trillville:
Very nice writeup. From my little understanding, this herdsman crisis has no simple solution. Desertification is damaging the core north.

stonemasonn:
Desertification can be defeated with Afforestation, the 30 billion naira wasted on searching for crude oil could have been used for a massive tree planting project in the core north, this would have created massive jobs for the largely poor and unemployed population. The clueless northern leaders don't know that over-grazing can lead to desertification, at this rate the middle belt will suffer desert encroachment.

fiizznation:
lives are lost everyday and here you are talking about giving a presidential ticket to a "northern Christian" because by doing So, the herdsmen/farmers clashes will be automatically solved.

The way some of you reason normally beats my imagination.

MayorofLagos:
1 -
I have wondered many times the logic behind a widespread support in South, inspite of outcry against Islamization, of Muslim candidates for both major political parties, APC and PDP. It would make sense that Southerners should agitate for diversity from the North. APC has Buhari, who in all likelihood will run for a second term. PDP is yet to get a Presidential candidate. Why are Southerners not agitating the call for a Christian Northerner to be PDP Flagbearer in 2019? The call should start now with the opportunity presented in Benue.

Southerners must be careful and pay attention. Paul Unongo revealed that Atiku Abubakar is a financier for herdsmen. Southerners have not pondered why such a statement from Mr Unongo. Atiku currently has more supporters in South than he does in North. The Northern cabal is more powerful than Atiku, they will occupy his administration and do to him what they are doing to Buhari.
Much as he is for restructuring when he enters Aso his policies on restructuring will be pro-North. Has anyone heard him talk decidedly on bokoharam or fulani terror? NO. ...when the issue of Ipob and Kaduna Declaration was hot he was always heard from.


2 -
Weeks earlier, before herdsmen attack in his state, the Chairman of Northern Elders Forum, Mr Paul Unongo had issued a public statement in which he lambasted the champions of restructuring, telling them restructuring is an ambigous word that means different things to different people. He instructed them to approach the National Assembly with their grievances and stop making disturbing noises in public.

After the attack and massacre of his kins Unongo appears to have a new awakening on the issue of ethnic identity and ethnic patriotism. The mirror of reality was presented to him by no other than Arewa Elders.

The Elders of Arewa is the supervisory organ for all political forecasting and action in the North.
They are already in calculation that either way it goes, Southerners are going to vote either APC or PDP into power. Either way it goes, a Muslim and Fulani will be the victor. Either way it goes, the victor must adopt the agenda of Arewa (North does not have an agenda, only Arewa does).
Therefore both candidates must be tidied up and defended against risks.

Paul Unongo spoke out and attacked Atiku for sponsoring Fulani killer squad. The Elders of Arewa came out and scolded their chairman for speaking out of turn. They did not ask him to clarify and give facts, they simply told him to drop the idea and keep quiet. They did not even make statement to console the people of Benue.


Then a followup attack with far more deaths and losses happened. Elders of Arewa kept silent even when Miyetti Allah said the massacre would not have happened if Benue people were not trying to ban open grazing.

Then a bombshell came from Emir Sanusi that he and Sultan are patrons of Miyetti Allah. He did not reprimand the actions of the killer squad nor their outageous statement. He even went further by raising his dissatisfaction about local events in Taraba. This infers that the patrons endorsed the action and statements of miyetti, whether in their board room or in the field.


3 -
I don't know which occurred first, if it's the professing of a professor about ownership of Benue, or the public statement by Unongo stepping down from Chairmanship of Arewa Elders, but by all means, and in all of these, the Nation, Benue people and Unongo are witnessing a new reality about what it means to be a Northerner but not an Arewa.

There is nothing new in all of these to the Arewa afterall its their agenda and the way they planned it to play out. They did not even scold the professor for such a radical and irresponsible statement to a people in grief....his statement is pro-Fulani and pro-Arewa, thats all that matters, the grief in Benue would stop when the people allow Fulani occupy their land.


I would love to see a followup interview to Paul Unongo and get his born-again view on restructuring.

At his age I hope Paul lives long to witness the restruture of Nigeria and the liberation of his people from the clutches of Arewa. On the political front those leaders who are shocked into a new political radicalism always seem to be consumed by the grief brought in with new reality.
We recently lost Ekwueme to a similar radicalism in SE. I hope Unongo will survive this grief in his homeland and live long.


In closing I say give PDP Presidential slot to Benue or any Christian in North to show and prove diversity and unity in the much touted "19 Northern States"

naijaboy756:
must it be northern hausa/fulani muslims？

fiizznation:
Just listen to yourself. So who is stopping the "northern christians" from contesting for the office of the president? Is Nigeria not practicing democracy again? Or is there a law in the north that states only northern hausa/fulani are the only people that can contest for the presidency office. Smh

trillville:
Very nice writeup. From my little understanding, this herdsman crisis has no simple solution. Desertification is damaging the core north due to the endless cutting of trees for fire wood and the global climate change. The north central and southern nigeria could not rare cattle in large scale in the past because their zones were a natural habitat for the tsetse fly. Urbanisation has depleted the tsetse fly population so nothing is stopping other regions from going into large scale cattle rearing. Clearly, the monopoly the core northerners have held will certainly come to an end and their way of life will have to change.

stonemasonn:
Desertification can be defeated with Afforestation, the 30 billion naira wasted on searching for crude oil could have been used for a massive tree planting project in the core north, this would have created massive jobs for the largely poor and unemployed population. The clueless northern leaders don't know that over-grazing can lead to desertification, at this rate the middle belt will suffer desert encroachment.

fiizznation:
lives are lost everyday and here you are talking about giving a presidential ticket to a "northern Christian" because by doing So, the herdsmen/farmers clashes will be automatically solved.

The way some of you reason normally beats my imagination.

fiizznation:
Just listen to yourself. So who is stopping the "northern christians" from contesting for the office of the president? Is Nigeria not practicing democracy again? Or is there a law in the north that states only northern hausa/fulani are the only people that can contest for the presidency office. Smh

MayorofLagos:


The demand to occupy Benue is both strategic and tactical.

Strategic in sense of its geography and topology. If you combine Plateau, Taraba, Benue and Kogi, this is gold mine for patoralists. The confluence of Niger-Benue basin has natural formations and sedimentary characteristics likely to yield oil in decades to come.

Tactically in the sense that it makes the forceful occupation and seizure of lands to the South, all the way to the sea, more realizable. It becomes a staging front for launching assaults and attacks East, South, West, and a shield against counter-attacks aimed at Arewa....the advances are destroyed by commands installed in the River Basin and Plateau before it reaches far North.

trillville:


first of all, the middle belt and southern nigeria are in the equatorial belt of Africa so desertification can never be an issue. Erosion, which isn't in anyway better than desertification, will likely be the effect of overgrazing. The problem with Nigeria is that we keep our poor people poor. No matter how many trees you plant, if people keep cutting down trees for cooking fuel, afforestation will never be achievable.

MayorofLagos:


North boasts of its democratic strength with 19 Northern States.
These states are made up of different ethnicities and religions, principally Muslim and Christian. Diversity is a mainstay of democracy. The falsehood behind the unity of 19 Northern States have been blown open with the Benue tragedy.

The call for a Christian candidate is socially moral, politically wise and an investment against Islamizatiin agenda being pushed by North to kill off diversity.

seunmsg:
OP, I fully endorse your message. If at all we are going to change Buhari in 2019, his replacement must not be a Fulani person. All southerners must realise that replacing Buhari with Atiku, Shekarau, Makarfi, Sule Lamido etc is tantamount to putting Fulani's in Aso rock for 12 straight years. Sadly, these guys are all the same irrespective of party affiliation. Nothing is ever going to change if they are still in power. PDP must put forward a northern Christian if they are serious about winning in 2019.

aolawale025:


It's a given that in 2019 any candidate for president would opt for one term to curry southern support. Atiku has already done so. Having said that the woeful performance of this government is making people eager to send them packing. It may have been better to replace buhari from within the APC but that doesn't look likely.

CSTR2:

Ortom is achristian . How well has he defended his people ?

If you think the chritians in the north have any direct control or say over the prevailing islamic athmosphere in the north ,then you are deluded.

A northern christian is a rubber-stamp.

TonyeBarcanista:
Be rest assured that PDP will never play into any anti-Muslim or anti-North agenda in 2019.


The Presidential ticket of PDP is opened to all northern aspirants irrespective of religion, tribe or tongue.