By Chetam Obilo #OPINION
These are not Herdsmen, these are members of a foreign terrorist militia that are armed with military grade weapons, have a formal military command and structure, have an objective and are organized like an armed fighting force.
Nigerian Government officials Calling them Herdsmen is a glaring and deliberate attempt to water down the real goals of these killers; which includes;
*Dan Fodio style Conquest of non Fulani areas
*Imposition of a foreign religion on the locals.
*Changing the demographics
*Annihilating dissenting elements.
*Killing, maiming and raping enough people to bring about subjugation of the land.
Where is their cattle?
You have seen videos of them in the forest displaying caches of sophisticated arms.
Did you see a single cow there?
You have seen them dressed in military fatigues with scores of bikes, boxes of ammunition, grenades, grenade launchers, and an odd assortment of assault rifles…
You have heard Yoruba elders raise the alarm that there are hundreds of cells of such groups in their forests.
You have heard middle belt leaders cry out that military choppers ferry arms and other supplies to these militias in their forests.
Has cattle been a feature of the discuss?
No!
So why call then Herdsmen?
They use real Herdsmen as Trojan horse to gain entrance into areas that they want to hit, provoke unrest and strike. Go to Jos and other parts of Plateau state, it’s been a strategy. And when the natives flee, they change the name of the community, take possession and become attuned as locals.
I did a study of the Fulani and a few other northern societies as part of my Msc in Project Security Management many years ago. It was a course in History of ethno- religious clashes. The Northern Nigerian Example.
These are/were my findings…
*The Fulani have a warlike and aggressive essence coated with an intense religious flavour. They consider themselves puritanists, alongside the Arabs, as the inheritors of True Islam!
The Fulani have a fuedal society which is divided into four segments;
- The Ruling class/ The Ulama*
The Ruling class are the Sultan, the Emirs, The Waziris, Sarduana and other highly placed nobles.
The Ulama are the clergy, preachers and other holy men. They provide political and religious direction the worldview of an invaded non Fulani society should go. They arrive to take control of any community or country Fulanis find themselves .. - The Town Fulani.
They are the second segment who are tasked with mingling with the local non Fulani population, become integrated but never lose their Fulani identity.
Their task is to water down any hostilities to Fulani presence and sway the opinions of the ordinary folk to become pro Fulani. - The Bororoje or cattle Fulani.
As a nomadic people, these are the scouts who discover fresh land, compromise their contacts and stealthily settle down amongst the people. Their other task is to provoke unrest, cause confusion, pretend to be the aggrieved and give cause for a violent expression of righteous outrage…
They set the stage for the last group…
*The Fulani Militia:
The armed wing is present in every Fula community. From Senegal to Sudan, to Central African Republic, to Nigeria.
*Their task is to wage war, devastate the enemy and make him happy to pay any price for peace and safety…
Theirs is a highly political society that has garnered immense experience and fine-tuned their strategies over the centuries. And they have been largely successful!
Why do you think they speak with so much arrogance?
Study their history, discover what I have discovered and let’s tell Ugo Egbujo nnaa to write with more circumspection.
Alhaji Integrity is the arrowhead of their game plan in Nigeria.
And he has no choice.
What is unfolding is an order by the pan Fulani body in west africa to settle the ethnic group permanently in Nigeria! Nigeria’s Fulani President has no choice but to obey…
The process of making Nigeria theirs is the conflagration engulfing our country today.
I am addressing others who have no idea what is unfolding in the country and still see events as APC, PDP, Igbos hate Alhaji Integrity, IPOB, Kanu is destroying Igbo land and all that jargon…
It is for them to read and see the real reason why the country is caught up in crisis.
The Fulani thrive in war and dislocation!
Remember Afonja
Remember their face off with Rabeh of Kanem-Bornu in the 1890s
Remember their battles with the Yoruba at the plains of Oshogbo
Remember Sultan Attahiru’s roguery in 1903 which led to his ouster by the British…
Perhaps because they haven’t been properly smashed in their history save for recently, when elements in Central African republic gave them a very bloody nose…
They have no idea why Nigeria has erupted in the volcano of insecurity since 2015.
The Fulanis are also obstinate about retaining their pastoral lifestyle and blatantly refuse to embrace modernity and civilized methods of cattle rearing.
Medieval style invasion and conquest of fresh territories still holds sway in their minds.
And the only places they could live the life the so desire is in the fertile Benue valley, the huge tracts of land in the middle belt and the rich forests of the west. They also want Nigeria to settle millions of their stateless people made refugees by Tuaregs, the Mandingos, the Bambara and other foes they have in west african subregion…This is why you see strange Fulani faces of fellows who don’t breath any word of English or Hausa anywhere they take over successfully…
As for the Igbo, our tiny overused land is not actually their target; they want our subjugation because the igbos represent the most potent opposition in their pathway of conquest. They feel they could use Islam to compromise the Yoruba. This is true to an extent, but the Igbo, is a very different worldview and creed. Again, first face-off that was the Biafran war, taught them that these people must be dealt with comprehensively this time. This is where you must locate Government’s eagerness to use force and deafness to suggestions of dialogue…
They fear Igbo ingenuity, creativity, gallantry and valour in battle.
Once they Get rid of Igbos and the way is open to reach the sea at Port Harcourt!.
(c) Chetam Obilo
Disclaimer: This article is entirely the opinion of the writer and does not represent the views of NEWSIEEVENTS.
NEWSIE EVENTS MEDIA TEAM Follow Us On Twitter: @NewsieEvents, Instagram: newsieevents, Facebook: Newsie Events (Subscribe to our YouTube Page: Newsie Eventsng.