By PAMELA EBOH, Awka

A group known as Eminent Elders Forum (EEF) has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of being responsible for the ethnic profiling of the Fulanis through his utterances and actions particularly since he came into governance again in 2015.

The group observed that an ethnic group associated with Nigeria’s President has been fingered in the various odd happenings in Nigeria presently.

It noted that Information have filtered through talks by eminent persons that confirms the unfortunate involvement of that ethnic group in the mayhem plaguing the country.

The EEF, which comprises very top ranking senior citizens that have traversed all spheres of human endeavours, including the very high politically exposed; high ranking fellows in the executive, legislative, judiciary, police, military, civil, public and private sectors of Nigeria, said that by virtue of their age old occupation as cattle herders, the Fulani, under Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, believed they owned grazing routes in all parts of the federation and therefore are entitled to possess by force of arms those routes for grazing of their cattle.

Rising from a 3-day virtual meeting/discussion convened by Professor Echefuna Onyebeadi earlier this month on topical national issues of Ethnic Profiling, Ethnic Cleansing, Disposssion of Indigenous Ancestral Lands by Foreign invaders as well as the heightened separatists agitations across Nigeria, the EEF recalled that Buhari had in the 2018 African Union Summit held in Cairo, Egypt gave foreign Fulanis free entry into Nigeria.

According to them, the Fulanis on arrival in Nigeria occupied the forests all over the country, from late 2019 through 2020, during the lock down occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A communique signed by 11 members of EEF reads in part: “That no sooner did these foreign Fulanis occupied the forests than all manners of killings, kidnappings, destruction of farmlands and properties escalated across the nation.

“Migrating with their cattle causes confrontation with indigenous land owners. However, the magnanimity to accommodate roving band or nomadic people shouldn’t translate to abrogation of traditional rights of land ownership.

“That a lot has been said about the current killings and destruction of properties and total disregard to the sanctity of lives in Nigeria.

“There are factors that showed clearly that the current killings have pogromic and ethnic cleansing intents. These are meticulously planned and systematically executed with the sanctions of the present government and Leadership.

“That some Fulanis have nursed the ambition of conquest of Nigeria which they also believe is naturally endowed to them. This has been demonstrated by the Feudal Fulani Leadership, the ruling class in the North as represented by Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto in the sixties. What we have today in respect of the killings and ethnic cleansing in the Middle Belt, South East, South South and South West is a deepened effort to perpetuate the whims and caprices of some Fulani feudal machine.

“That this is also demonstrated in the thinking and actions of the present Government headed by Major-General Muhammadu Buhari, a Fulani man. That Major-General Muhammadu Buhari considers himself the Madhi i.e. Messiah of Islam in Nigeria and therefore seems to be in full support of whatever will deny the rest of Nigerians their lives in order to make the Fulanis the Feudal Lords in Nigeria and for Nigeria to become a full-fledged Islamic State.

“That the ethnic cleansing and dispossession of Indigenous ancestral land has been on for sometime but since 2013, it became an open secret that escalated to full invasion and occupation by foreign Fulanis with the silent and subterranean support of the present Government Major-General Muhammadu Buhari’s regime.

“This is evident in Borno, Plateau, Kaduna, Benue and most recently in Niger and Ebonyi states among others.

“The current Government of Kaduna State should be held responsible for the ongoing pogrom/genocide and destruction/ sacking of the settlements in southern Kaduna.

“That it is generally believed that whatever we are witnessing today as a Nation was as a result of the foundation laid by the Major-General Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. He seems to have sustained the process through the negative instrumentality of the use of executive powers. It is his body language and silence which demonstrated in no small measure his approval of the massacre and ethnic cleansing in Kaduna, Middle Belt, South East and South West. The President has never openly condemned these killings, neither has the perpetrators been brought to book or prosecuted in any Court of law.

“That the heightened separatist agitation is a direct consequence of the prevailing situation of perceived injustice, lack of security of lives and properties, nepotism and religious bigotry. Though agitations for restructuring have been on the front burner since the late General Sani Abacha days, the demand for separation has now spread beyond South East and South West and now includes the Middle Belt and minority groups within North East and North West.

“That in some parts of the Middle Belt and Kaduna, indigenous land owners were wiped out by the criminal Fulani herdsmen/terrorists, who renamed ancestral villages and took over their lands. They renamed the indigenous ancestral places and even appointed administrators over the seized Areas.

“That the heightened separatist agitations have assumed unprecedented dimensions in Nigeria, first in period immediately preceding and during the civil war from 1967, and now during the Buhari-led administration.”

“EEF maintained that Nigerians are no longer one, saying that enmity has taken over in the midst of distrust, injustice, unfairness, zero-someness, winner-takes-all, breakdown of values, institution of mediocrity, ethnic bigotry, feudalism, etc.”

They said such tense environment of insecurity and threat of pogrom and ethnic based massacre which is the body language of some leaders have heightened the call for separation.

While recalling that the early Fulani cattle-herders before Buhari’s regime did not carry AK47 to pasture their cattle, the forum said the main terrorist groups, whether they are bandits, herdsmen and/or kidnappers are mainly Fulani, especially the Fulani mercenaries from Libya, Mali, Niger and Chad which the President Buhari’s regime seems to have facilitated easy access to Nigeria through highly compromised national institutions.

The communique added: “The influx of these murderous Fulani invaders started when the APC, the political party of Major-General Muhammadu Buhari, brought them to participate as agent provocateur in the 2015 election to ensure that Major-General Muhammadu Buhari emerged as President of Nigeria.

“That Major-General Muhammadu Buhari attended AU summit in Egypt three years ago where he made a public pronouncement to grant Fulani from all over African continent free and unfettered access into Nigeria. This he did without recourse to and/or approval from the National Assembly.

“Now the same Fulani mercenaries are occupying the forests all over the country. This absurdity was surreptitiously and especially accelerated from early 2020 when Nigeria was expected to be under the pandemic COVID-19 lockdown.

“The ethnic cleansing and dispossession of indigenous ancestral lands by the Fulanis especially the aided foreign Fulanis said to be invited into the country by Mr. President’s political party has been ongoing in the last 6 years and has recently escalated to full blown invasion with the silence of the Government in power. This is evident in Plateau, Kaduna, Benue and most recently Niger States among others.

“The present Government of Kaduna State should be held responsible for the ongoing pogrom in Kaduna.

“Mallam El-Rufai, the current Governor of Kaduna State, like Major-General Muhammadu Buhari are both Fulanis perceived to be using their official positions to further a supposedly clandestine Fulani agenda.”

EEF recalled that the agitation for restructuring has been on the front burner since late General Abacha days, but regretted that the demand for separation has recently spread beyond the SE and SW, including the middle belt and minority ethnic nationalities within North West and North East.

The EEF which is an apolitical, non-religious, non-tribal/ethnic, non-racial and non-discriminatory body in its resolution called for change in attitude and utterances and style of governance by Buhari and his government.

It also demanded respect for the Rule of law, justice and fairness to all and respect for the spirit of federal character in all appointments.

The 19-point resolution also include call for total restructuring on the basis of the 2014 national confab resolutions or as may be reasonably modified, repeal for the 1999 constitution, re-introduction of the 1963 constitution with necessary amendments to reflect today’s realities in Nigeria, among others.

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