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“Under the circumstances of what has been happening in Plateau State, some people just have to die……Any society that refuses to be just and fair shall become a jungle where only jungle justice shall operate……… Indeed, the majority of our killings were carried out in areas where there was strong government presence.”
– Mallam Sale Bayero, Fulani leader and secretary Sultan’s Farmer/Cattle Rearers Conflict Committee boasting as he justified the massacre of the Birom people while protesting the arrest of the Fulani murderers in the Plateau State of Nigeria, quoted in THE SUN NEWS of Friday, March 12, 2010.
Dan Fodio
Some time towards the middle of the second decade of the 1800s (1815 AD or thereabouts), Uthman Dan Fodio was reported to have had a scary dream about his Sultanate empire that he had just built. This dream was said to have saddened him that the empire he had spilt so much blood to build would only last 200 years. As a courageous warrior that he was, Dan Fodio was reported to have summoned the will to interpret the dream make this prediction about the future of his Empire.
According to informed sources, as reported by Adewale Adeoye in The Nation of March 14, 2010, this fear of the realization of Dan Fodio’s dream was what informed the hurried movement of the Capital of Nigeria from Lagos to Abuja. The report said inter alia:
“The source hinted that in the 1970s, Northern leaders of Fulani extraction had met and resolved that the capital of Nigeria be moved from Lagos to Abuja, in anticipation of the prophecy of late Uthman Dan Fodio. He said the meeting was propelled by the dream the then Sultan of Sokoto had that he saw his offsprings, in years to come, being requested to obtain visa permits before entering the Southern part of the country….”
There are a number of deductions that could be made from the above:
1. That the entire Nigeria was and is still regarded as part of the Sultanate Empire of Uthman Dan Fodio.
2. That this is why the Fulani have been exuding this arrogant attitude permeated with the “BORN TO RULE” mentality.
3. That this is why they have always ruled Nigeria as if we are in the middle ages and consider the wealth of Nigeria as theirs to spend as they see fit.
4. That the recent liberation struggles in Birom, Niger Delta, and the rest of the South-West or South-East are being seen as the beginning of the end of the Sultanate Empire by the Fulani people
5. That the Fulani people have been scheming and preparing to get ready for when they would leave or be chased out of Nigeria.
It is this writer’s view that there is nothing wrong if the Fulani have to pull out of Nigeria to sustain and maintain the remnant of their Sultanate Empire. It would definitely serve all concerned very well. But this writer is not convinced that the Fulani would let go very easily, regardless of their palpitation about the dreams of Uthman Dan Fodio. They are going to fight hard. Anyone familiar with their trickery and how they subdued all the fledgeling Hausa States one after the other, using Hausa masses against their kings would agree with this writer.
To this extent, I disagree with Lord Lugard that the Fulani (let us leave the Hausa ethnic nationality out for now), “has no ambition.” The Fulani has ambitions and great ones at that. The Fulani ambition is to always rule others whether they (Fulani) have the capacity to do so or not. The Fulani liked and still likes his empires, at least that of Uthman Dan Fodio has been in place before Lord Lugard ever was born.
It is this inherent ambition that forced the Fulani to develop the methodology to use religion to mobilize the Hausa critical mass against their own Hausa rulers and replaced them with blue-blooded turban-carrying Fulani rulers as Emirs across what used to be Hausa kingdoms. As time goes on, the Fulani sought ways to modernize its means of extending the frontiers of the Sultanate and refined its tool that was used against the Hausa Kingdoms in preparation for the conquest of the ethnic nationalities in Nigeria.
What the Fulani came up with was a different brand of what they did to the Hausa kings and empires. The Fulani concluded that because of cultural and religious factors, it would not be easy to use the critical mass of other ethnic nationalities in Nigeria to be able to supplant the leaders of these ethnic nationalities. So, the Fulani to sustain its ambition to rule and dominate, cultivated corrupt satellites in every ethnic nationality in Nigeria while politically annihilating the true leaders of other ethnic nationalities.
In 1957, during the heated battles for self-government and independence, Sir Ahmadu Bello referred to
Nigeria as “The mistake of 1914.” To correct this “mistake” a meticulous plan to dominate the future Nigerian Armed Forces was surreptitiously embarked upon while the British were helping out on the political front manufacturing Parliamentary seats for the North against the South of Nigeria. Thus, barely six months after independence, Sir Ahmadu Bello was able to say with confidence in the Daily Times of May 3, 1961, the following:
“I’m set and fully armed, to conquer the Action Group, AG, in the same ruthless manner as my grandfather conquered Alkalawa, a town in Sokoto province, during the last century.”
The writer would like readers to pay due attention to the words used by Sir. Bello, in this quote. He used the word “conquer” not “negotiate.”
Ahmadu Bello executed this desired conquest of the West as he had planned. Though it backfired temporarily as it consumed him a number of years later, but the Fulani sentries in the Caliphate Armed Forces euphemized as the Nigerian Armed Forces along with its surviving civilian wing have adopted Sir. Ahmadu Bello’s method of propping up political, economic and religious satellites in all ethnic nationalities in Nigeria to be able to maintain control from Abuja, Sokoto and or Gobir, the birthplace of Uthman Dan Fodio.
It would be alright, if the Fulani could live with others as others are willing and prepared to live with them in Nigeria and other parts of West Africa, at least. In Nigeria, there have been more than 100 years of evidence that various ethnic Nationalities have accommodated, loved respected and cared for the Fulani in their midst.
There is abundant evidence that the Fulani have been treated as fellow human beings and accorded the same rights that the host have always enjoyed.
But it is very unfortunate that the Fulani has not had the same “live and let live” approach to other ethnic Nationalities in Nigeria.
The Fulani concept of living is that others have to die, so that the Fulani may live. As far as the Fulani are concerned, other peoples of other ethnic nationalities are second-rate slaves to be used, dumped, maimed, raped or killed for the good of the Fulani man. The Fulani see Nigeria as his great grandfather’s inheritance to be toyed with as he wishes and as he wants.
This attitude of Fulani makes him believe that he has to rule wherever he is, regardless of his comparative intelligence and capability to that of his host among other reasons.
Presenting a paper reviewing Paul M. Lewis’ book Ethnologue: Languages of the World, (16th Edition), to a study group in Philadelphia recently, Professor Wola Awoyale, a linguist at the University of Pennsylvania noted that the Fulani are recent immigrants in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Benin Republic, Guinea, Senegal, Niger, Mali and Sudan. The Fulani symbol is the turban, flag, alukimba, mosque and book. The Fulani are “a very creative” people who are often very “tight-lipped, silent and secretive” in their approach. They are very “mistrusting, calculating and patient.”
The Fulani are described as “cold-blooded and ideological.” They are “ascetic, reclusive and tough-minded.” The Fulani places the premium on the role of the mosque in its culture and this is why in all of Nigeria, a Fulani would not be a part of ‘Jamaa’ (the congregation) where another man of different ethnic stock is leading Muslims in prayers.
The Fulani language Fulfude with its variations in ‘Fulah’, ‘Pulaar’ and or ‘Pular’ are very highly priced. It is their weapon to discuss in secrecy and manipulate and carry out their machinations.
The Fulani will freely learn the languages of others as a means of infiltrating them for economic, political and religious advantages while rarely speaking Fulfulde in the presence of others.
In the same March 14, 2010-edition of The Nation, Baba Oluwide, a former economic consultant to the United Nations (UN) was interviewed. Part of the interview read inter alia:
“To him,(Baba Oluwide) the frequent clashes ‘reflects a reawakening of consciousness among nationalities which territories were forcefully taken by the Fulani’ adding that it also ‘signifies the collapse of the Fulani Empire.’
He said the ‘main cause of the downfall of the Fulani Empire’ was the defect inherent in their political and social perspectives which he says celebrates lack of tolerance for diverse culture and a resentment of pluralism of ideas.”
This writer, in disagreement with the interviewee, would not be so swift to sing the dirge of the Sokoto Caliphate or the Sultanate.
While one may agree that there is “a reawakening of consciousness among nationalities which territories were forcefully taken by Fulani,” there is still the need for the ethnic Nationalities in Nigeria to remain vigilant.
It is one’s view that the battle to overthrow the yoke of the Fulani political imperialism/neo-colonialism, economic exploitation and religious extremism is just about to begin.
While it may be true that the Fulani is being haunted by the dream of Uthman Dan Fodio and are making preparations for the D-Day when they would leave Nigeria or are chased out, it would amount to political suicide for the oppressed and enslaved ethnic nationalities in Nigeria to go to sleep, waiting for the time when the Fulani would voluntarily leave Nigeria. There may be eventual negotiations, but this writer doubts it giving the characteristics of a Fulani man.
It is one’s view that freedom is not cheap and neither is it free. There is always a price to pay for one’s freedom.
The Fulani is willing to loot, maim, and kill to hold on to its empire. This suggests that to take it from them, all the ethnic nationalities have to be prepared for every eventuality just in case words and negotiations would not solve the problem.
It would be recalled that the Fulani embarked on ethnic cleansing of the Jukun ethnic nationality in Taraba State in the 1990s. The Fulani are vociferously claiming the ownership of Idi-Araba and yelled: “barao, barao, barao” meaning “thief, thief, thief” on the then Governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu in his own State.
The Fulani started a war on traditionalists in Shagamu in Ogun State over the celebration of Oro Festival.
The Fulani have tried to reduce the Tiv’s population by extermination during the First Republic.
The Fulani have tried to emasculate the Katafs in Kaduna before. The Fulani tried to cleanse Zakibiam of non-Fulani blood.
The Fulani have been killing owners of the land in Iseyin and Shaki in Oyo State.
Media reports noted that scores of owners of the lands in Oyo were left “dead, maimed or raped.” The Fulani are determined to wipe out the Birom people of Plateau from their ancestral lands.
The Fulani has just recently killed a policeman in Ekiti State after wounding the owners of the land. The Fulani has an Emir of Ilorin, a Yoruba town.
The Fulani is determined to have an Emir of Jos and possibly Enugu too, very soon
The Nation, in its report of March 14, 2010, also noted the following:
“In many West African countries, clashes between nomadic Fulani and indigenous communities are well known underlining the fact that the challenge is a sub-regional phenomenon.
In Cameroon, Ghana, Mali, Togo and Niger, frequent clashes between nomadic Fulani and land owners constitute a major security problem for national and regional governments.
In the Chad basin, clashes between Fulani and Shua Arabs have led to thousands of deaths, reliable sources claim. Many of the clashes were between indigenous communities and Fulani herdsmen accused of trespassing on native lands and in many cases, attempting to take over the lands by force of arms.”
This shows that the Fulani has a character that is antithetical to the hopes and yearnings of other ethnic nationalities in Nigeria and around West African sub-continent. They are used to taking things that do not belong to them by force.
Exploiting the oil of the Niger Delta in the way and manner it had been for this long is not out of character for the Fulani.
Spending the national resources to which they contribute next to nothing like a drunken “gambler” is part of the Fulani nature.
The Fulani has no capacity to be compassionate where his interests are at stake. Thus the murdering of a Ken Saro Wiwa here and a Dele Giwa there, or another Akaluka here and Oluwatosin there means nothing to the Fulani.
Murdering in a cold-blooded massacre, several Junkun women and children has no meaning to the Fulani.
Wiping out the entire villages of the Birom people does not mean anything to the Fulani. Looting, raping, maiming and murdering innocent and generous Yoruba hosts has no meaning in the consciousness of the Fulani. It is just a way of life.
The essence of bringing this to the attention of the world, especially the ethnic nationalities in the bondage called Nigeria is to let them know what they are engaged with in the struggles to be free and have self-determination. The Fulani is not prepared to negotiate if he is going to lose out.
The Fulani will fight. And he will be ruthless and cold-blooded in the fight.
The only language the Fulani understands is war and conquest. All you need to do is just listen to Mallam Sale Bayero in the quote above.
Listen to the posthumous voice of Ahmadu Bello echoing from the grave as he uses the words “ruthless” and “conquer” in speaking about his supposed fellow countrymen.
Listen to Mallam Bala Garuba in the West African Pilot newspaper speaking of “conquest” of his supposed countrymen.
Listen to Mallam Falalu Bello (MD, Unity Bank of Nigeria) threatening “there will be no real peace in this country moving forward,” because he feels the Fulani has no control over the resources and means of others.
Listen to Balarabe Musa making a case for permanent rulership of Nigeria by the Fulani. Listen to the Bala Usman of this world as to why no one of other ethnic nationality should be allowed to rule Nigeria.
Listen to the silent yells of Maitama Sule making the same case. Yes, the nightmare of Dan Fodio’s dream may hang like a noose around the Fulani’s neck, but the Fulani would never give up without a fight.
The Hausa people are still wondering how they have become so slavish to the Fulani. They are still wondering how their very valuable heritage has been polluted and dumped for that of the Fulani settlers.
The Hausa are still wondering how the great histories of their forefathers have been supplanted by that of the Fulani to whom they have shown great love and hospitality.
Every ethnic Nationality in Nigeria needs to be aware that the Hausa people are very confused right now. Some of their elites have been incorporated by the scheming and secretive Fulani.
The Fulani are very few in numbers and they have brainwashed the Hausa people to believe that their (Hausa) destinies are tied together with that of the Fulani because of Islam.
The Fulani use the Hausa numbers as a buffer to perpetrate Fulani evils in Hausa name. What they have done to Hausa people is to make them believe in the Fulani as the pathfinders for them (Hausa).
Now, it is the Hausa who is used to fight the Fulani fights and battles. This is what Sir. Ahmadu Bello, taking a page off the book of his Fulani great grandfather, Uthman Dan Fodio, has also done with other minority groups in the North of Nigeria, using them as tools for the Fulani conquest of Nigeria.
As pointed out above, this trick has been extended to all ethnic nationalities in Nigeria and as such one could find among them corrupt leaders who hold allegiance to the Sultanate rather than their peoples.
This writer has his doubts if the Hausa people would ever wake up. Even, if and when they wake up, the benefits of greed and the unabated appropriation of resources for which they have never laboured out of the Niger Delta and other parts of Nigeria would still guarantee the Hausa – Fulani cooperation.
The minority ethnic nationalities in the North are waking up. They are realizing that they are slaves in their own lands. They are just realizing that they have been fighting the battles of Fulani to their own and their peoples’ detriment.
They have just realized that cows are much more treasured by the Fulani than the Birom mothers, Tiv wives, Jukun sisters, Igala children, Nupe brothers and Kataf fathers.
The Fulani is a fiercely ambitious man, contrary to what Lord Lugard is trying to make us believe.
The Fulani would plunder, loot, rape, maim and kill in pursuit of this ambition.
The Fulani would take advantage of the weaknesses of his host and supplant him and appropriate his wealth and means.
The Fulani for the last 200 hundred years has been at loggerheads with every known hospitable host of his, not just in Nigeria but in West African sub-region.
The Fulani ambitions are intolerant of the existence and well-being of others.
This is where one could agree with Lord Lugard – that the Fulani is “seriously diseased” and “a menace to any community to which he seeks to attach himself.”
The ethnic nationalities in all of Nigeria still stand a good chance to be free.
That chance would fizzle and dissipate without standing firm, strong and willing to make the necessary sacrifice that would be required. It is time to repel the Fulani imperialism and or neo-colonialism.
It is time to reclaim our freedom and rights. It is time to seek any means necessary to be free from the bondage called Nigeria.
Cows could not, should not, would not and must not be more important than our daughters and sons, brothers and sisters as well as our mothers and fathers.
Written By John Coker
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
