What is the situation of things now security -wise in Southern Kaduna?
Well, if we go back in time, to 2015 when the All Progressives Congress (APC) first won the general election, particularly in Kaduna, when Nasir El-Rufai came to power, it was as if some forces were just waiting for that to provide the sparks for what people now know as herders/farmers crisis. In southern Kaduna, we are essentially farmers and we have coexisted with our Fulani brothers and sisters for a long time. Now, to say that when two peoples coexist, there will be no fiction is to tell a lie. But having grown up in a traditional ruling house, I have seen instances where cattle would stray into somebody’s farm and damage some of the crops and the affected people would come and complain to the local chiefs. My father, in such an instance, would ask the Fulani person involved whether he had encroached on the land in question. They would then go together and assess the level of destruction done to the said farm and after that, compensation would be paid and business would continue as usual.
I know, too, that there was an arrangement between the herders and the farmers to have some of the Fulani settle their cows on some lands so that they could provide the manure needed for the local farmers to grow their crops. However, of recent, people’s farms were deliberately destroyed. Cattle were driven into people’s farms and the farmers could not talk. If they did, they would be killed, because these herders had guns. This was what was happening in southern Kaduna. But we all know where they got the arms from. After the fall of Gaddafi in Libya, armouries were looted and the arms began to go through the Sahara and ultimately, the destination has been West Africa, because there was no proper management of our borders. These arms landed in the hands of criminals; bandits, rustlers and hostage takers. That was why we are in this mess today.
To answer your question as regards why there is relative peace, everything in life has its beginning, its peak and end. In the beginning, our people were just sitting like dogs. So many villages were attacked by the Fulani and we were just looking because how do you confront people who are armed with military grade weapons? Nobody took steps to address these issues. As close as southern Kaduna is to Abuja, nobody seemed to notice it. At that time, the president had some medical issues, but he had aides. He had people employed to carry out certain functions but nobody came to identify with us.
But Vice President Yemi Osinbajo was in Kaduna and he promised to consult with some.
It was when the destructions had become enormous that steps were taken. That was when the Ministry of the Interior now brought what is known as relief materials to the victims. But when no individual was arrested or prosecuted for the crimes perpetrated, the transgressions continued. But over time, as we are all aware, the herders/farmers problem spread to virtually everywhere in the country. This is my understanding of what is happening.
Can you tell us the kind of relationship you used to have with the Fulani?
Yes, we had a robust relationship. We had them in our villages. Like I said earlier, we have coexisted for a very long time. Fulani, as we knew at that time, were not hostile. If I went to my village, I drank fura de no-no. Like I said, we did have occasional frictions with them but such frictions were resolved amicably.
So, where did things go wrong?
Nigeria is bordering some African countries and we all know the features of these borders. We have Niger Republic and Chad and so on. Our borders are so porous that many people cross over into our country without the requisite documents. I used to be an avid reader and I watched these cattle rustling films when I was growing up. You would see in the films that the penalty for cattle rustling was usually death by hanging. I read about rustling in Kenya. Over time, it came to us. That is the monster we are facing now. We have mass movements of these elements into our country who disrupt our security arrangements. They are operating as if they have taken over our nation. All this I blame the Federal Government for. A few months ago, I was reading in our dailies that the Federal Government wanted to withdraw all gun licences. I considered that suicidal. How could they take such a decision when insecurity has degenerated? We are in a situation when innocent citizens have arms for protection and you are asking them to surrender the arms and become vulnerable to killers, rustlers, kidnappers and bandits. It doesn’t appear to me as this is commonsensical. The government has been complicit in what is happening in the country. It appears as if there is an agenda that is being implemented in phases.
Where do you think is the place of the government in all this?
Of course, any man on the street will tell you that the government has interest. We know the cattle herders are essentially Fulani. They own the majority of the cows. We know the Fulani are largely the owners. We also know that they are nomadic in nature; they move from one area to another in search of pastures for their animals. It is because we have lost our sense of history that we are in this mess. I read an article four years ago by one of the professors at the University of Ilorin. The professor argued that we have completely misunderstood the movement. According to him, there is nothing like Jihad in the adventure of Usman Dan Fodio. The scholar said Dan Fodio raised an army to overthrow the habes rulers and planted his people. That was how this country was gradually taken over by the Fulani. Anywhere Dan Fodio conquered, he would not give any local any authority but put in place a Fulani ruler and over time, the locals lost everything, even their language. Funny enough, many of the invaders claimed to be Fulani and they can’t speak Fulani. You see, international law recognises that if you arrived in a place and you dominate it, that area is yours. Why are the Fulani interested in leaving their ancestral land and supplanting other people?
Don’t you think it is because of grazing? There is a law in northern Nigeria which allows Fulani to graze on our lands?
Over time, if you notice, there has been problem with our laws. What is wrong in changing these laws? The Fulani didn’t have a problem with anybody but now they have a problem with everybody. I read the positions of Ohanaeze and Afenifere and I tell you that we are going to resist anybody taking our land. We are not going to be strangers in our own land. Who drives this agenda? The government. For instance, in Kaduna, the government of the day is trying to create a Batistutan kind of thing, like in South Africa. I am from Zangon Kataf. Zangon Kataf is a very small enclave and I don’t know how true it is that the state government wants to create an emirate there. You are aware that the state government has created emirates in Kaura, Lere, Kajuru and Kagarko. What did they want to prove? Of course, the supremacy of one ethnic group over the others. I was told, too, that there is an attempt to change the official name of our chiefdom from Aytiyap Gwatiyap to Atange. That is absolute nonsense. You cannot give us an identity we are not comfortable with.
What is wrong with the present title?
Atange is a small area and our ruler oversees whatever happens in the land. How do you reduce our ruler to a small enclave? We have been in peace over time with the people of Zangon. The Fulani are our people. Some of them don’t like what the government is doing because you are exposing them to danger. Each time I go to my village, I take my fura. In fact, these Fulani have lived with us for many years. Some speak our dialect better than the locals. So, if today you hear Fulani have killed our people, how do you look at them? Hatred and animosity are likely to develop. I don’t think all these are necessary. The government should think of promoting peace among the ethnic groups.
How can all these issues be resolved?
There have been series of advice. There is a white paper advising the government on what to do on Laduga grazing reserve; that the people should not build on the land. But go there today and you will find that people have built so many structures there. The Fulani are naturally nomadic. I don’t have any problem with that. But for them to go about killing people, that is unacceptable. So, if we are not careful, we will descend to what happened in former Yugoslavia. But do we need that now? If you go to Europe, do you see herders on their streets? Look at the quality of their beef. Look at our own cow meat. Why is the government investing for the benefit of the Fulani? Why are these things happening when we have a Fulani president? You see, much as you try not to look at this from that perspective, you can’t help it and the president appears to be saying nothing.
But two days ago, the president promised to end these crises.
How many times have we heard this? Perhaps if he speaks less and works more, we might get there. We should move past mere rhetoric.
But you have not given any suggestions as to how these issues should be tackled.
If the Fulani are acting alone and the government does not appear to be backing them, this could be contained. The Tivs and Jukuns have been in crisis for three decades and there are other flashpoints. Land is so important to human activities and so, the Ruga settlement, where are they going to build it? Who will give them the grazing land? There is nothing wrong if individuals sell their land to them but to give them whole hectares of land is unacceptable.
and then