Hero of no battle

When Sunday Igboho commenced his ‘liberation’ movement, many people poured encomiums on him believing he is the new Sheriff in town who has been sent to ‘liberate’ the Yoruba people from the shackles of the Fulani. As a matter of fact, many threw different narratives to paint him in the ‘Messianic’ colour.

In all honesty, Sunday Igboho, filled a vacuum for a people who have been yearning for deliverance. History has taught us that nature abhors vacuum and this came to the fore with what could best be termed brazen lawlessness of Sunday Igboho which has so far been embraced as legitimacy by the people who are mostly affected by the activities of Fulani herdsmen. It need be put on proper record that these people sees Igboho’s response as a valid one insofar as the government has failed to address the kidnappings, maiming, killings and destructions of farmlands which have been attributed to Fulani herdsmen.

Sunday Igboho’s recent outburst against some traditional rulers has once again exposed the fact that many traditional rulers do not represent the people they claim to rule over especially in democratic settings. The concept of traditional institution, in all sincerity, is no more relevant in today’s society, because the essence of their establishment has been ridiculed the moment there is a democratic process of selecting rulers. Fulani herdsmen are not the problems but our thieving politicians who will rather abandon ringworm to treat headache. The fight against Fulani herdsmen is diversionary and does not in any way address the fundamental issue of governance. This is because, the battle against insecurity can never be disconnected from the battle against bad leaders who have milk the country dry and left us undeveloped.

It is so pathetic that in Nigeria, we still practise the archaic open grazing method of cattle-rearing when this same method has been abolished by many countries of the world who have now embraced ranching as a method of cattle-rearing and, despite the fact that we once had ranches across the country from Imeko to Akunnu to Odeda, just to mention a few which are non-functional today.

Another missing link is the ecological fund which was established in 1981 by the Nigerian state to tackle environmental problems caused by climate change, one of which includes desertification – unarguably the primary cause of the farmers/herders crisis. The sad but interesting side of this is that the fund has since failed to serve its purpose as it has become the last lender resort for the Federal Government. No doubt, if that fund had served its purpose, it could have saved us all from the burden of discussing cattle-rearing in the 21st century.

Kazeem Olalekan Israel,

Ibadan.

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