On October 2nd 2014, Alhaji Aliyu Gwarzo, a prominent Fulani leader from Kano, said the following words to Pointblanknews Magazine. He said,
”when I say that the Presidency must come to the north next year I am referring to the Hausa-Fulani core north and not any northern Christian or Muslim minority tribe.
The Christians in the north such as the Berom, the Tiv, the Kataf, the Jaba, the Zuru, the Sayyawa, the Bachama, the Jukun, the Idoma and all the others are nothing and the muslim minorities in the north, including the Kanuri, the Nupe, the Igbira, the Babur, the Shuwa Arabs, the Marghur and all the others know that when we are talking about leadership in the north and in Nigeria, Allah has given it to us, the Hausa-Fulani.
They can grumble, moan and groan as much as they want but each time they go into their bedrooms to meet their wives and each time they get on their prayer mats to begin their prayers, it is we the Fulani that they think of, that they fear, that they bow to and that they pray for.
Some of them are even ready to give us their wives and daughters for one nights sport and pleasure. They owe us everything. This is because we gave them Islam through the great Jihad waged by our father the great Usuman Dan Fodio.
We also captured Ilorin, killed their local King and installed our Fulani Emir. We took that ancient town away from the barbarian Yoruba and their filthy pagan gods. We liberated all these places and all these people by imposing Islam on them by force.
It was either the Koran or the sword and most of them chose the Koran. In return for the good works of our forefathers Allah, through the British, gave us Nigeria to rule and to do with as we please. Since 1960 we have been doing that and we intend to continue.
No Goodluck or anyone else will stop us from taking back our power next year. We will kill, maim, destroy and turn this country into Africa’s biggest war zone and refugee camp if they try it.
Many say we are behind Boko Haram. My answer is what do you expect? We do not have economic power or intellectual power. All we have is political power and they want to take even that from us.
We must fight and we will fight back in order to keep it. They have brought in the infidels from America and the pigs from Israel to help them but they will fail. The war has just begun, the Mujahedeen are more than ready and by Allah we shall win.
If they don’t want an ISIS in Nigeria then they must give us back the Presidency and our political power. Their soldiers are killing our warriors and our people every day but mark this: even if it takes one hundred years we will have our revenge.
Every Fulani man that they kill is a debt that will be repaid even if it takes 100 years. The Fulani have very long memories”.
Men like Alhaji Aliyu Gwarzo have clearly become prisoners of their own vain fantasies and dark delusions. They represent the ”Chief Whip” or ”the heavy muscle” within the Fulani ruling class. They are direct, crude, threatening and vulgar and they come across like boastful bullies and motor-park touts. Yet despite this they must be taken very seriously because they represent an increasingly powerful and strong-willed tendency within the circles of caliphate power and the Fulani ruling elite.
A slightly more refined yet equally eloquent testimony of their battle-ready temperement and mindset was provided by none other than President Muhammadu Buhari himself in 2013 when he said that if what happened in 2011 during the Presidential elections happens again in 2015 and he ends up losing to President Goodluck Jonathan, who happens to be a southern christian, ”the dog and the baboon will both be soaked in blood”. His words are few yet his point was well understood.
Finally let us consider the contribution of the respected elder statesman, Alhaji Lawal Kaita, to the discourse when he said, before the Presidential election in 2011, that ”power must return to the north otherwise we (meaning northerners) would make the country ungovernable”. Jonathan went ahead to win the election and Lawal Kaita and co. went ahead to honor their word: from 2011 till 2015, make the country ungovernable they certainly did.
These are shocking and deeply troubling contributions from these Fulani leaders and the import of their insidious threats are self-evident. They need no further analysis or explanation here.
In the light of all this one thing remains clear: it is time for us to do whatever it is that we must do to save our country and if those that believe that they own it refuse to be reasonable and fair to the rest of us, perhaps we should consider the possibility of redefining her.
We warned the Nigerian people but they would not listen. Sadly things are bound to get far worse before they get any better. The sons and daughters of Futa Jalon will not rest until they have completely conquered and subjugated the whole of our country.
The Fulani herdsmen are a standing army. They are protected by the state and there is nothing anyone can do about it. That is the new Nigeria for you.
The truth is that we are under occupation. If it is not the Fulani herdsmen that are tormenting us then it is Boko Haram. If it is not Boko Haram then it is our very own Armed Forces who are under orders from our oppressors.
Most Nigerians are in denial about what is going on and some are just too intimidated and cowardly to acknowledge the problem let alone to speak out or to attempt to resist it.
We are in a mess and our collective enemies and tormentors are evil and relentless.
When it comes to the field of foreign policy our President has jettisoned our traditional policy of non-alignment when it comes to the politics of the Middle East.
He just came back from Qatar and Saudi Arabia where he declared his total and complete support for the Palestinians and literally turned his back on the State of Israel. This was a fatal mistake.
Hearing him say it broke my heart just as it did the hearts of millions of other Nigerians who are friends of Israel and who are committed to her cause.
In this respect if only President Buhari understood the spiritual implications of what he has done perhaps he would have reconsidered his decision.
Whatever the case Israel is here to stay forever with Jerusalem as her eternal and undivided capital. Nothing can change that: not even a million Saudi Arabias and Qatars or all the kings and princes of the world.
On March 5th in an interview which was aired on Al Jazeera television and which was conducted whilst he was in Qatar, President Buhari dropped another bombshell by saying that Nigeria would indeed join the Saudi Arabian-led coalition of 34 muslim countries which is known as ISMAT.
This represented a departure from his earlier position when he had categorically ruled this course of action out. Naturally many christians and shia muslims in our country were astonished by this u-turn given the fact that Nigeria is a multi-religious secular state with at least 50 per cent of her population being christian.
They are also apprehensive because ISMAT is essentially a sunni Muslim military alliance whose main purpose is to stand as a counter balance to the growing military power and influence of shia Muslim Iran.
Why Nigeria should be brought into the Iran/Saudi conflict in this way and turned into a potential theater for a Middle Eastern proxy war is beyond the comprehension of most commentators given the obvious dangers attached to it.
When Al Jazeera questioned him about the fact that this move has caused immense anxiety and apprehension to the Christian Association of Nigeria and to the massive christian population in our country, President Buhari responded by asking why he should be concerned about the views of those “religious bigots” and that instead of complaining “the christians should organise themselves and go and fight against terrorism and the militants in the south”.
Such an insulting, abysmal and bellicose attitude and aggressive response confirms the fears of many that our government is not only interested in establishing an ethnic Fulani hegemony in our country but that they also wish to islamise our nation and put into effect the stated intention, dream and objective of the late Saurdana of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello, of “dipping the Koran in the Atlantic ocean”.
They wish to continue the Saurdana’s avowed march and islamise and conquer southern Nigeria much in the same way that his great grandfather, Usman Dan Fodio, had conquered and islamised the north two hundred and six years ago.
Such a reckless and dangerous course of action will undoubtedly be resisted and consequently the truth is that we are really in trouble in this country.
The Nigeria of today reminds me of Yugoslavia before its civil war and before it broke up into five separate countries. I see and smell blood in the land and we are living in very dangerous times.
The Fulanis are like the Serbs of old in Yugoslavia: dominating, cunning and relentless. They have their own ethnic and religious militias and they are also fully in power. The only difference is that the Serbs were christians whilst the Fulani are muslims.
They both used their religious faith to muster support and effect their purpose. One day though their yoke shall be broken and we shall be set free.
Until then we must muster our strength and courage and stand firm against violence, hate, religious intolerance, injustice, oppression, tyranny and evil.
We must ensure that we do not resort to violence under any circumstances but at the same time we must be firm in our resolve that we shall never be turned into slaves in our own land.
We must reach out to all those who share our vision and we must work together with all ethnic groups in this country who share our values and who seek unity and peace.
As we contend with the enemy we must be courageous and firm in our resolve. We must shed all our fears and we must be ready to suffer persecution and to lose our lives or liberty if that is what is required to effect our purpose and to advance our cause.
We must be prepared to pay any price in order to secure and protect our liberty and to ensure a greater and better future for our loved ones and our children.
Finally as we confront our collective enemies we must do so with confidence and strength. We must invoke the words and memory of David, the greatest of all of the Kings of Israel, when he met Goliath in the field of battle.
As the giant issued his famous challenge, boasted loudly and poured insults and scorn on the Jewish army and their God, young David looked him in the eye and defiantly asked “who is this uncircumcised Philistine that has chosen to defy the armies of the Living God?”
He said, “thy servant slew the lion and the bear. And so it shall be for this uncircumcised Philistine who has chosen to defy the army of the Living God”.
He said, “you come against me with shield and spear but I come against you in the name of the Lord God of Hosts, the God of the Armies of Israel. Today He shall hand you over to me and I shall slay you and feed your flesh to the birds of the air”.
And so it shall be for the Goliaths in our land.
May the souls of all those that were cut short by the terrorists and ethnic supremacists from 1960 up until today, including all those innocent souls and little children that were murdered during our civil war, rest in peace. God bless Nigeria.
ADDENDUM: I have written this essay with every sense of caution and responsibility. I have been told that my pen is like a time-bomb so permit me to settle a couple of issues and set the record straight.
I am not a racist, a tribalist or a religious bigot. I have nothing against Muslims and I have many Muslim friends and family members whom I have immense respect and affection for. I do not hate members of the Fulani tribe because one eight of the blood that flows through my veins is Fulani.
I do not seek to incite anyone to violence or to hatred against any ethnic group, against any individual, against any political party or against President Mohammadu Buhari or his government with this write up.
I do not seek to insult anyone or any group of people or to seek the break-up of Nigeria through armed struggle with this write up or any other write-up. I deplore violence and I am a man of peace. I am an essayist, an intellectual and a historian and this two-part essay is simply my contribution to my understanding of our history, national discourse and our literary archives.
I believe that we live in a country that free speech is guaranteed by the constitution and this write-up is simply the expression of my opinion on a burning national issue that has become the subject of much public and private discussion in Nigeria. I have no apology to anyone for the contents of this essay though it is regrettable if anyone feels offended by it. My intention is not to offend but to state the facts and put the case.
Finally the question is often asked “FFK why do you write things like this?” The answer is simple and clear and it is as follows. I am a servant of truth and this is my calling. If I don’t write and expose these things who will speak out for the voiceless victims of these terrible atrocities and injustices and who will tell their story? Equally importantly who will challenge and expose the perpetrators? If I don’t do it who will speak truth to power?
How will history, posterity and justice judge us and be served if we all keep quiet and act as if we do not recognise the fact that there is evil in the land?
How can we claim to be righteous and good men and women when we close our eyes, bury the truth and pretend that we cannot see the evil?
How can we sleep well at night and face our God in prayer when we know that our complicit and conspiratorial silence is borne out of nothing but cowardice and fear? That is why I write the sort of things that I have written in this essay and as long as injustice and evil reigns in the land I shall continue to do so.
I look forward to rejoinders from those who do not share my views with as much joy as I look forward to reading essays from those who do. Thank you.