something is dangerously brewing in the hot pot of Nigeria which should be nipped immediately. Sometimes you wonder whether the notion of Nigeria as a united country is a farce. It does seem like it. And whether you like it or not Nigeria is torn between two dividing lines: the Northern and Southern divide. And the Christian and Muslim Divide. It is quite hard to see Nigeria as a united country. Unity is hard, very hard to achieve in Nigeria. Oneness in Nigeria seems to be an empty concept. It does not seem to exist. It is hard for some Northners to feel the pains of a man from the Niger delta whose land and water has been polluted and destroyed forever by oil leaks. It is difficult for him to understand why a man in the Niger delta should to take up arms to demand a fair share of the income that comes from their land. The Norther’s interest in the Niger delta will disappear if oil is no longer found in the region. How can you explain that about 90% of the oil wells in the Niger Delta are owned by Northners? It is a material colonisation if you like. The fallout from the Civil war allowed by the Northners to control the government of Nigeria in every facet.  You can say that the Northners colonised Nigeria over again. You can call it internal colonisation. They ruled and passed the baton from one man to the other. The guns were in their hands, the military were in their hands, the police was in their hands, the ports were in their control, the laws were in their hands. If you like you can say that the first colonial masters were the British and the second colonial masters were the Northners.

The oil which was a blessing to Nigeria has become a curse. And I will explain. It is a curse because it diverted the attention from the natural agricultural produce that helped Nigeria tremendously during the British colonial rule. The British set an agricultural infrastructure that previously thrived. It is a curse because Nigeria sat back over the years and lazily did not diversify or develop alternative revenue avenue. It is a curse because it fostered corruption. Corrupt, disrespectful and even racist foreigners drilled oil without due to care to the environment and the consequential negative impact on the lives of people for years to come. They were not challenged.  It is a curse because all we talk about today is falling oil price. We are like a crippled eagle who wants to fly but cannot. We want to live well but we cannot, we want to have steady water supply but we cannot. We want to have steady power supply but we cannot. We want to live under the rule of law but we cannot. We want to have good roads but we cannot. We want to……but we cannot. How about good hospitals?  No way! Nigerians are health tourists to India, UK and other countries of the world. How about Good colleges and Universities. No way! We are Education tourists to India, Ghana, Togo, UK, etc.

If you are reading this article you will be wondering how does all these issues relate to the topic, “a nation treading on an egg shell; the tacit approval of Fulani herdsmen to bear arms”. I will again explain. You wonder why and how did all these dangerous ills infected Nigeria in the first place? Did you not know that infections start slowly and will eat dangerously deep when it goes unchallenged? You may sit comfortably because your relatives have not been killed, raped or maimed. You may be lightly concerned because somebody close to you has not been woken up from sleep with his house on fire and defencelessly facing reckless intruders armed with guns and weapons of war. You think it will not happen to you. The Northern governors and senators have defended it. It is difficult for them to feel the pain of the victims. The Police have become useless as ever. The military have not lived up to the expectation. The President of the federation is Fulani sympathiser, the governors of the affected states have approached this dangerous situation with pathetic Lukewarmness. The prominent individuals in the society appear caged as if gripped with fear. The traditional rulers are fast becoming irrelevant. No one speaks. No one is asking questions. No one is courageous enough to take a stand. The tacit approval for the Fulani herdsmen to bear arms is a dangerous infection. It is a time bomb and when it explodes, it will kills massively.