One had thought that with ex- President Goodluck Jonathan conceding
defeat peacefully, Nigeria would by now be a haven of peace. One had
thought that President Muhammadu Buhari having realized his
long-cherished ambition of presiding over Nigeria which he failed on
three past outings, he would by now wean himself of every sort of
bitterness, malice and disappointments. Regrettably, Nigeria is far
more divided now that ever since Buhari assumed leadership. From all
indications, it seems the President is still on pre-election mood; it
seems he still sees himself as an opposition leader. The body
language, utterances and actions of the President since he assumed
power suggest he seems on a conquest mission. Never in the history of
Nigeria had fear enveloped me this much than now. I fear for the
future of Nigeria under President Buhari. The fate of Old Eastern
region, especially Ndigbo is precarious. If the Igbo survive under
Buhari, we will survive any other regime. The Fulani menace has been
with Nigeria since independence, but it had assumed a monstrous and
terrorism dimensions this time around. There have been frequent
clashes between the Fulani herdsmen and their host communities who are
predominantly farmers over the years which was more of economic
dimension that the ethnic and religious dimensions it had assumed now.
Why are the Fulani’s more ferocious now killing on a daily basis? Is
President Buhari the only Fulani man to have become President of
Nigeria since independence? The answer is definitely, NO. Shehu
Shagari, the first elected President of Nigeria, is a Fulani man.
Umaru Musa Yar’adua, the third executive and elected president of
Nigeria was a Fulani man. If Yar’adua were to be president now, would
these herdsmen be this deadly in their activities as they are now?
Late President Yar’adua would not have tolerated this level of
genocide and carnage being unleashed on innocent Nigerians by these
murderous herdsmen even though they are his ethnic kinsmen. When Boko
Haram started around 2008 under the leadership of Muhammed Yusuf in
Borno State, ex-President Yar’adua was firm and resolute not to allow
it fester, especially when Boko Haram were killing only Christians and
burning churches in Borno State. President Yar’adua’s decision to
stamp out Boko Haram once and for all led to gruesome murder of
Muhammed Yusuf in 2009 in the hands of security personnel.
Yar’adua was altruistic in his determination to ensure Nigerians
heaved a sigh of relief from the then evolving terrorism by Boko
Haram. Killing of Muhammed Yusuf, the Boko Haram leader, may have
exacerbated the terrorism of Boko Haram under the leadership of
somewhat weak President Jonathan, for I believe that if Yar’adua did
not die, he would have nipped this festering terrorism of Boko Haram
in the bud regardless of whether their leader was justifiably killed
or not. Under Yar’adua, Fulani herdsmen were not this satanic to
fellow Nigerians, especially farmers.
Paradoxically, under President Buhari who was a former military ruler,
the herdsmen are becoming untouchables. Granted that Buhari unlike
Yar’adua in his Assets declaration form listed a good number of cattle
as part of his assets, which inevitably makes him a stakeholder in
cattle rearing business. Should Buhari being a cattle owner make him
develop the level of indifference towards the outcry of Nigerians
about the devilish actions of Fulani herdsmen? The recent killing of
over 100 people in Nimbo-Ukpabi in Uzo-Uwani L.G.A. of Enugu is
unprecedented in the history of Eastern region in their relationship
with Fulani herdsmen. Before the Enugu genocide, over 300 people were
killed in Agatu in Benue State by these same herdsmen, yet it took the
President a long time to finally make a tepid statement in
condemnation of the killings.
When Rivers State had a rerun election where less than five people
were killed including a Youth Corps Member, the President reacted in
the same week at his party’s National Executive Council meeting by
openly alleging that Rivers State had witnessed the highest level of
election bloodshed even though it was a false statement. The President
has been openly threatening to crush the Niger Delta Militants if they
dare his administration. When the President was persuaded by a foreign
Journalist who was interviewing to watch a video of how defenseless
Igbo people were massacred in Aba by the military, he looked away and
refused to watch. In his first and only media chat with Nigerian
Journalists since he assumed power last year, the President literally
lost his cool when a question about Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of
Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) was asked. That particular question
rankled him to the extent that his countenance changed immediately to
combative mood. President Buhari must know that after election, it is
incumbent on him to take every part of Nigeria as his constituent. He
must know that in an election, not everybody must vote for him. Sadly,
he had even before constituting his cabinet said those who did not
vote for him should not expect to be treated as equal to those who
voted for him. His immortal ratio of (97/5) per cent is still fresh in
Nigerians memories. Ndigbo are not begging Buhari to accommodate us in
his government afterall he won the election without our votes, we are
only pleading with him to allow us to live even if he takes away all
the ministerial and other few appointments he has given to the Igbo.
If Igbo could survive the Civil War, we can equally survive without
Buhari’s patronage as long as we not killed in our farmlands. By the
way, Buhari got some thousands of votes from Igboland in the
presidential election. These Enugu people who were massacred, who
knows whether they were among the few who preferred and voted Buhari
in last year’s general elections? Assuming that some of those people
killed were die-hard Buhari supporters, is it not wickedness of the
highest order that a man they voted for looked the other way as they
were killed? There is no way to separate Buhari antagonists and
protagonists in Igboland except negligible few who make noise in the
newspapers as a result of their social status. Buhari has thousands of
genuine supporters in Igboland, but when Boko Haram or Fulani herdsmen
wipeout a community, a sizeable proportion of Buhari supporters are
bound to be affected. Even if Buhari has only one supporter in the
whole of South East, for the sake of that one person he ought to
protect the rest. What Buhari needs to convince those who do not like
him is to prove them wrong by his actions in office and the way he
shares his appointments. He can actually win the minds of 90 per cent
of Nigerians by the way he carries everybody along, for there is no
hatred that is cast on the stone.
Who says that the SouthEast cannot be in the forefront of clamour for
Buhari’s second term if he draws the region closer to himself?
Threatening the SouthEast and SouthSouth with extermination if they
dare him is not the best body language of a leader afterall, Yar’adua
had the power to crush the Niger Delta Militants but he preferred
Amnesty Programme. Buhari is presumed to have memorable antecedents,
he should not allow his second coming to office as Nigeria’s leader to
invalidate and rubbish his past record and achievements. The time to
act is now. He must show leadership and guarantee the security of
lives and property of all Nigerians.
Ifeanyi Maduako (08061562735) writes, from Owerri. Maduako is a
Public Policy Analyst ([email protected]).
