By Babayola M. Toungo
I sleep and wake with the northern elite on my mind. To be very specific, the Fulbe elites. The plethora of its intelligentsia, retired bureaucrat, technocrat, serving and retired security personnel. Please the reader should bear with me on my recurrent theme on the Fulbes and their travails. This is because we have succeeded in bringing the Fulbe issue to the front burner, though in a very negative and archaic way. In all the narratives and the actions taken so far to criminalise the Fulbes, I have not seen an articulated and sustained position of the Fulbe elites. Those of us with reach and access failed to come to the aid of the herder who spent his whole day in the bush tending to his cattle.
The traducers of the Fulbes sustained their attacks over and over, which brought us to where we are with the Pullo branded a terrorists by a world unsympathetic to his cause and whose life can be wasted and wealth confiscated without consequences. The deprecation has been systematic over time and has achieved much more than they set out to accomplish. I must confess I have tremendous respect for the Fulbe haters who sustained a coordinated campaign without let for almost twenty years now. The frenzy was upped with the death of Umaru ‘Yar Adu’a in the run up to the 2011 election where Jonathan slugged it out with a candidate of northern extraction. Jonathan’s campaign team hinged their strategy for success on selling hate and fear. When brand Buhari trounced their brand, it was only a matter of time before what they sowed during the campaign germinated and began to blossom.
With the unprecedented success of their campaign, in terms of the bloodletting taking place all over the north, the hate campaign only intensified. It became an industry – a voracious machine designed to devour the hapless Fulbes, be they nomadic or sedentary. Yes, sedentary because make no mistake about it, the nomads are taking the brunt on your behalf – you the Fulbe elite. Those who have made the “killer Fulani herdsman” brand are the same people who accuse you of wanting to islamise the nation and being jihadists. Today it is the “Fulani killer herdsman”, tomorrow it will be just plain “Fulani killer”, make no mistake about that.
The passion with which these modern day killers set-up the Fulbe nomads for the kill is, to say the least, perplexing. Their dedication to the dehumanization of fellow human beings, even if it is horrific, is to be commended. They do it with relish and the successes of their campaign, I believe, make them want more. I am also sure, from time to time they meet to compare notes and analyze areas that may need improvement and collectively pat each other on the back.
But where are the Fulbe elites? Where are our political leaders? The Fulbe traducers are always assured that whatever they do, there are people out there who will shout on their behalf. Not the pastoralists. Their own people living in big mansions in the city have orphaned them. Where are our legislators? Or is it that there are no Fulbes in the various state Assemblies and the national Assembly or even executive arms of government? Where are our media men, retired public and civil servants, retired military and security personnel, our academics and businessmen? Where is everybody? What has gotten into us that we think it is politically incorrect to come out in support of your kinsman while others do? Why do you care about how you are perceived by those who wish you ill?
If we still believe the systematic demonization and ‘dehumanisation’ of the herdsman is not because of you and I, then we are living in delusion. The Nigerian media has been wanting to associate all Fulbe with “islamisation” and “jihad” for as long as Nigeria existed. The Fulbe were and are portrayed as power grappers, dominating the political landscape, over-bearing and domineering; has it all being a lie? If not, where are those reputed to have held the country by its jugular?
While our people are killed and then blamed, most Fulbe elites are talking about the dance steps of Ganduje’s daughter and reserved our worst condemnations for her and her father while pointedly turning our visage away from the macabre dance taking place along the coast of River Benue from Numan in Adamawa State to the confluence of Benue and Niger in Kogi state. This stretch of the Benue River is among the best fodder for the herders’ cattle with the lush green grass growing all year round. Modern day racists are bent on denying them access to this God-given animal utopia. We have given more attention to the election sequence than the postponed planned auction of cattle confiscated by Benue state governor. It took the intervention of cooler heads to dissuade the governor from this committing this heinous crime. Where are the so-called elites? Hattara!
When the Benue state government decided in its wisdom to expel all Fulbe pastoralists from the state and the subsequent killings of the pastoralists and the rustling of their herds, I saw lawmakers in both the chambers of the national assembly coming out in defence of the Benue state government. Where were those to put forth the position of the Fulbe in the legislature? We are scared not to be labeled as condoning “terrorism” because some people, who I know, meant no good to me, said so?
Let’s hope the monster we see festering right before our eyes does not devour us. Let’s hope posterity will not judge us as being among those who kept mute when we should have intervened and our intervention may make a difference.
