Good afternoon.

This piece has been a long time coming I'd say. Have been restraining myself from doing this because emotions are at fever pitch at the moment but somehow I reckon if I don't do it today I might never get to do it. Moreso, today's news reports made it all the more imperative to ask some pertinent questions, and perhaps attempt to answer others.

Every opinion herein are strictly the writer's.


Before I go on, I'd like to express my deepest sympathies to all those affected one way or the other by the recent incidences of violence in various parts of the country especially the Middle Belt and the South East. My sincere prayers are with you all. Life is simply too precious to be snuffed out of innocent people just like that.

I hope and pray the perpetrators of these heinous acts of terrorism are apprehended and dealt with accordingly.

Now, since we've dispensed of the necessary preamble, let's get to the meat of the matter as captioned in the title.

Besides the e-uproar over Tiwa and her family issues, there's no gainsaying Fulani Herdsmen has been the word trending online, and to some extent even on the main street. A first timer on earth who happens to stop by Nigeria at this time would think it is some local slang used within political circles- but in reality, it has come to be seen as the greatest problem confronting our dear country- no thanks to our press!!

Growing up as a child, I had my first "conscious" encounter with the Fulanis (take note, I didn't say "herdsmen" somewhere within our residential neighbourhood. Before that encounter, anytime we saw them, easily identifiable by their dressings, facial appearance and long braided hairs, we never hesitated to take to our heels because we were told they turn kids to sheep- especially during Christmas season!! We rarely saw them but whenever we did, it was always one heart stopping terrifying experience.... until that fateful day.

We were playing football at a neighbour's. Someone mistakenly kicks it over the fence. I run out to retrieve it and right in front of me stood some lanky dude wearing rubber shoes that looked like football boots, braided hair, very light skinned in an armless shirt with a little embroidery here and there. He had our precious ball cradled in his hands with them stretched forth as if to hand it back over. I froze in my stride, indecisive- a part of me screamed RUN while another subtly egged me to collect it and walk back- I listened to the counsel of the latter voice. It was the BRAVEST thing I did as a kid!! I simply collected the ball, politely thanked him as he nodded his acknowledgement, then I walked away alive and as a human against all previously held beliefs!!

As I grew older, it became apparent what we believed about the Fulanis was nothing but a childish myth. At some point after we've lost all traces of innocence, we started admiring their women as we patronised them for their "nunu", making suggestive jokes with them. Some of their teens walked about bare chested revealing every damn thing from their waist up as some of us admired the great works of nature lustfully, hoping one day, one would get a chance to handle them.

The myth about the Fulanis was completely obliterated.

Today, so much water has passed under the bridge. Alliances have been built and shattered. Trust has given way to utter suspicion. Friends have become sworn enemies. Babies are being snatched away from their cradle of innocence and imbued with the spirit of hatred and intolerance. Malleable lies are being prepared by the second and fed to a ravenous public which already seems to be suffering from obesity from too much of its consumption- this lethal cocktail is being prepared and served chill by no one else than the Nigerian Press!

When I look at the recent events as they succeed each other with such rapid succession, what I see is some working frantically to reinvent that childhood myth for some yet-to-be-specified purpose, and they have a deadline!

Let us make some things crystal clear at this point:

(A) Not ALL herdsmen are Fulanis!

(B) Not ALL herds of cattle are owned by Fulanis!

(C) Not ALL herds of cattle are owned by the cattle herder. Some of them are purely hired hands working for some big shot, perhaps a politician. Cattle rearing is a hugely profitable business.

It is important that we distinguished these facts because of the torrent of misinformation that is being disseminated to the public.

This said, one then wonders: is the press oblivious of these facts?? Why are they always quick to use the term "Fulani herdsmen"??

How did they get to know alleged attackers were [b]Fulani herdsmen and not herdsmen of some other tribe?? Did they get to interview the attackers before arriving at that conclusion

If they don't get such info from the culprits themselves, would it be illogical if one asks the question: [color=#990000]is there a grand conspiracy to criminalise Fulanis??

I have come across SEVERAL herdsmen in my life and I say this with every ounce of honestly and responsibility in me: I have NEVER seen herdsmen bearing AK-47s my whole life. There are two pictures of herdsmen bearing automatic weapons that have been circulating the web, they (pics) are as old as I can remember and I have seen them a thousand times in the past. But with these recent incidents, they resurfaced and are being used to taint both herdsmen and the President as people ask why should Buhari allow them bear arms- is it because they are Fulanis??

Two days after the Enugu incident, another similar incident was reported by Daily trust (I think). The title was boldly captioned "Another Fulani herdsmen attack in Enugu" but within that same story, under that same headline, the same writer/reporter said it was just a scare and nothing happened!!!

If it was "just a scare" and "nothing happened", why did they still go ahead to run the story with such a headline??!!

Edit:

[b]Today, 02/05/2016, Vanguard is reporting an imminent attack as "Fulani herdsmen are massing at some remote part of Enugu to launch another attack on the community attacked last week due to the high success rate (deaths) recorded in the last", and folks seem to have swallowed the story hook, line and sinker with NO QUESTIONS asked- save for a few posters like Modath!

From the story as published by vanguard, shouldn't one ask:

I. Where did Vanguard get her information??

II. Has this information been shared with the security agencies??

III. Have the people at vanguard privy to the location where the "Fulanis" are massing to "re-launch an attack" offered to take the security personnel to location so the "murderers" can be rounded up and taken into custody??

IV. When "Fulanis" are sighted gathering together, does it mean they are "planning to attack and kill people??

V. How is Vanguard sure the people seen there (if the report is anything to go by) are Fulanis??

VI. Doesn't the report read like it is already preparing the minds of people as to whom to blame when Vanguard's "Fulanis" eventually launch an attack??

VII. Most importantly, doesn't it prick the mind THIS REPORT MIGHT BE MEANT JUST TO CREATE A DIVERSION FOR SECURITY PERSONNEL DEPLOYED IN THE ENTIRE AREA SO SOFT TARGET BEING WATCHED COULD BECOME EASY PICKINGS FOR WHOEVER IT IS THAT ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS MADNESS!!??

Aren't these questions worth asking knowing vanguard's position especially as regards events concerning SE Nigeria?? Are we meant to all at once jettison reason and logic based on mundane sentiments even though we understand what a pluralistic society we live in with as many divergent interests as our faces.[/b]

Think about that people.

At this juncture, a few nairaland threads are worthy of mention:

1. www.nairaland.com/3075767/delta-monarch-gives-fulani-herdsmen

2. www.nairaland.com/3079408/fulani-herdsmen-enter-abuja-farm

3. www.nairaland.com/3079244/enugu-massacre-northern-govs-under


4. www.nairaland.com/3077851/it-insult-label-fulanis-criminals

Now, when you go through the contents of these threads with a clear unbiased mind, you cannot but wonder: what is really going on??

@ 1. Is the order of expulsion of "Fulani herdsmen" by the Delta Monarch appropriate?? If one were to predicate such decisions on the logic of this monarch, can we then say it is appropriate ALL Hausa mechanics be expelled from, say, Benue state because one or two or three of them killed an Idoma boy?? Think about that.

@ 2. A twitter user posted a picture allegedly showing cattle grazing on a piece of cultivated farmland and boldly captioned it Fulanis in Abuja![/b] How did the user know they were "Fulanis" I was disappointed when some opposition posters couldn't raise that question.

@ 3.

The 19 northern governors came under criticism yesterday over their position that the Fulani should not be labelled as criminals.

The Yoruba socio-political organisation,
Afenifere, asked the governors to bury their
heads in shame over their position which came
in the wake of the heat generated by the attack
on Ukpabi-Ninbo community in Enugu State by
suspected Fulani herdsmen, last Monday.
Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) also condemned the
governors.

The northern governors, who met in Kaduna, on
Friday, had taken a strong exception to the
branding of perpetrators of crimes around the
country as Fulani.

Someone tell me in all honesty, what is wrong with the position taken by the governors who are essentially asking that all Fulanis shouldn't be labelled as criminals?? Memories of how some Nigerians reacted when it was alleged the president called us all "criminals" are still fresh on or minds.

What difference is there in the position taken by the governors regarding Fulanis and the position taken then by Nigerians regarding the president's alleged statement

@ 4. The Sultanate was just reiterating the position of the Northern governors.

When one puts all these together, a sinister pattern starts to form and it is very obvious. The public is being programmed towards arriving at a pre-arranged destination and how fast they are sprinting towards it!!

The people this writer suspects were behind the viscous attacks on the president over Boko Haram insurgency before the elections, desperate to taint his image by tagging him a sponsor, might have re-emerged out of the woodworks to sell another dummy to the public since the war in the North East is largely being won to his (Buhari's) credit.

1. They want people to still believe Buhari is an ethnic/religious fundamentalist and that explains why there's been an "upsurge" in incidences of "Fulani" attacks after he became president.

2. They want to dull the most visible sheen of his admin since ground work is still being laid to confront the economy itself as things don't seem to be working presently.

Someone says:

“It is indeed absurd and most unfortunate that certain groups of people ascribe the incidence on ethnic and/or religious premise and to whimsically apportion blame in order to batter the gradual restoration of peace and security in Nigeria”

..and I totally agree with them!

Whose purpose is the press serving??

I urge us all to take a few steps back to examine the emerging portrait on this giant canvas- it always makes more meaning when we do.

I am a half middle belt, half South South man.

I'm an unapologetic fan of Nigeria's president and I love my country than you can ever imagine.

#ThinkNigerians!!

Thank you all.

cc: Seun, Lalasticlala, Mynd44.

Ps: I expect a lot of insults from this as what I just did challenges and runs afoul of what is seemingly currently generally acceptable which is that "Fulanis are demons". But as I've shown time and time again, insults won't deter from doing what my conscience tells me is the right thing to do.

Some will be ignored while others will be reported to the mods.

God bless you all.

Cc: Modath, Midolian, GogetterMD, ObinnaIzuora, Fulanimafia, Greenpasture, NgeneUkwenu, Aresa, Fiizznation, Malton, OgboifunEron, Babacele, et al.

Long note

Another incident worthy of note was the thread regarding cattle sighted in front of CBN. The comments on that thread were simply a disgusting evidence of how some people, for reason of an electoral defeat, have allowed hatred to dismember their conscience!

Hell, is cattle moving on our streets (much as it is wrong) a new thing?? How twisted are the minds of some people to think the are cattle passing in front of CBN because a Fulani man is today the president?? That is totally preposterous.

We've had some incidences of near collisions between cattle and aircraft on runways in the past and people took them for what they were- an accident luckily avoided. Imagine the image that would be painted if that happens today!!!

I see some bold caption like Fulani Herdsmen take over airports in Southern Nigeria!!!

Can't people see the pattern that is forming here??

Jeez.

ify2nyce:
Long note

Move along then. It isn't meant for people who can't read.

Omenka the summary of your long and useless post is another Fulani Mafia wants to use Fulani herdsmen to make buhari govermen ungovernable.

The same way they make him useless in 1983 and take power from him

Instead zombie's and saboteur like you to tell him the Truth you are here writing thrash

As for we Niger Delta we Niger delta
We are only seeing Khama loading

From the outset I hate to comment on any thread that has to do with "Herdsmen" until recently, when I discovered that pipu, out of the hatred they have for Buhari have refused to use their head buh instead, allow the hate in them do the thinking. I still find it hard to believe there are pple who don't know this thing has some political undertone. Just overnight, the Fulanis have become some unearthly beasts (for no reason @ all).. SMH

A thread with the caption "Fulani herdsmen with their cattle in front of CBN" got me rolling on the floor laughing..cos it was a photoshop done by an expert like Adekunle Gold..buh pipu these days don't have the patience to attempt verifying any negative thing that has to do with Buhari before throwing stones @ him..And if true, Is it new to any one of us?

Another thread hit FP two days ago with the caption "Fulani herdsmen enter Abuja Farm"..The cows in this thread were soo white & fresh that No ranch in Nigeria could have produced them. The farm was equally green and fresh..And when the cows left the green farm, it became empty..what was left was the fertile land..hahahahahaaaha. Apart from the fact that those pictures were poorly photoshopped, the twitter user that posted them was soo silly with her exaggeration..and it takes someone twice as silly to believe what she posted...Another question I asked myself was "how can you prove that those cows r not owned by the owner of the farm"..(With the assumption that the pictures were not photoshopped)

You blame and attack Buhari and the entire Fulani clan for every attack by assumed few fulani herdsmen buh won't let pipu blame ya entire tribe for every crime commited by the criminal minded amongst you.

Lalasticlala, pls help us move this to the FP

@Omenka
You obviously weren't living on this planet the past 3 months when herdsmen took over your state.
Nearly 400 people died in your state, slaughtered by Fulani herdsmen and you said nada. What stops you writing about Agatu massacre that happened in your state?

This would be like me leading Jonathan's 24 hour propaganda on Nairaland while his Ijaw people kill and and main my people in Edo.
This is no longer partisanship, this is unwavering capitulation.

omenka:
Move along then. It isn't meant for people who can't read.

Frustrated zombies nobody will read your rubbish

Rubbish
Promoting propaganda on behalf of the same people killing your people.

Some people need urgent deliverance.

R

wowmenow:
Omenka the summary of your long and useless post is another Fulani Mafia wants to use Fulani herdsmen to make buhari govermen ungovernable.

The same way they make him useless in 1983 and take power from him

Instead zombie's and saboteur like you to tell him the Truth you are here writing thrash

As for we Niger Delta we Niger delta
We are only seeing Khama loading

cc: Mynd44.

wowmenow:

Frustrated zombies nobody will read your rubbish

cc: Mynd44.

Typical

Typical slave mentality, Buhari's people are killing your people you're here telling us to support Buhari's people.

Whatever mehn!
Keep tryin to defend ur kinsmen bt d fact still remains; they r blood sucking buhari empowered herdsmen.
Your opinion doesn't count.

La quote, la die.

All the ammo they have are insults, insults, and more insults.

A little display of intelligent engagement, impossible.

If you want the OP to throw a party, just gather fulani herdsmen, give them some Igbo attire and make them dress like IPOB and then some AK-47 to go and kill people, put it on tape and caption it 'IPOB herdsmen and terrorist kill 50 in Agatu'. Just find a way to sucessfully give IPOB a bad name. He will jubilate for the next 20 years.

The Global terrorism Index have documented Fulani herdsmen as the third most dangerous terrorist organisation but the empty headed buffoonic zombies want us to ignore GTI intelligent report and listen to their pro-fulani zombie cries, lamentations and obtuse narratives. Laugh wan make me slap Mumuharry LWMMSM!

The problem of the Op is similar to that of the sultan and the 19-nonsense governors. When u claim it is not Fulani herdsmen who is committing the atrocities, why don't u simply tell us who it is then? maybe it is the Ibos, yoruba, Igala, Tiv, or any other tribe in Nigeria.

It is just so Sad that we r arguing this obvious facts now because those religious personalities who had failed to condemn this acts at inception only rose up over the weekend to deny the locality of the criminals. It is not ur fault however, but i still expect u to be more reasonable than this.

How does u not having seen Fulanis with Weapon in ur life counts in this discourse? (Are u everywhere, or have faced such attack before?). I can't just start mentioning all to u, but all premise of argument in this ur epistle are totally faulty & wrong

Poor and clumsy write up. Keep it up.

Trash,


Keep contradicting urself.


As a child, u got to know the fulani men by their facial appearances,their long braided hairs,their mode of dressing and all that, but in your rush to justify the dastardly acts perpetrated by some fulani herdsmen, u went ahead to rubbish an eye witness encounter by a person who happened to get their inhumane act of destroying a farm land somewhere in abuja, by asking how the person got to know they are fulani herdsmen.


Well, the person got to know they are fulanis the same way u were able to distinguish them when u were a kid by their physical appearances and all that.


Your single encounter with a single fulani as a kid made u understand that they are peaceful, in your own reasoning, it was OK to justify their being good people by that singular encounter, but it will be BAD for some other person or other group of people who have had so many deadly and devilish encounters with these fulanis to justify their being BAD and then alerting other people to be warry of them?. Bros, that is cheer hypocrisy.
Perhaps, u think u are the only one who have had an encounter with them?

What will u say of this woman on the link below whenever she sees any fulani?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=-uATa0q6l4U

That they are good or bad?

Let me stop here,


because most of u all think u can play on people's intelligence by these una media bruhaha.

This guys zombie level is of the charts men!!

Real talk, from now ama put some RESPEK on ur name, u errd me

A true blood zombie, u rarely find these in this day and age, unlike the half breeds that are more common everywhere.

When ur name come up, am gonna have to RESPEK it.

So u finished or u done

Regarding the knotty Grazing Reserve bill, I had this interesting idea I'd like to share.

Igbos, for instance, are known to be adept at commerce. Give them a cent today and they give you a dollar the next day. I was thinking, instead of getting too emotional about the bill trying to put it down with an emotional "they are attempting to take our lands" wail, why don't we suggest that areas across the country be specifically earmarked for Igbos to build shops and carry out their commerce?? . Think about it, if NASS rejects such a proposal, then they wouldn't even have the moral right to contemplate a grazing bill- and that cleverly KILLS IT without much noise- simple.

We need to be smart about these things.

omenka:
All the ammo they have are insults, insults, and more insults.

A little display of intelligent engagement, impossible.

stop trying to make a saint out of those blood suckers. Whether they are Fulani or from some other tribe, what we do not want are cattle roaming the streets and farms causing destruction to lives and properties.

Also, we do not want any silly grazing bill.

Omenka. Too long. Not worth reading. I read the first few lines and realised ur parents/people must have contributed to ur loss of geometric reasoning. In their bid to make Fulanis appear abrasive, they succeeded in making them mysterious with superhero powers though diabolical by telling u they could change men into livestocks. This had the effect of making u see them as sort of supernatural. You held them in high esteem subconsciously. I hate to burst ur bubble, they are confirmed Fulani herdsmen. They don't deny it, why do u feel the need to deny it for them?
The way I look at u, if they rape ur wife and daughter, u will blame ur wife and daughter for being at the right place at the wrong time.
Get off this psychological enslavement. The lie was told to u when u were a kid, u are now a man.

chigoizie7:
Trash,


Keep contradicting urself.


As a child, u got to know the fulani men by their facial appearances,their long braided hairs,their mode of dressing and all that, but in your rush to justify the dastardly acts perpetrated by some fulani herdsmen, u went ahead to rubbish an eye witness encounter by a person who happened to get their inhumane act of destroying a farm land somewhere in abuja, by asking how the person got to know they are fulani herdsmen.


Well, the person got to know they are fulanis the same way u were able to distinguish them when u were a kid by their physical appearances and all that.


Let me stop here,


because most of u all think u can play on people's intelligence by these una media bruhaha.

And you in your haste to condemn, went ahead to try to juxtapose an child's judgement with that of a fully grown adult "eye witness"!!

Brovo, bravo!!

You just succeeded in confirming some of the suspicions of persons who won't just analyse the issue on its face value.

I doff my hat for you sir.

Bobandgreat:
Omenka. Too long. Not worth reading. I read the first few lines and realised ur parents/people must have contributed to ur loss of geometric reasoning. In their bid to make Fulanis appear abrasive, they succeeded in making them mysterious with superhero powers though diabolical by telling u they could change men into livestocks. This had the effect of making u see them as sort of supernatural. You held them in high esteem subconsciously. I hate to burst ur bubble, they are confirmed Fulani herfsmen. They don't deny it, why do u feel the need to deny it for them?
The way I look at u, if they rape ur wife and daughter, u will blame ur wife and daughter for being at the right place at the wrong time.
Get off this psychological enslavement. The lie was told to u when u were a kid, u are now a man.

cc: Mynd44.

OK. @op i understand your points but please kindly print it make many photocopies and physically go to agatu and uzowani and share it. assliker, coward and certified zombie. shame!

The people this writer suspects were behind the viscous attacks on the president over Boko Haram insurgency before the elections, desperate to taint his image by tagging him a sponsor, might have re-emerged out of the woodworks to sell another dummy to the public since the war in the North East is largely being won to his (Buhari's) credit.

Why not just come out plain and call the Igbos or IPOB?

Someone tell me in all honesty, what is wrong with the position taken by the governors who are essentially asking that all Fulanis shouldn't be labelled as criminals??

I don't think people called all Fulanis criminals; what people were angry about is the fact that the governors came together and with the statement released, it was like burying their heads in the sand like the proverbial ostrich. I could recall when kidnapping was the order of the day in the East, SEerns didn't wait for the government to do something before taking action because the image the kidnappers were giving the SEerns was a bad one. When there is a problem, acknowledge there is one and then look for solutions instead of denying it ever happened. Different victims from various sections of the country cannot continue to point to a particular ethnic group herdsmen as killers if they didn't witness the carnage visited by the said herdsmen. this was how BH started - there were denials, accusations, counter-accusations and finally morphed into what we are witnessing today.

Guys, as much as Omenka has a bias against people of SE mostly Igbos, can we please tone down on the insults here?

bloodyBLOGGER:
stop trying to make a saint out of those blood suckers. Whether they are Fulani or from some other tribe, what we do not want are cattle roaming the streets and farms causing destruction to lives and properties.

Also, we do not want any silly grazing bill.

Are the "bloodsuckers" all Fulanis?? Do you understand the essence of the article?? Did you read it?? Who's trying to make a "saint" out of anyone here??

As regards the grazing bill, we are in agreement, reason why I made the suggestion I did above.

omenka:
All the ammo they have are insults, insults, and more insults.

A little display of intelligent engagement, impossible.

how do you wnt people to engage you when what you write is senseless without summary.

whats the summary of your article are you saying its not fulani that attacked agatu people

if you are saying its people from chad and niger that came to attack the Agatu people as the sultan and northern governors said, then Buhari should be impeached for allowing foreigners to kill Nigerians like chicken

Oh God i just wasted my mb and my precious time, please forgive me!!