Governor Nyako, Miyetti Allah and resurgent violence

In the mystic world, there is a direct correlation between the hooting of the owl in the night and the death of a child in the morning. Similarly, the cosy relationship between Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State and the Fulani Miyetti Allah organisation reveals much of a gang-up, either to destabilise his state and […]

In the mystic world, there is a direct correlation between the hooting of the owl in the night and the death of a child in the morning.
Similarly, the cosy relationship between Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State and the Fulani Miyetti Allah organisation reveals much of a gang-up, either to destabilise his state and the Middle Belt region of Nigeria, or decimate its population for sinister purposes.
Close observers and discerning citizens have pointed at Governor Nyako’s Fulani resettlement programme and his recent pronouncements on President Goodluck Jonathan and the insurgency in the North-East as an alleged ploy to bring insurgents from across West Africa to destabilise Nigeria.
The frequent movements of both a prominent traditional ruler and a former permanent secretary in the state to and from Mali and Cameroun and the hosting of both serving and retired Fulani generals from West Africa in Yola, confirm this thesis. The accusation is weighty, but there is no smoke without fire.
When Nyako assumed office in 2007, he immediately created a ministry to handle Fulani resettlement programme in the state. With no visible war or major crisis in the state, observers wondered what this entailed and who were the Fulani to be resettled. They contended that since the governor has no special rural development programme meant to massively transform the rural landscape with the replacement of round-hut mud settlements with modern block buildings as Governor Kashim Shettima is currently doing in Borno State, they questioned the rationale and viability of the project. What later became clear and stunned citizens was the alleged massive importation of Fulanis from across West Africa to settle in selected local government areas in Adamawa State with dire consequences.
Meanwhile indigenous Fulanis and other ethnic groups were kept out of this project and denied a new lease of life, although they brought Nyako to power with their votes.
Governor Nyako was oblivious of previous crises between Fulani herdsmen and farmers in the state which caused constant security breaches with tragic deaths. In Numan, Lamurde, Guyuk, Song, Gombi, Hong, Maiha, Ganye and Toungo local government areas, there were serious clashes that led to numerous fatalities. In some of these places, the crises were quelled by the police, while in others, soldiers were deployed before normalcy was restored. Under the circumstances, Nyako should have been more circumspect and acted better, but he refused. He was overwhelmed by ethnic jingoism and forgot his Fulani ‘Pulako.’
There were other accusations of more sinister activities against the Nyako administration. Before the declaration of state of emergency in the state, communities across the state were constantly attacked with massive loss of lives and destruction of property. Some of the affected communities were Maiha, Mubi, Michika, Madagali, Hong and Gombi. Others were Song, Yola, Lamurde, Mayo-Belwa and Ganye. Because of the way and manner the attacks were conducted and victims were identified and killed, accusing fingers were reportedly pointed at the Nyako administration, especially when the government never investigated the persistent killings to find out the culprits.
Surprisingly, the attacks stopped immediately the state of emergency was declared in the state, before the recent spill over of Boko Haram attacks from southern Borno which affected the frontline local government areas of Madagali and Michika in Adamawa State.
The unprecedented killings affecting Adamawa, Taraba, Benue, Nasarawa, Plateau and Kaduna states cannot be divorced from the foreign Fulani elements from neighbouring West African countries, some of whom are veterans of guerrilla warfare. The series of international conferences and meetings held in Yola in recent times must have prepared grounds for their wholesale importation. That is why what the Lamido of Adamawa, Alhaji (Dr) Barkindo Aliyu Mustafa, said at the National Conference regarding movement to Cameroun, did not come as a surprise to most people in Adamawa State. The Lamido and Nyako are good friends and they operate on the same wavelengths, so having a safe haven in Cameroun is good safeguard against any fallout of clandestine activities to destabilise the country with foreign elements.
pronouncements and actions in recent months should therefore be scrupulously reviewed, with a view to taking serious action to safeguard life and property in Adamawa, the Middle Belt and the country at large.
Jacob wrote from Shagari Quarters, Yola, Adamawa State.