National Publicity Secretary of the Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, tells TOBI AWORINDEthat the South-West will no longer tolerate the reign of terror of Fulani herdsmen
What is your grouse with the Fulani herdsmen?
Our grouse is the fact that over the years, they have refused to respect our values, customs and rights to property, life, dignity and decency. In the name of feeding cows, they have grazed on the farmlands of our people, eating up our crops. Their members have committed crimes in terms of raping our women, robbing our people and perpetuating all kinds of violent crimes. They see our land as a place where they can just come and eat up our crops and violate our people with impunity. Don’t forget that in 2000, there was a major problem in Oke Ogun, Oyo State where these nomadic cattle rearers clashed with farmers and lives were lost. A powerful delegation of the Arewa Consultative Forum stormed the office of (former) Governor Lam Adesina, on behalf of these cattle rearers. Baba Adesina was harassed in his office, but he stood up for the dignity of the Yoruba man to say ‘This is unacceptable.’ This has continued since then.
The last straw that broke the camel’s back was the recent abduction of former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Olu Falae, who was abducted by the Fulani on his farm. They inflicted machete cuts all over his body, took him to the bush and kept him there for four days. They demanded ransom, which was paid before he was released. Now has come the time to say enough is enough. Yorubas go everywhere; not just within Nigeria, but outside the country. But we respect other people; we don’t use our businesses to destroy other peoples’ businesses. We respect our hosts. In fact, the Yoruba would say, ‘If you get to the city of lepers, cut off your fingers.’ That is how far we would go to respect other people’s values and their space. But if anyone then thinks we are fools and that they can do anything to trample on us, we are saying enough is enough.
What about their right to freedom of movement?
We are not saying, as Nigerians, they cannot move freely within the country, but my right to free movement does not mean I can go to your bedroom and jump into bed with your wife. That is what they are doing. That is why we say, ‘No, if you want to do cattle rearing business, go and build ranches. Stop engaging in nomadic ACTIVITIES that destroy our people’s means of livelihood such that when they say they don’t want it, you start inflicting injuries on them.’ We have had enough of that.
The ACF and Fulani herdsmen associations have viewed your reaction as harsh and, according to them, Afenifere is painting all Fulani in a negative light. What do you say to that?
Both the ACF and the herdsmen associations are highly insensitive, unfeeling, uncaring and inhuman. We have asked and they have still not answered: Can some TRADERSfrom here go up north and say they have a disagreement with Adamu Ciroma or Maitama Sule and kidnap them and begin to ask for ransom? To know that they (the hypothetical abductors) are from here (South-West), will they not be cutting everybody up likesuya (barbecue) over there? To add insult to injury, these elements are telling us that the constitution guarantees free movement of human beings and livestock. So their livestock are equal to our human beings? So a cow is equal to a human life? In fact, they have just shown that there is a clash of civilisations in this country. Whereas we put a premium on human beings, they put more value on cattle, thus we feel diminished to know that we are sharing the same space with people who think that cows—animals—should be equal to human beings!
They are committing all these atrocities—raping and killing our people—and they are telling us that we are harsh. So, because we don’t want to be harsh, Yoruba people should now go and prostrate before the Emirs in the North and say, ‘Please, stop killing our people. Don’t abduct Falae.’ Who is the person from the ACF or anywhere in the North who came out to condemn Falae’s abduction? None of them! If we say we want to live with other Nigerians, it should be on the basis of mutual respect. What they cannot tolerate in their land, they also should not do to us.
A former Minister of Aviation, Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode, recently alluded to President Buhari having a conflict of interests with regard to the Fulani because he identifies with them. Do you think Buhari has given the issue adequate attention?
I think about 48 hours after the abduction, the President ordered the Inspector General of Police to ensure that Falae was released, although ransom was eventually paid before he was set free. But the challenge now, in terms of dispensing those fears of conflict of interests, is to find a solution.
At the 2014 National Conference, we debated this matter extensively and came to a conclusion that nomadic grazing should stop and what we should have are ranches all over the country. It was proposed that state governments should provide the ranches and we said no, since cattle rearing is not a social service. It is a business that they are doing; they are selling the cows and making profit, so they should build their ranches. We decided that states that were disposed to building ranches for them can do so, but it is a business that they are doing. In order to guarantee the stability and unity of this country, the President has to ensure that that resolution of the conference is implemented; that if the nefarious ACTIVITIES of the Fulani herdsmen continue, it is capable of jeopardising the unity and composite existence of this country because there comes a time when the people will say, ‘Enough is enough. If this state cannot guarantee our protection against these activities, then we better help ourselves.’
Why blame the Fulani herdsmen and leave out the federal and state governments, including the security agencies, which are entrusted with protecting lives and property?
That is why the Yoruba nation is asking for true federalism so that every state can have their police. What we have today is the federal police; it is a central force with a command and control centre in Abuja. We can begin to blame our governors if they have their police and they are not doing something about the problem of insecurity. At this stage now, the governors are mere security officers in name. That is why we have focused our attention on the Federal Government, which is in charge of the coercive and security apparatuses in the country at the moment, to do something to make our people feel secure.
If these people say they are rearing cows, why are they carrying weapons about? Why are they raping women? Is it for the advancement of Boko Haram? When Falae told his abductors that he had only N2m to give them, they asked him, ‘Are you giving N2m to Boko Haram?’ Are these herdsmen advancing the cause of Boko Haram to invade our land? These are issues that have to be resolved by state security apparatuses. At this stage, the security forces have appeared helpless before the Fulani herdsmen the way they appear helpless before Boko Haram.
In one of your recent statements, you said your grouse with the Fulani herdsmen shows a “clash of civilisations in Nigeria and why Nigeria as presently constituted cannot work.” Are you then advocating for a breakup of Nigeria?
Our position is that we should have a true federal arrangement, that is, regional autonomy; we should have cultural democracy in Nigeria; every section in Nigeria should be able to lead its civilisation and cooperate at national level. It is those who are violating others, kidnapping and abducting people, raping people all about in the name of rearing cattle, and their elite, who are now adding insult to injury by calling us names; instead of calling their people to order, they are the ones who want to break up Nigeria. The constitution says there is a limit to which you can push the people before they stand up and say, ‘Let’s have it out.’ We don’t want the country to break up, but our compatriots are behaving as if other people’s properties deserve to be eaten up by cows. If they continue with that attitude, those who have had enough will put their frustration into action.
Cattle rearers are responsible for a lot of the meat consumption in the South-West. If you chase them away, won’t it affect the economy of the region?
We are not saying they should not come and sell cows as their business. We are saying they should not engage in nomadic farming. They should go and build ranches and if they say they cannot build ranches, the North is supposed to have the largest land mass in Nigeria; they should go and graze on their land.
What measures will you take if the attacks continue?
In law, self-defence is recognised. They cannot continue to violate our people because we have always tolerated then and they think we will continue to watch them? It will not happen.
But isn’t that risking a civil war?
So if people are carrying weapons into your house, raping your women, killing you and looting from you on your own soil, is that not war already? There is war already. They have declared war on our people. The Fulani herdsmen have already declared war on our people. So it is either the people are ready to die on their knees or they want to die on their feet. That is why we are calling on the Nigerian state to prevent a situation where it will degenerate into a free-for-all. We are warning now; they never warned.
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