The re-emergence of attacks by suspected Fulani herdsmen within the southeast, has got tongues wagging. In this opinion, Fani Kayode lashes out at the Nigerian government, stressing that the Buhari-led administration is encouraging the menace wrought by the herdsmen. He goes on to hit at the effect of religion in Nigerian politics and the nation’s affairs. Truly this is getting out of hand and the present government led by Buhari seems to be ok with it.
The butchers from the north The butchers from the north are better known as the Fulani militants and herdsmen. They have unleashed horror and levied war against the people of Nigeria over the last one year. The saints are the Christians that they have slaughtered all over the country in that same period of time. I consider every single saint that they have killed as a martyr because they died for their faith. I honor them with this essay and I dedicate it to their memory. On 24th August 2016 Mr. Phil Smart wrote the following on Facebook: “Catholic seminarian butchered, pregnant woman’s stomach cut open….as Fulani herdsmen continue killing in Enugu”.
The words were accompanied by a picture of a Catholic priest whose body had been shredded into pieces like fresh mincemeat or a Japanese sirloin steak. There was another of a pregnant woman whose stomach had been slit open right down the middle and whose unborn foetus and guts were hanging out for all to see. Clearly she had been carefully and clinically gutted. Many other bodies were strewn all over the burnt out fields and compounds of the village and some were so badly mutilated and chopped up that it would have been difficult to convince anyone that they once belonged to human beings. Not even babies were spared. In truth this was not the work of men but rather of demon-possesed hybrid entities that the famous British conspiracy-theorist Mr. David Icke describes as “shape-shifting reptilians” and sociopathic beasts. Worse still this was the second time in a matter of weeks that the relative tranquility of Enugu was desecrated by the prescence of these nomadic beasts and murdering bastards. Endless bloodletting On the previous occassion they caused as much havoc, slaughtered as many people and engendered as much consternation and outrage as the succeeding one. Yet it doesn’t stop there. On the very same day that the latest attack in Enugu was going on other Nigerians were being attacked and “burnt alive” by people of the same radical Islamist bent and spirit in far away Zamfara for “blaspheming against Islam”. Other similar attacks by the same fanatics and jihadists took place on that day in southern Kaduna, Benue, Niger, Ondo, Plateau, Delta and various other parts of the country. If the truth be told this carnage and butchery has now become a daily occurence in our country and it is always the same people, namely the butchers from the north, that perpetrate them. The worst aspect of it all is that no-one has ever been arrested, prosecuted or brought to justice by the govermment for these hideous crimes mainly because President Buhari himself is a Fulani and consequently the authorities seem to have cultivated a soft-spot for them. Buhari patron of marauders Indeed Buhari is actually the life Patron and “protector-in-chief” of the umbrella organisation of all the Fulani Herdsmen in Nigeria which is known as Miyetti Allah. There is of course another view which is that the herdsmen are actually a tool of conquest who are being carefully cultivated, co-ordinated, controlled, organised, armed and funded by a sinister and dark hidden hand: that they are something akin to a Fulani “death squad” or armed militia. Those that share that view, and yours truly is amongst them, often refer to the butchers from the north as Nigeria’s “Janjaweed”, after the ruthless camel-riding Arab Muslim militia which Sudanese President Al Bashir commissioned, armed and employed to decimate, slaughter and commit genocide against over one million defenceless black African Sudanese Christians in the vast region of Darfur for many years. It is also why the U.S.-based Global Terror Index describes them as the “Fulani Militants” and has designated them as the “fourth most deadly terrorist organisation” in the world. READ ALSO: IPOB sparks controversy with reaction to Avengers’ October 1 Independence declaration Whatever one chooses to call them, whoever is behind them and whatever their motives may be one thing is clear: their actions are outrageous and barbaric and such behaviour has no place in a civilised society. I feel a deep sense of anger and outrage on the one hand and utter shame and frustration on the other about what is going on in our country today and what these butchers from the north are doing to our people. Theirs is a scorthed earth policy and they take no prisoners. They rape, kill, abduct, kidnap and terrorise people and they rob, burn down, destroy and pillage their homes, churches and farmlands at will. Worse still they commit these atrocities with total impunity and without any fear of the law enforcement agencies or security forces. And all this is done in the name and under the guise of herding cows and looking for grazing land for their cattle. I feel a deep sense of anger and outrage towards President Buhari and his government, because they seem to believe that the constant spilling and shedding of innocent Christian blood is something that brings them good fortune. It also appears to give them immense pleasure and joy otherwise they would have put a stop to it long ago. I feel shame and frustration because the Nigerian people themselves seem wholly incapable of standing up to that which is nothing less than pure evil. They seem incapable of protesting against anything, no matter how bestial and barbaric that thing may be. I wonder who has bewitched us? Is this the work of the “mai chanji” sweeping broom brew? Have the Nigerian people been charmed? Are we under a spell? Are we like the biblical Galatians who the Apostle Paul says were “bewitched”? Our people appear to be wholly incapable of resisting and facing down those that have enthroned sadism and wickedness in their hearts and that take pleasure in indulging in mass murder, genocide and ethnic cleansing in our land. Nigerian political leaders are failures It is not only the government that has failed but the political leaders from all the opposition parties, the traditional rulers, the clerics, the religious leaders, the media practitioners, the publishers, the columnists, the writers, the human rights activists, the editorial boards of newspapers, the bloggers, the intellectuals, the businessmen, the teachers, the students, the writers, the elites, the middle class, the workers, the unions and the ordinary people themselves have all failed too. They have all been gripped by the spirit of fear. They have been bullied, intimidated, brow-beaten and shocked into pitiful submission and a sickening and cowardly timidity. They have all failed to defend and speak up for the defenceless, the weak and the vulnerable in our midst. They have failed to protect and shield the thousands that are hacked to pieces and burnt alive on a regular basis by the rabid islamist beasts and terrorists in our midst for no just cause other than the fact that they are perceived as being nothing but Christian, Middle Belt and southern slaves. READ ALSO: Just in: Biafra splits again, third group sacks IPOB, TRIPOB I am going to say some hard things and speak some home truths in this conbtribution and frankly I do not care who takes offence, whose ox is gored or who feels hurt by it. People are being killed by the demons in flesh, the tsetse flies and the religious and ethnic bigots in our land every day. Buhari’s Nigeria is awash with blood and most of it is Christian blood that is being shed by his misguided and dark-hearted Fulani kinsmen. It is time to speak the truth no matter how ugly that truth may be and no matter how politically incorrect it may be to speak it. It is time to stand up to the evil in the land, to damn the consequeces and to bear the threats and insults that always come for speaking and exposing the truth in what has essentially become a police state. It is time to coin that famous Ghanaian phrase that says “all die be die” and to remember Shakepeare’s words when he wrote “even though the heavens fall, let the truth be told and let justice be done”. And that truth is that the evil that has seized our land has two columns, two heads and two primary sources of motivation. The first is the forceful and bloody quest for Fulani supremacy, ethnic hegemony and racial domination. The second is the morbid obsession by the radical Muslims of core northern Nigeria to shed innocent blood, to take life in the name of their god, to effect Jihad against those that do not share their world view, to wipe out Christianity, to enslave our people and to islamise our country. The truth is that every single CORE northern Muslim leader that has ever ruled this country has either died on the throne or been removed from power in a military coup. Not one of them ended well. Whether the second coming of Buhari will end any differently remains to be seen. For the record let me add the following: I do not wish the President Buhari dead, I do not rejoice in the death or murder of past Nigerian Prime Ministers, Presidents or Heads of State (whether they be from the north or south) and neither do I pray for or believe in military coups or the unconstitutional removal of any democratically-elected President. I have made my observation about the fate of past northern Prime Ministers, Heads of State and Presidents purely as a historian and as a fact of history and nothing more. However one thing is clear to me and that is that the whole thing is spiritual. It is being orchestrated and effected by the finger of God and not by any man. It is God’s way of saying that they were never meant to rule and be there in the first place and that He has rejected them. It is the work of the Ancient of Days and the Lord God of Hosts. They believe that they were “born to rule” but in actual fact they have been rejected by the Living God. Those that employ mass murder, ethnic cleansing and genocide as a tool of conquest and a legitimate weapon of war, that consider their fellow Nigerians to be sub-human and that believe that those fellow Nigerians are nothing but chattel and serfs that are destined to be ruled over by some distant caliph are in grave error: they have not fully understood God’s plan and purpose for this country. They cannot comprehend or understand what is slowly unfolding. They do not appreciate the fact that no matter how much evil they visit on the rest of us that God is at work and His counsel alone will stand over our people and in the affairs of our nation. The truth is that the Lord regards them as nothing more than unbelieving slaves and they are far below us. They are of the darkness and we are of the light. The bible describes it is a “great evil under the sun” when “the children of slaves ride on horseback” whilst “the sons of Kings walk around barefoot”. That is what has been happening in Nigeria since 1960. The children of the “bonded woman” have been riding on horseback whilst the children “of promise” have been walking around barefoot. This is indeed “a great evil under the sun”. It is a spiritual affliction. It is witchcraft. It is an abomination. It is unacceptable. It is a total reversal of the way things ought to be. It is a rejection, usurpation and total corruption of God’s original plan. It is ungodly and it is anti-Christ. READ ALSO: Edo 2016: Why Ize-Iyamu should be the next governor I blame no-one but the leadership of the body of Christ in Nigeria for this mess. There are a few good ones amongst them who stood firm and spoke out when it mattered the most but sadly there are others who are more interested in collecting tiny crumbs from the President’s table and buying fine clothes, expensive jewelry, fast cars and private jets than they are in standing up for their flock and effecting God’s purpose and plan for Nigeria. Worst still there is also a small handful, like that short and vocal Rev. Father from Enugu, who have chosen to sell their souls to the devil, collaborate with the enemies of Christ and serve as the principal cheerleaders to the tyrant. If our men and women of God were bold and courageous and if they were doing their job properly the radical Muslims could not have turned Christians in Nigeria into second class citizens and toilet paper and a sharia-loving, Muslim-fundamentalist, closet- jihadist and Fulani supremacist like Buhari would never have been in power today. Christians must be ready to die The bottom line is this: if you are not ready to die for Christ or to lose your life or liberty for defending and protecting the gospel, God’s children or the faith then you are not worthy of being called a Christian. We must help the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) to stand firm and strengthen their collective resolve but we must not leave it at that. We must also organise ourselves as well, not only in the political arena, but also by setting up strong Christian militias and defence squads to protect our churches and our people from the terrorists and butchers. READ ALSO: IPOB makes serious allegation against FG, DSS, others We must aspire to emulate the Christian Phalange militia in Lebanon which was formed just before the Lebanese civil war broke out in the ’70’s and 80’s. They were disciplined, well organised, gallant and courageous and they defended the lives of their people and the honor of their faith. The truth is that had it not been for the Phalange the Christians of Lebanon would have been wiped out by the Muslims in that war. I abhore violence and neither do I advocate its use. However we must accept the fact that, whether we like it or not, ultimately this matter will be settled not just by prayers, politics, long essays and press statements but also with guns and bullets. This is because violence is the only language that the butchers from the north appreciate and can comprehend. If the state is either incapable or refuses to protect the Christian community in Nigeria we will be left with no choice but to defend ourselves and protect our own. Permit me to conclude this contribution with the following. I would urge all those that still love and support this government to take a long hard look at the pictures that are strewn all over the internet of their fellow Nigerians that have been mutilated and carved up like Christmas turkeys and sallah goats. This is the work of Buhari’s kinsmen, the Fulani militias and herdsmen. He has refused to arrest any of them let alone bring them to justice. Instead he has ruined our economy, impoverished and destroyed the lives of our people and aborted their God-given destiny, divided our nation on religious and ethnic lines, demonised us before the international community and labelled every Nigerian, apart from himself, as being incompetent and corrupt. This is a man that spends his time pontificating about corruption with long and boring speeches and pointing fingers at others. This is a man that told Mr. Shinzo Abe, the Prime Minister of Japan at the Tokyo summit in Nairobi just yesterday, that Nigeria’s “business environment is not friendly to investors” and that consistently tells other world leaders how supposedly “corrupt” his own people are. He has conveniently refused to tell those same world leaders how his presidential campaign was funded, how much money those that ran his campaign paid Mr. David Axelrod, President Obama’s campaign advisor and publicist, and how many cars and how much “allowance” he collected from Col. Sambo Dasuki, President Goodluck Jonathan’s National Security Advisor, before being “elected” President. Hold the government to ransom The Bible says “let he who is free of sin cast the first stone”. Nigerians may not know the truth today but God does and He cannot be mocked. Let Him judge between us. Yet the truth is that President Buhari’s administration is not only essentially hypocrital but they also have no shame. All those that continue to support them and cheer them on are equally shameless. Worst still their supporters are cowards because they cannot find the courage to admit that they were wrong in supporting a government that is manifestly divisive, insensitive, incompetent, corrupt and intolerant of criticism and dissent. They are the ones that we must hold responsible and accountable for what has happened to those unfortunate people in all those pictures. They are the ones that we must blame for what has been happening to thousands of others at the hands of the Fulani militants and herdsmen all over the country for the last one year and three months. I say this because they are the ones that have encouraged the beast and cheered him on. They are the ones that have fed his blood-lust and encouraged him in his morbid quest to steal, kill and destroy. They are the ones that wanted, and still want, “mai chanji”. I say a pox on all their houses! Shame on them and shame on the beast and tyrant that they worship. Permit me to conclude this contribution with a startling revelation that is historically factual. The Muslims of Turkey, after islamising what was once a Christian nation, slaughtered one million Turkish and Armenian Christians just to ensure that Turkey would never be Christian again. Those that they did not kill, they herded into nazi-like concentration camps or deported to neighbouring Armenia. This must NEVER be allowed to happen in Nigeria. May the souls of all the saints, believers and Christian martyrs that were cut short by the butchers and barbarians from the north rest in peace and may the Lord God of Hosts avenge them speedily. Shalom. This opinion was written by Fani Kayode, it expresses the authors’ opinion only.
