Edited.

I know the thread would be flooded with visceral insults/comments by day break. That I can understand since emotions are running very high at the moment- but be sure not to let the mods see the comments.


@ Mynd44, @ OAM4J: Please, I'd be glad if this thread can be moved to its rightful place.

Thanks.


Cc: Modath, Midolian, GogetterMD, ObinnaIzuora, Fulanimafia, Greenpasture, NgeneUkwenu, Aresa, Fiizznation, et al.

It past 12am and I just woke up from a nightmare.

Guess what the nightmare was about? It was fulani herdsmen killing people.

They had to enter my dream to show me what they capable of. Na wao

Anyway,not all fulanis are herdsmen but all herdsmen are fulanis. Those perpetrators of the killings are fulani herdsmen.

For the first time Omenka you got this wrong.

Let me keep space before I read it..

Most people just want to have an opinion on subjects they know too little to nothing about.

The hatred runs deep.

Tempers are flaring.

A lot of reporters in the real sense are arm-chair journalists!

People are quick to act on emotions rather than on thoughts.

The problems facing us today are a culmination of the above stated, among other reasons.


As someone who's lived most of his life up north, and qualifies as a Northerner by virtue of my being from the Middle Belt, I have seen the fulanis up close quite often. Not your regular city fulanis, I'm referring to the nomads here.

I've had quite a few experiences with them, too. Long time ago, as a child, it was in my village at the time. We went visiting. One day, I decided to accompany the guy herding my dad's cattle at the time. We went deep into the bushes to graze. Somewhere along the line, hot in the afternoon, the water we took along got finished and there was nowhere close we could refill from.
I became very thirsty, so thirsty that I couldn't carry myself with any strength at all. The fulani nomads around hadn't any water themselves. So as things got worse for me, one of them suggested that I get some milk to reinvigorate me. The guy I was with told him we brought no calf along (should incase you're wondering why calf? To milk a cow, the calf is first breastfed so the mother could release milk). He then offered to milk his for us. For me, that was the kindest thing I had experienced at such tender age.

Another incident happened in Yobe state, sometime around '98/'99. This time, it wasn't me directly, it was to a soldier I know. Before they became known as Boko Haram, they were thieving, killing, maiming, and carting away with any valuable they could get their hands on in Yobe and environs. Simply put, they have been disturbing the peace since a while ago.
The army has been battling them since then.

This soldier and his team were on patrol when they encountered them in some village in Gujba. As fighting ensued, the soldiers got overpowered, they were running out of ammunition, so had to retreat. But there was a problem: they couldn't get everyone on the vehicle as they had spread out very wide. As a result, a few of them still held fire while the rest made it to the vehicle. Those who did, zoomed off. Left with only a few more rounds to go, the remaining soldiers had to retreat themselves.
So they fled. The bandits on realising this, gave them a chase. Of the 3 soldiers, they were able to catch one, while the other two escaped.

The soldier who narrated it to me, ran into a fulani settlement where they hid him under the bed for two days. The bandits came searching, but were told nobody of the sort came there. They searched everywhere, but couldn't find the guy.

Thye snooped around on the fulanis there for a day, I learnt, until they became convinced that there wasn't any soldier there. So they left. The next morning, the fulanis got the man out and showed him safe routes to the main road.

You should have seen how they mutilated that soldier they caught!

It's not just those two cases, I've seen and heard about several acts of kindness done by the nomads.

Fulanis are vindictive, I quite agree with that. But you should agree with me that in most cases, one has to first be oppressed before they take to vindictiveness.

I'm not absolving them of any blames, but people should learn to not draw conclusions without first understanding the root causes of things.

Some fulanis are wreaking havoc, yes. But so much more non fulanis are doing so in the guise of fulani. Cos in the end, the blame will all be heaped on them.

There are heartless fulanis, just as much as there are evil people across all nations and tribes.

But for a people widely classified as "illiterates", I believe that the onus is on the literate to educate them.

My shared experiences are there to make you realise that not all fulanis are criminals and inhumane as widely claimed. Thank you!

Nice work, Omenka!

Hmmmm

All that you typed here is strictly your own opinion. I do not have to subscribe to it.

When you make a case for the accused herdsmen, you should at least support your sermon with facts that prove what tribe or nationality the criminals belong to.

Do you even own a farmland? Have you ever been a victim of these herdsmen?
Have you labored and toiled for months under the sun, just for you to wake up one morning and realize that what it took you months to sow and nurture had disappeared overnight, within an hour or two?
has anyone close to you ever left home to go tend his crops one morning, and never came back, with search parties finally locating his mangled body in a corner of his farm. With the tell tale hoof marks and cow dung everywhere?

What made the DSS spring into action and were itching for a showdown, just because they uncovered shallow graves in Abia state, with the victims SUSPECTED to be Fulani herdsmen, whereas this same agents didn't bat an eyelid when hundreds were killed in Agatu just recently?

You are making a case that not all herdsmen are Fulanis. I totally agree with you. However, note that many of their kidnap victims have met them and verified their identities.
You are a typical southerner. Typical, in that people from the south are never united over a seemingly common cause. The governors from the north have come together to deny that the terrorists who attacked communities in Enugu state are not Fulanis. HOW DID THEY KNOW THIS? Perhaps they have info they didn't care to share with the rest of us. Or, more likely, it is their usual quality of protecting their own, as has been noted from our flawed political association.

Nomadic cattle rearing all over Africa originated with Fulanis. They predominate the trade. Till this day, they are the dominant players. Politicians and wealthy individuals who are not of Fulani extraction do invest in the business. But, it's the nomads who take the cattle all across west Africa in search of grasslands. It's these nomads that clash with farmers all the time. Their employers supply guns to them, supposedly, to fight off cattle rustlers with. Same guns are used to shoot and maim farmers, if the farmers refuse to have them dine on your crops.

You are aiming at being politically correct and rational with your post. Unfortunately, the people you are making a case for, from their elites, politicians, wealthy businessmen to their foot soldiers, do not care about rationality or political correctness. They never rose up to condemn the series of killings, which closely rivals that of Boko Haram. In fact, it was the same denial that made Boko Haram gain traction to become what it is today! You seem to have never learned anything from associating with northerners, other than admiring the flesh of teenage Fulani girls back then. It's probably what motivated this thread of yours. It was a politically correct and conscious western media that analyzed Fulani herdsmen to be the 4th deadliest terror group in the world. No one needs your analysis.

The only solution these entitled people proffered was acquiring lands to set up grazing reserves. Of course, we all know that the bulk of such lands will be taken from the south and middle region because that's the areas where grasses seem to grow anymore. Rob, rape and slaughter people, that is not enough. Take their land to boot! Rub it in their faces. They are no more than the northern elite's stewards. Can any sane northerner accept southern businessmen getting vast tracts of land for free in the north? Won't happen.

One thing I know for certain is this: If every Fulani in the nomadic cattle rearing trade decides to adopt ranching and confine themselves to their region, these clashes will totally stop. Anyone in this trade who is not Fulani will have to take a cue from them. You are blowing a lot of unneeded hot air here.

.

Don't have an Epistle to type, just want to admonish people to just think deep and remember that some things go beyond what the eyes can see , political coloration is what we are seeing & demonisation of a whole tribe because of the actions of a few murderous miscreants does not Peace, reconciliation and acceptance makes....

*i may edit when I can articulate my thoughts better, now sleep is king*

omenka spot on...I have been asking certain basic questions about the Enugu killings to which there are no answers but the truth is that it was a well planned attacks by assassins with the intention of mass poisoning minds against PMB .

Reuben Abati did similar stuff with the ' I will make the country ungovernable' slogan until he was slapped with a libel suit n d GEJ's presidency had to beg Buhari to settle out of court....so you think such persons can't go to any length to achieve their sinister plans especially when we are prosecuting them and stripping them of our stolen commonwealth? y everybody go sleep after being informed of the impending attack? abeg I dey come 1st.

whirlwind7:
1. All that you typed here is strictly your own opinion. I do not have to subscribe to it.

2. When you make a case for the accused herdsmen, you should at least support your sermon with facts that prove what tribe or nationality the criminals belong to.

3. Do you even own a farmland? Have you ever been a victim of these herdsmen?
Have you labored and toiled for months under the sun, just for you to wake up one morning and realize that what it took you months to sow and nurture had disappeared overnight, within an hour or two?
has anyone close to you ever left home to go tend his crops one morning, and never came back, with search parties finally locating his mangled body in a corner of his farm. With the tell tale hoof marks and cow dung everywhere?

4. What made the DSS spring into action and were itching for a showdown, just because they uncovered shallow graves in Abia state, with the victims SUSPECTED to be Fulani herdsmen, whereas this same agents didn't bat an eyelid when hundreds were killed in Agatu just recently?

5. You are making a case that not all herdsmen are Fulanis. I totally agree with you. However, note that many of their kidnap victims have met them and verified their identities.

6. You are a typical southerner. Typical, in that people from the south are never united over a seemingly common cause. The governors from the north have come together to deny that the terrorists who attacked communities in Enugu state are not Fulanis. HOW DID THEY KNOW THIS? Perhaps they have info they didn't care to share with the rest of us. Or, more likely, it is their usual quality of protecting their own, as has been noted from our flawed political association.

7. Nomadic cattle rearing all over Africa originated with Fulanis. They predominate the trade. Till this day, they are the dominant players. Politicians and wealthy individuals who are not of Fulani extraction do invest in the business. But, it's the nomads who take the cattle all across west Africa in search of grasslands. It's these nomads that clash with farmers all the time. Their employers supply guns to them, supposedly, to fight off cattle rustlers with. Same guns are used to shoot and maim farmers, if the farmers refuse to have them dine on your crops.

8. You are aiming at being politically correct and rational with your post. Unfortunately, the people you are making a case for, from their elites, politicians, wealthy businessmen to their foot soldiers, do not care about rationality or political correctness. They never rose up to condemn the series of killings, which closely rivals that of Boko Haram. In fact, it was the same denial that made Boko Haram gain traction to become what it is today! You seem to have never learned anything from associating with northerners, other than admiring the flesh of teenage Fulani girls back then. It's probably what motivated this thread of yours. It was a politically correct and conscious western media that analyzed Fulani herdsmen to be the 4th deadliest terror group in the world. No one needs your analysis.

9. The only solution these entitled people proffered was acquiring lands to set up grazing reserves. Of course, we all know that the bulk of such lands will be taken from the south and middle region because that's the areas where grasses seem to grow anymore. Rob, rape and slaughter people, that is not enough. Take their land to boot! Rub it in their faces. They are no more than stewards. Can any sane northerner accept southern businessmen getting vast tracts of land for free in the north? Won't happen.

10. One thing I know for certain is this: If every Fulani in the nomadic cattle rearing trade decides to adopt ranching and confine themselves to their region, these clashes will totally stop. Anyone in this trade who is not Fulani will have to take a cue from them. You are blowing a lot of unneeded hot air here.

I will attempt to respond to each of your paragraphs one at a time.

@1. From the very beginning, I stated the article is entirely my idea/opinion and of course no one is bound by it, just as no one is bound by yours. So pointing that out is totally unnecessary.

@2. Granted, I have no facts to prove the herdsmen are Fulanis, but that is just as much as people who see herdsmen and call them Fulanis don't. That is why I admonish "open-mindedness" in "labelling" them. The press who refer to the herdsmen as "Fulanis" show us no "facts" they are as they don't interview them or inquire from them their tribe. What fact did the twitter user have when he said "Fulanis in Abuja" on seeing the cattle?? Did he ask the herders their tribe and they responded that they are Fulanis?? Where is his "fact"??

That is the problem.

@3. Do I have to own a farmland or lost a family member to have an opinion on the burning issue?? How many people with their diverse opinions about it have farmlands or have had their family member killed in any of the incidences??

I have sufficient knowledge from reports I've read and eye witness accounts to form an opinion- that is what "I believe" 95% of commentators on this issue have to go by. I doubt even you having an opinion have had a family member killed or have a farmland that has been ravaged by cattle.

Furthermore, marks of hooves and dung are indeed "telltale" signs of nomadic herding activity but it isn't a confirmation that Fulani herdsmen were there! It all still boils down to the ethnic profiling I'm strongly against.

That a thief robbed some bank in a black tinted Ford Escape doesn't make me a thief if I drive a black tinted Ford Escape!

@4. See the way you wrote "just because they uncovered graves with victims suspected to be Fulanis" as though it doesn't matter. I remember how one poster was almost mobbed here because he used the words "just because six people died...." when describing what happened in Enugu!! Are some people's lives more precious than others??

In Agatu, troops have been deployed with a promise by the government to do all within it's powers to bring the perpetrators of the barbaric incident to justice. The circumstances are different- the first case is maintenance of security while the other (mass grave discovery) is strictly investigative- hence the divergent approach.

So for you to say "this same agents didn't bat an eyelid" is just pandering to the emotions of those who can't analyse issues dispassionately.

@5. You say "many" of their kidnap victims say they are Fulanis?? First, who are the "many" victims here that said they are Fulanis?? Since when did kidnapping become a regular "business" of Fulanis?? Do you know nearly 100% of Nigerians, including myself, who are neither Hausa nor Fulani can't distinguish between both tribes, which is why they are just about all the time of the time referred to as Hausa Fulani people??

What if they are Hausa or even Kanuri?? Who knows??

@6. Divergence of opinions is not an exclusive trait of people in the South. Come on, you are taking your exaggeration too far.

The governors have said they are NOT Fulanis just as the press with no evidence have said they ARE Fulanis. You think if one of the attackers had been caught and an interview with him televised and published, they would have had the guts to make the statement The absence of EVIDENCE here is the problem.

@7. Nomadic Pastoralism didn't originate from Fulanis. The Egyptians had long practised it way before the Fulanis even thought about it, ditto Ethiopians. Are Fulanis the dominant players in Nigeria?- yes. Are they the only players?- certainly not. This means there is a chance that some of the thing we attribute to them might actually not have been done by them.

@8. Allow me to worry about that bro. At least, I know I'd never carry weapons for any damn politician like some degenerate thug only to put my life in harm's way.

Furthermore, you say "no one needs my analysis" simply because the Western Media says blablabla.. Wow!! I didn't know the western media is flawless!! Are you kidding me?

Okay, let me guess, since they analysed some past president of the country and tagged him with some unpalatable name (remember Ineffectual Buffoon), would you also say they are totally right and no one else's opinion is needed??

Didn't the West say Nigeria wouldn't see 2015?? What's the date on your own calender??

Come on dude!!

@9. You know, I had an interesting idea I wanted to share about the grazing bill.

Igbos for instance are known to be adept at commerce. Give them a cent today and they give you a dollar the next day. I was thinking, instead of getting too emotional about the bill trying to put it down with an emotional "they are attempting to take our lands" wail, why don't we suggest that areas across the country be specifically earmarked for Igbos to build shops and carry out their commerce?? . Think about it, if NASS rejects such a proposal, then they wouldn't even have the moral right to contemplate a grazing bill- and that cleverly KILLS IT without much noise- simple.

We need to be smart about these things.

@10. I agree with most of the points you raised here. But it somehow reminds me of a movie I once watched about a serial killer.

All evidence about him had been gathered, he'd been caught, tried, found guilty under the weight of overwhelming evidence, and thrown in jail- couple of days later, the signature murders continued!!!

Who is then the murderer!!??

Have a lovely sunday.

From the outset I hate to comment on anythread that has to do with "Herdsmen" until recently, when I discovered that pipu, out of the hatred they have for Buhari have refused to use their head buh instead, allow the hate in them do the thinking. I still find it hard to believe their are pple who don't know this thing has some political undertone. Just overnight, the Fulanis have become some unearthly beasts. SMH

A thread with the caption "Fulani herdsmen with their cattle in front of CBN" got me rolling on the floor laughing..cos it was a photoshop done by an expert like Adekunle Gold..buh pipu these days don't have the patience to attempt verifying any negative thing that has to do with Buhari before throwing stones @ him..

Another thread hit FP two days ago with the caption "Fulani herdsmen enter Abuja Farm"..The cows in this thread were soo white & fresh that No ranch in Nigeria could have produced them. The farm was equally green and fresh..And when the cows left the green farm, it became empty..what was left was the fertile land..hahahahahaaaha. Apart from the fact that those pictures were poorly photoshopped, the twitter user that posted them was soo stupid with her exaggeration..and it takes someone twice as stupid to believe what she posted...

Another question I asked myself was "how can you prove that those cows r not owned by the owner of the farm"..(With the assumption that the pictures were not photoshopped)

Have you been in one of the attacks to know they are not Fulani Herdsmen?

Talk about who they are, since you know who they are not for sure?

You never want to stick to the real topic, the man you swear for is not the leader you were sold by APC.

This issue is a well orchestrated strategy by some aggrieved people in the country

It is a tool to destabilise the nation and demonise the government

It seems that anyone that dies in the SE now is killed by Fulani herdsmen. When there are inter village clashes and people die, they say it's Fulani herdsmen

Some politicians are now planning and sponsoring the murder of their own people in order to make political points

The Fulani herdsmen crap is a mighty propaganda and only fools fall for it and Oh the enemies of Nigeria - the princes of the East

Bitterleafsoup:
Have you been in one of the attacks to know they are not Fulani Herdsmen?

Talk about who they are, since you know who they are not for sure?

You never want to stick to the real topic, the man you swear for is not the leader you were sold by APC.

Have you been in ANY of the attacks to know they are Fulanis

OgbeifunErom:
This issue is a well orchestrated strategy by some aggrieved people in the country

It is a tool to destabilise the nation and demonise the government

It seems that anyone that dies in the SE now is killed by Fulani herdsmen. When there are inter village clashes and people die, they say it's Fulani herdsmen

Some politicians are now planning and sponsoring the murder of their own people in order to make political points

The Fulani herdsmen crap is a mighty propaganda and only fools fall for it and Oh the enemies of Nigeria - the princes of the East

That is a valid suspicion. A very fake painting is taking shape here and if Nigerians don't wake up soon enough and put on their thinking caps, they just might buy some very fake Last Supper thinking they bought the real Leonardo's.

@ Midolian, I just couldn't comment on that CBN cattle thread because it had ran a couple of pages before I saw it, the damage had already been done on the thread.

I don't think it was even a photoshop- it was simply a disgusting evidence of how we've some people, for reason of an electoral defeat, have allowed hatred to dismember their conscience!

Hell, is cattle moving on our streets (much as it is wrong) a new thing?? How twisted are the minds of some people to think the are cattle passing in front of CBN because a Fulani man is today the president?? That is totally preposterous.

We've had some incidences of near collisions between cattle and aircraft on runways in the past and people took them for what they were- an accident luckily avoided. Imagine the image that would be painted if that happens today!!!

I see some bold caption like Fulani Herdsmen take over airports in Southern Nigeria!!!

Can't people see the pattern that is forming here??

Jeez.

@ Fynestboi, ijebabe, MissyB3. I'd be glad if this is moved to the politics section.

Cc: Mynd44, OAM4J.

@ Lalasticlala, Seun: I think this deserves more fp to balance the argument regarding this trend.

Thank you.

this boy ODEnka zombie job nobi work, go and find a good job!! like if you think this boy is a scum and has outlived his usefulness !! ODENKA may the fate of all those murdered by fulanis herdsmen be your fate in Jesus Name!! AMEN!!!

NaijaEfcc:
this boy ODEnka zombie job nobi work, go and find a good job!! like if you think this boy is a scum and has outlived his usefulness !! ODENKA may the fate of all those murdered by fulanis herdsmen be your fate in Jesus Name!! AMEN!!!

cc: Mynd44.

NaijaEfcc:
this boy ODEnka zombie job nobi work, go and find a good job!! like if you think this boy is a scum and has outlived his usefulness !! ODENKA may the fate of all those murdered by fulanis herdsmen be your fate in Jesus Name!! AMEN!!!

omenka:
cc: Mynd44.

sorry is your name ODEnka? Your name nobi omenka?

Omenka you've put forward a totally different perspective to this whole drama, one I subscribe to...
In as much as we're all in the dark as regards the perpetrators of this dastardly act, it's important we apply the voice of reason as we can't possibly rule out the possibility of a politically hatched plan in all of these...