A gradual but steady match towards the annihilation of southern Nigeria by Fulani terrorists has begun. But this is unknown to most southerners. They think, quite erroneously, that the terrorists are just flexing muscles; that they are only taking a chance. But the cold, hard fact is that these terrorists are on a mission. They are infiltrating southern forests and bushes without resistance. They are in Ondo, Enugu, Edo, Imo and Delta, to mention just a few. In fact, there is no southern state where these terrorists have not established their notorious presence.
Evil, as we are told, has very small beginnings. It usually comes across at first like mere happenstance. If it is not nipped in the bud, it soon begins to establish roots and grow wings. By the time it becomes protuberant, its victims will be looking lost. They will be wondering how they came to the dangerous bend. This is what is happening right now in the south. Has anybody stopped to ask why Fulani terrorists are not content with their murderous activities in the north west and north east of the country? Why are they no longer satisfied with the dance of death they have been staging in the north central, particularly in Plateau and Benue states? It is only blood lust that is goading them on. They want to own the south as much as they own the north. By the time they get entrenched in southern territories, the entire country would have become the enclave of the Fulani.
As we write, Fulani invaders are in Imo forests. They kill and maim on a daily basis. They kidnap for ransom. There is fear and apprehension in the south. The terrorist is on the prowl. He wants indigenous people to become strangers in their own land. He wants to keep them on the run so that he will take over their territories. This is the pattern anywhere and everywhere that the Fulani invader has established a stronghold. The terrorists are comfortably occupying bushes and forests in the south and are freely unleashing terror on the local communities.
It is the insecurity that the nomadic Fulani has injected into the south that led to the unfortunate incident in Edo State, penultimate week. Some fellows who are now being packaged as Fulani hunters, were rounded up in Uromi and killed by angry youths. Since then, Edo has been quaking. There are fears of reprisal attacks in Kano where the murdered hunters were said to come from. The governor of Edo State, Monday Okpebholo, was quick to move in. He visited his counterpart in Kano to express regrets over the unfortunate incident. So far, the tense situation is under control.
The Edo incident is truly unfortunate. Cold-blooded murder cannot be justified under any guise. The peace effort of Okpebholo is therefore commendable.
But the incident draws attention to the latest threat to peace and stability in Nigeria. The south of the country is fast coming under siege by Fulani terrorists. And this was what the Edo youths were responding to. The story from the state is that Fulani invaders have infiltrated their land. They are all over the forests wreaking havoc on the people and their farmlands . People can no longer go to their farms for fear of being killed or kidnapped by terrorists.
What happened in Edo state simply draws attention to the situation in other states across the south. There is hardly any part of the region that is not under siege. The locals have been terrorized to the bones. Many are on the run. The Fulani invaders are having an upper hand anywhere they go. The reason remains simple enough. They are armed with sophisticated weapons which the locals cannot match. And this raises the question: how did the Fulani invaders acquire the arms with which they are terrorizing the south? How are they able to move these dangerous weapons from the north to the south undetected? These are questions that we are not addressing.
We should also be worried about the special status that these Fulani invaders enjoy. They are sacred cows; indeed, a special breed. They kill at will without consequence. Nobody goes for them and nobody is after them. Security agents turn a blind eye to the atrocities that these terrorists commit every day. But whenever any of them falls victim as was the case in Edo state, the entire environment quakes. Soldiers move out of the barracks and enter local communities in search of people to kill in retaliation for the life of the Fulani terrorists. What this means is that the terrorists are working in cahoots with security agencies. And this explains why they are daring and ruthless. They are protected by those who should clip their wings.
But if the invaders are succeeding, it is because the governors of the affected states are not yet keen on dealing with the bad situation. As chief security officers of their states, governors can deal with security situations such as the one that the Fulani invaders are inflicting in their respective states. They can put in place action plans that will flush the terrorists out of the bushes and forests they are occupying. But the governors are not doing that. Instead, they are leaving the locals to carry their cross. How will unarmed indigenous people square up with terrorists that are armed to the teeth? The problem here is that the governors are playing politics with the lives of their people. They are focused more on how to gain political mileage than securing life and property in their respective states. This is very regrettable.
The neglect of the unarmed population of Nigeria is even more pronounced in the loud silences of the federal government. Under the Buhari regime, Fulani invaders had a field day, particularly in the Middle Belt. But now, they have pushed southwards, establishing strongholds in virtually all southern states. The Bola Tinubu administration which Nigerians thought would deal decisively with Fulani invasion has gone under instead. There is no policy in place to ensure that the terrorist is put in his place. Instead, he is given a free reign. There is no let or hindrance to his activities. President Tinubu, certainly, is not interested in the matter. He does not want to move against the Fulani invaders so that he will not be seen to be anti-north. Instead, he is focused on his second term bid. He wants to continue to paper over the issue. What matters is for him to perpetuate his stay in Aso Rock. This is the tragedy of our situation.
Whatever the concerned governments are doing or have failed to do, the south must learn to be on its toes. It must rise up to challenge this imminent annihilation. If the people and governments of the south continue to treat Fulani invasion of their territories with kid gloves, they will wake up one day to realize that they are living in a Fulani country where the right to life and death is the exclusive preserve of the victorious terrorist.