Nigerians arise against militant Herdsmen:

The apparently "we're-above-the-law" rampages of the Fulani herdsmen across the Nation have began generating irate reactions from Nigerians.  Not only are there no serious pronouncements coming from the Federal Government on the activities of these compatriots of the President, government media houses (e.g. the NTA news on 19^th October) are beginning to ascribe the totally repugnant atrocities of the herdsmen to “unknown gunmen!”

We compile a few demonstration of the stout resistance building up in the country to the menace of the Fulani herdsmen and their clamour for special grazing routes and grazing lands all across the nation:

“The conference frowns at all attempts to surreptitiously conscript our land and hand them over to Fulani herdsmen or any herdsmen of any tribe, in the name of grazing routes and grazing lands.  We urge government to ensure that this does not happen as it is a time bomb.

      " Conference affirms that Nigeria is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society and in no account should institutions or individuals attempt to impose one religion or cultural practice on the rest of the nation.

Sigd: Rt Rev Tunde Adeleye Chairman, Rev Nsa Eyo Secretary

Communique issued at the end of the Conference of the ordained ministers of Scripture Union upbringing held on Thursday 19th May 2016 at Wadell Chapel, Calabar (SU (Nigeria), Calabar Area.  Published  in The Punch of Thursday September 8, 2016 pg 34.

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“But I must say that I’m extremely pained because we have been hearing of this in various parts of the country. It has come to the South East, it has come to Enugu state yet again……  I call on the federal government, I call on the security agencies to step up; it is their responsibility to protect the lives and property of the Nigerian citizen. No life is worth losing for any reason whatsoever and when you hear the story about how this happened, it pains the more…“This was simply an unprovoked attack. Cattle came into a farm and cattle was just chased away; does that warrant murder in cold blood? Hon. Chukwuemeka Ujam, Nkanu East/Nkanu West constituency, Enugu State

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Ebonyi State

“About 3,000 Ishiagu women in Ebonyi state yesterday, staged a peaceful protest to the Palace of the traditional ruler of the community, HRH Ezego Moses Ngele, against the destruction of farm crops by herdsmen.

“The women, comprising mostly peasant elderly farmers, marched peacefully to the palace of the monarch, where they demanded urgent action to end the alleged indiscriminate destruction of cash crops and other farm produce by herdsmen grazing their cattle in the area.

“They chanted solidarity songs and brandished green leaves as they urged the traditional ruler to prevail on the herdsmen to stop using their cattle to destroy their crops. http://dailypost.ng/headlines/ September 10, 2016

“It will be difficult for us to feed ourselves when cattle move around and likewise to achieve our ‘one man, one hectare policy’,” . Governor,David Umahi of Ebonyi State (http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/general/ebonyi-governor-threatens-to-arrest-herdsmen-for-wandering/165822.html )

Enugu State

“Residents of Attakwu, in Enugu West Senatorial Zone, Friday, expressed outrage over the attack on them by Fulani herdsmen. This is as they have maintained that they would no longer allow herdsmen to remain in the community. DAILY POST reports that it was a day of rage on Friday as they attempted to lynch their traditional ruler of the community, His Royal Highness, Igwe Greg Ugwu.

“The youths, who consistently booed the monarch, blamed him for the invasion of the community by Fulani herdsmen. It was the same case for the chairman of Ndiagu Attakwu union, Mr. Ndubuisi Ogbodo, as the youths nearly descended on him after he failed to make strong worded statement over the attack.

“Ogbodo had while speaking, showered encomiums on Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi as well as security agencies. The situation did not go down well with the residents….[They] insisted that this was not a time for “message of peace”, but a time to issue the herdsmen quit notice. ‎

Emmanuel Uzodinma Daily post on August 26, 2016.   http://dailypost.ng/hot-news/

Federal Capital Territory FCT

At the FCT, an Irate Senate Committee on the FCT lambasted the Minister of the FCT for continued laxity in dealing with Fulani herdsmen who now constitute top nuisance.in the Territory.  The Committee thereafter ordered that all cattles found roaming the city centre should be summarily apprehended and slaughtered. http://thenewsnigeria.com.ng/2016/09/senate-committee-orders-slaughter-of-cows-loitering-within-fct/ ……

Kaduna State

The Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU), in collaboration with Coalition of Professionals in Southern Kaduna, on Friday staged a peaceful protest in Gwantu, Sanga Local Government Area, over “incessant attacks by herdsmen”. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that many communities in the area had come under attacks that claimed scores of lives. The attackers also destroyed crops and livestock … The protesters, who were led by SOKAPU President, Mr Solomon Musa, and the Chairman, Coalition of Professionals, Mr Mark Jacob, condemned the “systematic and continuous killings of innocent people” in the areas.   By Daily Post Staff on August 26, 2016@dailypostngr

The latest report, also from the predominantly Christian Southern Kaduna indicates over 40 people massacred by Fulani herdsmen.  And irate mobs have started to lynch any Fulani around in retaliation.  All these, and no serious actions coming from the Federal government.  The President actually is the Grand Patron of the herdsmen. Godogodo area of Kaduna death toll hits 40, as mob hacks 14 herdsmen dead

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The article The butchers from the north by Chief Fani-Kayode tries to explain why all this spontaneous national anger:

 

"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.

Read the rest of Mr Fani-Kayode’s article at http://dailypost.ng/2016/08/29/femi-fani-kayode-butchers-north/

For an authoritative treatise on the technical foolishness of nomadic herding of cattle in modern times, and historical compilation of successive failed attempts to force it on Nigerians for political expediency, see the article RANCHES, GRAZING RESERVES AND (FULANI) PASTORALISM IN NIGERIA: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. by Dr Tayo Babalobi http://churcharise.blogspot.com.ng/2016/05/ranches-grazing-reserves-and-fulani.html .