Members of one of the foremost groups in Southern Kaduna, The Southern Kaduna Rebirth, SOKARE, have described former minister of aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, as one of those whose voices have helped in forcing the terrorist Fulani herdsmen to cut down massively on the scale of terror they planned to unleash on the people of the area.
In a Saturday, February 18, 2017 press release signed by its chairman, Peter Ayuba, and e-mailed to The Trent shortly after a meeting in Abuja, the group described Fani-Kayode’s interest in the terrible occurrences in Southern Kaduna as the “Finger of God” and highly commendable.
The group admitted that but for the constant criticism of the likes of the former aviation minister that has helped to keep the marauding herdsmen and their official sponsors in check, the situation could have gone worse than it is.
SOKARE commended the Osun born chief for standing up for them despite not being directly affected by the situation there. “Sometimes we are left to wonder where he finds such strength and motivation but then we remind ourselves of the scripture which declares that the righteous are as bold as a lion and that those who know their God shall be strong and they shall do exploits. In fact, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode is a fulfillment of the scripture that says there is a friend that is closer than a brother. He is one of such very scarce friends and we shall remain eternally grateful to him for speaking out against official tyranny and oppression at a dangerous time like this. Only God can reward him abundantly.”
“Ours is a region of majorly peasant farmers who struggle to make ends meet, yet, you chose to stand up for us when our enemies rose against us; you became our voice when we lost ours, and made us to feel assured that we are not alone in this battle. We cannot pay you but God will surely do,” the statement read.
The group went ahead to also commend Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State, CAN, SOKAPU, Apostle Suleiman and other individuals and groups that have stood by the people of Southern Kaduna in their times of suffering.
The group called on the federal government to be alive to its responsibility of safeguarding the lives of its citizens even if they do not share the same faith with them. While imploring the federal government to forestall further attacks on the people, it urged the authorities to ensure that perpetrators of these dastardly acts are brought to book forthwith to give the victims a sense of justice and reprieve. This, they said, is the only way government can heal the festering wounds in the area.
“Should government fail to do these, we shall not hesitate to mandate our people to defend themselves with vigour and ferocity whenever and wherever such attacks might occur again. The attackers and their sponsors should know that no group has the monopoly of violence,” the statement concluded.
The Southern Kaduna Genocide
Southern Kaduna, a predominantly Christian area of the Northern state of Kaduna in Nigeria, has come under heavy and systematic ethnic and religious cleansing.
Terrorists operating under the umbrellas of the Islamist Fulani Herdsmen Militia, the 4th most deadly terrorist group in the world has been attacking communities in Southern Kaduna, killing, and maiming Christians and burning homes and churches.
Governor Nasir El Rufai of Kaduna State has publicly admitted that his government has found the members of the Fulani militia perpetuating the killing in Southern Kaduna and he has paid them a “compensation” for them to stop the killings. The governor revealed that the militia is made up of Fulani nomads from neighboring Cameroon, Mali, Niger and other countries.
The victims of these murders are Christians and their attackers are on an ethnic and religious cleaning mission, according to the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN.
While Christians leaders have called on communities under attack to defend themselves against their attackers, Muslim clerics in Kaduna have called for the arrest of Christian religious and political leaders from Kaduna and other parts of the country like Femi Fani-Kayode who have called on Christians to defend themselves against their attackers.
These exchanges have led to an intense political environment.
