The alarm by Amotekun

ON Wednesday, the Western Nigeria Security Network (Amotekun) raised the alarm  over the invasion of the country by Fulani marauders from Mali, Niger Republic, Chad and Burkina Faso. This disclosure was made by the Oyo State chairman of Amotekun, Brigadier-General Ajibola Togun (retd), who revealed that some of the foreigners were already hiding in forest reserves in the South-West. Speaking on the theme, Security Challenge: Holistic approach and the significance of regional security dimensions at the annual lecture organised by students of the Institute of Peace and Strategic Studies, University of Ibadan, the retired intelligence officer warned the people of the South-West states of Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti and Ondo to be on high alert. According to him, some foot soldiers sent by the invaders had made incursions into the states by posing as commercial motorcyclists, but with intent to study the geography of the zone.

Accusing the Federal Government of inviting the invaders by declaring the country’s borders open to them, the Amotekun boss said: “The people who are supposed to administer Nigeria to move forward are biased in the aspect of religion. The Fulani that I grew up to know were the native Fulani. But these ones causing problems are non-Nigerians. They are from Fouta Djallon, Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Niger Republic. Some of these people were Tuaregs who used to ambush traders in the olden days and rob them of their money and property. These foreign Fulani, somebody had told them that Allah gave Nigeria to them as their heritage and they are coming here to come and take what Allah has given them.”

Given the criminal onslaughts by nomadic herdsmen on different parts of the country in recent times, it is clear that the Oyo Amotekun boss was not being flippant. Only this week, about 50 people were murdered in cold blood in Odoke Ishieke, Obakota Ishieke and Indiobasi Ishieke communities in Ebonyi State. The casualties included nursing mothers and pregnant women. Across the states of the South-West, the nomadic herdsmen have committed unspeakable atrocities, particularly in the last five years. As a matter of fact, it was their genocidal activities that sparked the formation of Amotekun. Sadly, time and again, the security agencies have stood idly by as the herdsmen committed robberies, rape, bodily mutilations and massacres. Almost on a daily basis, the herders have raped and killed women on their farms, slaughtered young farmers who protested against their blood lust, and turned the highways into death points. The security agencies, including the intelligence agencies that normally was lyrical while going swiftly after critics of the government, have found no response to the wanton bloodshed and sexual violations by the Fulani terrorists.

The ugly roll call of the maimed and dead includes entrepreneurs who left the shores of Europe and the Americas to set up agricultural and other businesses in the country, traditional rulers, students and civil servants. The horrific tales by survivors, including of women turned into sex slaves and raped as they bled to unconsciousness, and of husbands tied to trees in forests and wounded with broken bottles and daggers as they watched their daughters and wives being raped, are in the public domain. The statement by the Oyo Amotekun boss is therefore a very grave alarm that should attract the attention of governments at the state and federal levels. A safe South-West translates into a safe Nigeria and vice versa. The governors  of the South-West states must  be proactive and ensure that the people do not end up bearing the brunt of death, kidnapping, rape and other negative fallout of a foreign invasion on a fresh scale.

Without denying the legitimate right of any Nigerian to live and work in the South-West, governments in the region must make it abundantly clear that they are on top of the security situation in their domains. They must keep a tab on all the people living in the zone in order to curb criminal activities. This is the time to commit time and resources into strengthening Amotekun by recruiting enough hands and ensuring that its operatives are trained to appreciate the importance of intelligence in securing the land and the people. Drone technology should be deployed. Communities across the zone, and indeed across the country, must remain vigilant. Neighbourhood watches must be up and doing. This is the time to arrest sleep as part of the prize to pay for liberty. In particular, we urge the Lagos State government to unveil the state’s branch of Amotekun. Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, is a prime target of terrorists and must arm and re-arm itself against a blood-thirsty band of marauders.

On its part, the Federal Government should see it as its responsibility to ensure that the people of the South-West are safe and are not susceptible to attacks by these foreign elements. Such attacks have the possibility of endangering the unity and existence of the country over time. Truth be told, the criminal onslaughts by the Fulani terrorists have been enabled by the Federal Government’s tardiness in going after them, and the prevalent notion among some political elite in the North that Fulani herdsmen of whatever nationality are welcome in Nigeria. Only recently, armed herdsmen from Niger Republic invaded the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), creating pandemonium as they headed for Niger State. They were neither cautioned nor detained by the security agencies.

We call on the officers and men of the security agencies to prioritise fidelity to the Nigerian constitution over and above partisan sentiments. They must rise up to their responsibilities and demonstrate to all Nigerians that they will be treated fairly and equally. Neither the South-West nor the five other geopolitical zones of the country should be allowed to become vassals of a murderous group of foreign invaders and their local collaborators.

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