The
Yoruba Council of Elders is right that Nigeria's biggest security problems are
concentrated in the North and these problems are draining the country's
resources.
Are
the Boko Haram terrorists not Northerners, mainly from the Northeast?
Is
religious violence not concentrated in the North?
Are
Muslim fanatics that attack Churches and loot Igbo shops in the name of
peaceful protests not Northerners?
Are
these mobs that extra-judicially lynch non-Muslims for alleged blasphemy not
Northerners?
Do
Yoruba Muslims take the laws into their own hands by lynching others for
alleged blasphemy?
Don't
the Southwest have Muslims?
Why
are they not behaving violently in the name of religion?
Why
is religious extremism and violence concentrated in the North?
Are
the violent Fulani bandits not Northerners?
If
you argue that the violent herdsmen are foreigners, then why are foreigners
claiming right to grazing land in Benue State by violent means, which led to
introduction of anti grazing laws?
Are
the notorious ethnic militias that murder children and pregnant women not
Northerners?
While
the Niger Delta leaders have always played active roles in the achievement of
peace by talking their youths out of violence, why have the Borno Elders, the
ACF, the Northern Elders Forum and others failed to play any effective role in
ending the violence that has engulfed the North?
These
Northern groups are more active in terms of calling for the return of political
power to the North and retaining power than in ending the violence for which
the region has become notorious.
In
May 2014, when former President Jonathan offered amnesty to the Boko Haram
terrorists, what efforts did these Northern leaders make to give the initiative
a fillip? Virtually nothing.
Instead,
they were accusing Jonathan of being behind Boko Haram to
"depopulate" the North for political advantage.
When
the late President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua offered amnesty to the Niger Delta
militants, the leaders of the oil producing region proved their relevance and
influence by persuading their youths off violent agitations.
Not
only that, they also persuaded their boys to lay down their arms and they did
and peace returned to the region.
Instead
of giving Jonathan's amnesty offer for Boko Haram a push, Northern leaders were
living in denial about the reality of the terror group being a Northern
problem, despite the fact that Kanuri boys dominate the membership of the gangs
of mass murderers.
In
fact, some even ridiculously believed that it was a CAN agenda to destroy or
eliminate Muslims, despite the fact that Boko Haram suicide bombers were
targeting Churches almost every week or day.
The
so-called Borno Elders were busy playing politics with the issue while the
monster was getting stronger and crueller.
The
problem with us Northerners is that we don't want to acknowledge the reality of
the problem on our hands.
We
always look for excuses to comfort ourselves, from religious fundamentalism,
violent extremism and the menace of the herdsmen. Instead of taking a stand
against these evil realities.
If
you say herdsmen are not Nigerians, why should foreigners claim a right to land
in Benue State or anywhere else, and kill farmers that resist their
encroachment?
There
are Fulanis in Mali, Chad, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Niger Republic and other
parts of Africa.
Why
are they not engaged in the massacre of the people in those places?
If
they are obeying the law elsewhere, why are they behaving with impunity in
Nigeria?
We
should not allow murderers to ruin our peace and peaceful coexistence because
of ethnic, cultural, and linguistic affinity.
Tribalism
and insatiable quest for power more often than religious basis is behind these
evil.
The
North West are major sponsors of Boko Haram now transformed into Fulani
herdsmen!!
Nobody
will come from another place to solve these problems for us.
It
is our baby, we must deal with it, it is time for action.
It
is time Northerners spoke with one voice over these evils that have blighted
the progress of Northern Nigeria, a region that ranks lowest on the ladder of
the development index.
The
Truth is bitter but it is better it is said as it is.
Share
With Your Contacts.
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