Chairman of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN) in Plateau State, Mallam Nura Mohammad, speaks with ISAAC SHOBAYO on the crisis in Mangu Local Government Area of the state in which over 300 people have been killed in the past five weeks.
You recently alleged that some Fulani were killed in parts of the troubled Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State. What led to this?
Some security personnel attacked Fulani residents in Mangu Local Government, shooting sporadically into the air, aiming at Fulanis and displaced people from Generet, Kombili and other villages around that area. They burned houses, killed some people, and killed their animals for reasons yet to be known to us. The cause of the incident is unknown to us, and what baffles us is that the security forces that are meant to protect lives and properties have now turned to destroying the properties and lives of the Fulani people in Mangu local government area. So, we are disturbed by the behavior of this personnel. The question we have been asking is: what were their targets, aims, and objectives in pursuing these atrocities?
They security men collaborated with the locals, that is, the Mwaghavul people, especially their youths, in attacking us. When they displaced the Fulanis from their residences, then the locals would move in and burn their houses, destroy everything, demolish their houses and then the atrocity would continue. That was the experience we had.
Apart from the destruction of properties, was there any human casualty?
There are casualties; there are dead and injured people; lives were lost. I was able to get the names of two people that were killed and three that were injured, but those on the ground are trying to come up with an accurate figure of the casualties; there are people that are still missing. We cannot come up with an accurate figure for now until the investigation is completed.
Your narrative is quite different from the one in the public domain; what is out there is that the Fulani mercenaries are the ones attacking the natives. What is your take on this?
There is no allegation against us that we are the ones attacking the natives; this is mere speculation to tarnish our image. Let those behind the speculation come out with their facts. After the May attack, there was a relative peace in Mangu; there was no conflict, no attack of any sort, and no report of any attack on our table. They are always suspecting that Fulani have attacked a place. Let them come out with their proof that Fulani have been killing people in the council area. It is a complete lie.
Recently, I was with the security personnel discussing these issues with them, especially the Commissioner of Police and the DPO in the area. They have not told me anybody attacked anyone in the area that led to these atrocities. Even if they suspect the Fulani, is that a license for the security personnel to attack the Fulani, killing them and destroying their properties?
Who is behind these killings?
Let me tell you, if we are biased in giving out information, the crisis will not come to an end. The crisis in Mangu is the result of two people fighting; there was a quarrel between a Fulani boy and another Mwaghavul person in Murish that led to the death of one of the two. But because they could not manage the situation, it escalated. The crisis in Mangu is avoidable, but unfortunately for the security, they were unable to curb this menace until it escalated, and now they are blaming the Fulani for the unfortunate situation. For the past 20 years that Plateau State has been experiencing crises of this nature, Fulanis had been suspected as attacking the natives. The narrative continues in Mangu. After all, the Fulanis have been displaced completely, many of them dead, and we have not been able to bury some of our corpses in Mangu LGA, especially in Kobum and other places. Today, the Fulanis have been displaced in totality in Mangu; we have been displaced in virtually all the districts in Mangu. Presently, we can only be found in Gindiri and Langai districts. The ongoing onslaught against us is to displace us completely from the local government. The allegation that we are behind the attacks is completely false; we are not behind all these attacks; rather, the natives have been the ones displacing us.
What do you think should be done to arrest the situation?
There is a planned agenda; this government has an agenda to displace Fulani out of Plateau State completely. They have been saying the Fulanis’ should leave their ancestral lands. What do they mean? Mangu Local Government was a complete Fulani dynasty, called Butum Chiefdom, where Ardo Dabude was used by the colonial masters for indirect rule, and today the descendants are called non-indigenes and face different kinds of harassment, threats, and intimidation. What does that mean? The agenda is to expel Fulani from Plateau State, and they have been doing this for quite a long time. The narrative is always against the Fulanis, and the media has not been fair to us at all. It has always been suspected Fulani have attacked here and there. Why is it the Fulanis that are suffering? Look at what happened in Mangu recently. They killed Fulanis and their cows; over 25,000 cows were lost in the last crisis. But nobody said anything about it. When relief materials were brought, even the federal government relief materials from NEMA in about five trucks, nothing was given to the Fulani people. If anything happens, they put it on the Fulani people. They said it was suspected Fulani herdsmen, but in reality, nothing like that You can go into an investigation into the areas and see what is happening for your reportage.
Since there are local Fulanis’ and the allegation has always been that foreign Fulanis’ are responsible for these acts of terrorism, have you not done your own investigation to unravel the perpetrators?
Who are those behind the attack?
Let them ask themselves, why are they attacking the Fulani? Have you ever asked them this question? Why are they attacking Fulani? Why are they trying to displace the Fulani that have been in Mangu Local Government for over 2,000 years, doing their business of rearing? Why are they cleansing them? Today, you cannot get Fulani in the western part of Mangu, especially Kobum, Panyam, and other places. Why are they always attacking Fulani and displacing them? What is on the agenda? What is the motive behind attacking Fulani, killing them, killing their cows, burning their houses, displacing them, and calling them different names every day? For the past 20 years, you have referred to them as suspected Fulani, and up until today, they are still suspected. What is the motive behind that? Okay, they have never told you that the Berom or Mwagavul person attacked Fulani, killed them, and destroyed their properties. But every day they will tell you that Fulani have destroyed and killed people.
What is the way out of this?
Now, I am calling on the federal government as a matter of urgency to give the Plateau issue urgent attention because the Plateau State government has failed by producing a security outfit that is destroying the entire state where they are attacking innocent people, killing them, destroying their properties, and burning their houses. We call this lack of will to foster peace and unity in the state. Before this government came on board, we were enjoying a fragile peace. Mangu has never had any crisis in the state. But today, every day, you hear about disruptions of peace and killings of one another in Mangu. So this government has failed. We are calling on the federal government to urgently intervene and take necessary actions to foster peace and unity.
But there are places, ancestral communities, and villages illegally occupied by Fulani militias that belong to the natives (cut-in).
I have been telling you that these are baseless allegations and false narratives, which I don’t want to respond to. I see it as a lack of will to be at peace. They create atrocities and label them on the Fulani so that the crisis will continue because they have a hidden agenda that they want to achieve. For the past 23 years, there have been killings and destruction of property in Plateau State, and allegations are going on and on, and today they tell you this or that. Like myself in Riyom Local Government, we are the second largest community in the local government. My ancestral land is in Tafawa; it is called Tafawa Baraya. But today, the Berom have claimed the whole area; they claim ownership of the whole area, saying it is their land. Who gave them the land? How did the land become theirs? After all, they came from the Niger Republic, like the Mwaghavul came from Borno and the Pyem came from Kano. All the land you see in Plateau State was cleared by the Fulani.
Are you saying that the Fulani arrived on the Plateau before the Berom and the Mwaghavul?
Of course, yes. There are areas mentioned in the history of West Africa where the Fulani first settled, like Kilimanjaro highland, Futa Jallon Island, and Mambilla Plateau. For the past 2,000 years, the Fulanis have been roaming about in Plateau State from one location to the next.
Since you claim your people arrived first, how come the Berom, Mwaghavul, and others are more populous than the Fulanis and at the same time have political domination to their advantage?
Let me tell you, this agenda of cleansing Fulani has contributed to destroying our population in Plateau State. Up until today, we are the second-largest population in the Plateau in terms of population. The only problem is that we are not settled in one particular area. We are scattered everywhere. But today, if you make a census, Fulani will be the second or third largest community in Plateau State. Even though we are scattered, in most of the areas we are the second largest community, like in Riyom, Barkin Ladi, Jos South, Jos East Bassa, Mangu, Pankshin, Kanke, and so on. Fulani is the second-largest community in these areas. That is why they are reducing the population to actualize their agenda.
What is on that agenda?
We cannot tell exactly, but they have started saying out loud that we should leave their ancestral land. They are using different agendas to execute their plan.
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