Southern Kaduna: Beyond the media hype

There is every reason to worry about the attack on Southern Kaduna communities by invading Fulani herdsmen because there is hardly any community that has recorded permanent victory against the Fulani in Nigeria. They may appear primitive and unorganized, but they have their means of reaching one another through “goron gayyata” (invitation kola nut) which […]

There is every reason to worry about the attack on Southern Kaduna communities by invading Fulani herdsmen because there is hardly any community that has recorded permanent victory against the Fulani in Nigeria. They may appear primitive and unorganized, but they have their means of reaching one another through “goron gayyata” (invitation kola nut) which is distributed in any of the thirteen African countries they operate, whenever they resolve to go on revenge mission. While they can always come back for you, you can’t predict their movement because they are “Fulani International” who operate outside the conventional life style of a permanent house with a car, a good job or successful business.

 

There are two types of Fulani attacks. First, the attack by local Fulani or with their foreign collaborators. Second, attack by purely foreign Fulani who are more vicious and ruthless. I want to believe that those who have been attacking Southern Kaduna are foreigners because according to reports, they were followed far away from the area and compensated. Also, the local communities would have identified the local Fulani, if they were involved. Perhaps local Fulani are involved because of the revenge pattern that revolves around the attack of whoever is a Muslim in the area or on transit in a vehicle. Of course, there are occasional misunderstandings between nomadic Fulani and farmers all over Nigeria. 

 

The first time I came to know about the foreign Fulani was when they attacked my community in Katsina State in 1974. They lost one person, left the corpse, but came back the following year for their pound of flesh. Everybody knew that they were foreigners because of their appearance, accent and nobody knew them even among the settled Fulani. The hunter who killed the Fulani man became an instant hero with people singing his praise “Mai datse kawunan Fulani, Tule dan gidan Danko” (the man who beheads the Fulani, Tule the son of Danko). But his joy did not last long as strange faces were noticed in the community making inquiries about him. He had to flee for his life. They attacked our house because our father was the leader of the community, and were repelled by the large crowd that came to our defense.

I am concerned about the attack in Southern Kaduna because I schooled in the area and the people were extremely good to us. Although the population of the Hausa, Fulani and Muslim students in the school was less than thirty percent, there was no discrimination or problem. We had good outings to Manchok villages like Atakar, Kajim, Zuntrung, Ngwan Nka and neighbouring Kaura and Jankasa. At a time there were only two Muslims among the staff of the school i.e Malam Danbaba the Islamic Studies teacher and Malam Musa the store keeper. The Principal, Mr Joshua Bitiyong, was more than a Principal. He was the father of his students. I felt so indebted to him that recently I carried my family to Jankasa his home town to greet him. I traced his green-painted house near a Living Faith Church but was told that he goes to the town once in while because he did not retire there after an excellent career. God bless him, wherever he is.

When I was told that the Deputy Governor of Kaduna State is from Manchok, I felt connected to him. Any time his convoy is passing I feel like going close and say “Good day my brother”. He always reminds me about the man with whom I shared the same “corner” in the hostel called Peter Mali, who was so good to me. Recently I went to Jankasa his home town looking for him but was told that the man died. Very sad.

The Chief of Marwa (Manchok), Malam Tagwai Sambo and late Chief of Kagoro, Malam Gwamna Awan, are models of responsible leadership. They are champions of multi-cultural and multi-religious society. I remember when the Chief of Marwa came to our school for Speech and Prize Giving day, two bottles of coca-cola were kept in front of him, he left without touching them, and one of our students looked at me and said: “What is wrong with Chief of Marwa. How can he ignore two free bottles of coca-cola. If he doesn’t want to drink in public, can’t he tell them to put the bottles in his car so that he can drink when he goes back home”. Neither the Chief nor the boy was wrong: they were operating from different frequencies.

Up till the time I completed my studies and left Manchok in 1980, there was nothing like communal clash in the whole of Southern Kaduna. I want to believe that the clashes started with the 1983 coup and the subsequent military regimes which made it possible for people in the area to occupy important government positions as governors, ministers, and heads of “lucrative” parastatals because of their large number in the army. This is a good development because it is important to carry the people of the area along in our quest for creating a prosperous and united Nigeria. Unfortunately, some of them went back home, after their retirement, to incite their kinsmen through hate speech and organized violence against what they call the domination of “Hausa-Fulani” muslims. I felt bad when Mr Zamani Lekwot, former Military Governor of Rivers State was sentenced to death for his role in the killings of “Hausa-Fulani” in Zangon Kataf in 1992. We visited his country home around Jankasa area in late 70’s, and he came across as a nice man.

Also consider the recent case of the former Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mr Andrew Yakubu who forfeited hard currency found in his house worth over three billion naira. A group called Southern Kaduna Coalition of Professionals (SKCOP) attacked the EFCC for detaining Mr Yakubu, in a press release. Hear the group: “We want to state that the desperate attempts to rubbish Andy Yakubu (the Iyan of Atyap chiefdom) by those who think that a man from Southern Kaduna has no business becoming the GMD of NNPC started right when he was in office. In 2014, the then CBN Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi raised a bogus alarm that under the watch of Andy Yakubu, $48.9 billion had gone missing in the NNPC” (The  Nation Newspaper, Saturday, February 18, 2017, page 39).

Hate speech and violence have become the strategy of the elite in the area of covering their crime and protecting their kinsmen from the wrath of the law. And luckily for them any time a war is declared on the “Hausa-Fulani”, some Nigerians, surprisingly including journalists, are eager to join the fight without asking questions because it perfectly fits into their agenda. Their motto is: If it is against the “Hausa-Fulani”, it is always right.

Unknown to many people, or, ignored by many people, this is the first time that the Christians are on the receiving end in the about eight major ethnic conflicts in Southern Kaduna. How can the Muslims who constitute less than ten percent in the area be attacking and killing the Christians who constitute about ninety percent of the population?

 

A deliberate misinformation campaign is organized and executed by people who know better but decided to champion falsehood by interpreting the attack as an organized jihad to annihilate the Christian population. They know very well that the problem of Fulani herdsmen has been in Katsina and Zamfara States for long, despite their population being about ninety five percent Hausa and Fulani Muslims.             

 

It is interesting that responsible leaders from the area like Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah are working with other Nigerians to restore permanent peace in the area through forgiveness and reconciliation. This is the path of Jesus Christ.

 

Southern Kaduna elders should team up with the Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasiru El-Rufa’i, to entrench lasting peace in the area. The Governor should not be criticized for compensating the attackers, to stop the attacks. El-Rufa’i may have wanted to silence the guns before subsequent negotiations. Maturity and statesmanship should have prevailed. Some elders of the area should have met the governor and say: “We came to express our appreciation to you for silencing the guns, and to remind you of the need to also compensate the other people affected by the violence“. El-Rufa’i is not a governor from hell. He would have obliged them, even if he had no plan to compensate the other people. The limitation of using force to solve the problem of invading Fulani herdsmen is becoming apparent with the resolution of Katsina, Zamfara and Kaduna States where troops were deployed recently, to embark on disarmament and reconciliation which seem to be working.