Kwakwanso and his Fulani
brothers - by FFK
Written by Femi Fani-Kayode...Read below..
I am saddened that the former Governor of
Kano state, Senator Rabiu Kwakwanso, a
man whom I have always considered a
friend and one whom I have always
respected could insult our revered Yoruba
elders. Yesterday, during a function in
Ibadan, it was widely reported in the media
that he asserted that the recent demand
by the Yoruba elders that all Fulani
herdsmen ought to be banned from the
south west as a consequence of the
hideous atrocities that they have been
committing against our people is somehow
inappropriate and misguided.
Instead of stopping there he went further by
attempting to give us an unsolicited lecture
about his Fulani heritage and pedigree and about
the benefits of having a good education: imagine
that coming from one of them. He concluded by
telling the Yoruba elders to just ''shut up''. Such
impudence is rarely seen and this final insult may
represent a defining moment in the history of the
relationship between the Yoruba and the Fulani
in our country.
Worse still, this comes barely a few weeks after
Chief Olu Falae, a much-loved 77 year old Yoruba
elder, was abducted, incarcerated, stripped
naked, beaten, cut with matchetes, maimed, frog-
marched, humiliated and kidnapped by a group of
Fulani herdsmen. Unlike many others Chief Falae
was lucky to escape with his life because both
before and since his abduction many other
victims of the Fulani cattle rearers did not.
These aliens are herdsmen and cattlerearers by
the day and terrorists, murderers, vagabonds and
rapists by the night.
They have become a terror and an affliction to
our people. That is what we have to live with in
the south west and many other parts of southern
Nigeria today.The Yoruba are still hurting from
the abductions,murders, raids and consistent
violence being meted out to them by these
creatures from hell yet no-one seems to care.
Many Yoruba farmers are still living in trepidation
of being attacked and butchered by the
vagabonds and many have had to sit by
helplessly as the heartless beasts raped and
slaughtered their wives and daughters before
their very eyes.
Instead of attempting to calm our nerves and
allay our fears by reaching out to us with an
olive branch and condemning the criminal
actions of his Fulani kith and kin, Rabiu
Kwakawnso has instead indulged in his
provocative and dangerous diatribe. It is a
manifestation of the crass arrogance that some
Fulani leaders have cultivated over the years
that they feel that they can insult us in this way
and get away with it.
Worse still they seek to defend, rationalise and
condone the activities of their barbaric and
murderous herdsmen who have murdered, raped
and pillaged thousands of our people and
forcefully taken our lands and crops over the last
few years. I will leave it to Afenifere, the Yoruba
Council of Elders, the OPC and others to respond
to Kwakwanso and those he represents because
these are the groups and people that speak for
the Yoruba nation.
The only thing that I will say is that
Kwakwanso's thesis and theory about education
being the answer to the menace and criminal
activities of the Fulani herdsmen in the south
west does not make sense. It has no basis in
logic, rationality or reason. In any case if the
herdsmen are not properly educated and do not
know how to behave in a lawful and civilised
manner when they are in the territory of others
whose fault is that? Is it not the fault of
Kwakwanso and the other Fulani leaders who
have refused to enlighten and educate their
people over the last 50 years? That is the bitter
truth. You cannot stop those herdsmen that have
chosen to be murderers, vagabonds and rapists
by simply educating them because what they do
is inherent within them. Those that have chosen
the path of criminality and violence are suffering
from a sociopathic and psychotic disposition.
Simply put they have an insatiable bloodlust and
an irresistible desire to hurt others and to steal,
maim, rape and kill. When I say this I am not
referring to all Fulanis but only to those Fulani
herdsmen who insist on indulging in violent and
deviant behavior in our land. The only thing you
can do to stop such people is to make them face
the full wrath of the law for the crimes they
have consistently committed and ban them from
entering our territory. It has nothing to do with
education. We do not want these herdsmen
amongst us anymore because they are like a
plague.
All they do is kill, steal and destroy. They have
done it throughout the Middle Belt for the last 50
years and now they are doing it in the south and
particularly in Yorubaland. Do Kwakwanso and
the other Fulani leaders expect us to keep quiet
whilst their people are terrorising, slaughtering
and robbing ours? If so they are in for a big
shock. We will not only not keep quiet but we
will also continue to insist that they must get out
of our land.
And if the government refuses to protect us from
them we shall take strong measures to protect
and defend ourselves and our people. There is no
crime in self defense. The days of talking down
to us, treating us with contempt and treating us
like slaves are long over. Kwakwanso and those
he represents should not test our will or
underestimate our resolve. We want peace but it
cannot be at the expense of our lives and the
liberty and safety of our people.
The Yoruba cannot be butchered at will or
treated like sacrificial lambs to the slaughter by
anyone or any group of people. Senator
Kwakwanso's insult on the Yoruba elders will not
go unanswered. Education is not the solution to
the problem of the murderous Fulani herdsmen.
Expulsion is.
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