Who Are These Fulanis? -By Joe Dauda

I’m neither the President nor the DGSS—arguably the most informed persons in Nigeria at any time t. So I do not have the resources to verify the general impression now in Nigeria against the Fulanis. Yes, it bothers me that leaders of Fulani sociocultural organizations sometimes make statements that appear to implicate them in violent attacks, especially in Benue State. I have also seen videos of herders feeding cows with farm produce like cassava. Quite cold-blooded. But beyond these circumstantial evidences, I have no way of independently confirming or refuting what has been said against the Fulanis in general with regard to intermittent attacks in Nigeria. I recently read that the military clarified that the rampaging herdsmen are foreign rather than local. That sounds interesting and I wish that to be the case and am willing to exercise the courage to believe that.

An elderly Nigerian whom I respect for his academic credentials, his natural wisdom, his godliness, his sagacity, kindness, and rich Nigerian experience, shared a story a few days ago that has got me thinking.

This highly esteemed Nigerian began his civil service career in Benue State but was soon “stolen away” to then Gongola State by then Wing Commander David Jonah Jang, who was appointed Military Administrator of Gongola State after witnessing the technical ability, brilliance and dedication to duty of this Nigerian, who was then a young man. So it was Jonah Jang (who later served as Plateau State Governor for two consecutive terms) that pulled my man away from Benue to Gongola. In case you did not know, Gongola (today’s Adamawa and Taraba States) is home to Fulanis.

While residing in Gongola, my man was able to have close and protracted interaction with the Fulanis. He said that the kindness of the Fulanis was legendary and also shared a brief but touching and significant story that I would like to recount.

He said, in those days, the Fulanis were a source of refuge and did not pose any threat to anyone whatsoever. For example, if one was traveling along the road and had an issue with his car, the Fulanis would approach the person and handle him basically as well as father Abraham handled the three visitors that approached his tent thousands of years ago, as reported in the Book of Genesis. They will feed the person, provide him company, protect him, and even accommodate him through the night if need be. In the morning, they will heat water and give to the person to bathe, serve him breakfast, and generally provide a 3-star out-of-town hotel service to the person until he is able to fix his vehicle and continue on his trip. Any attempt to reward them with money was often never successful. Their kindness was plain kindness. These were days long before the advent of GSM technology and a broken down vehicle could take days to fix because the nearest mechanic may be a hundred kilometers away. Besides, any required spare parts may even be farther down the line.

Anyway, I listened to this story and had no problem believing it. Today, I know how to say hi in Fulani because my father taught me. Just try to say “pull over” but leave out the “ver” and a Fulani man will believe you have greeted him. Last time I checked, my village is a cattle route for thousands of cattle every year (you have never seen a convoy of so many cows) and I remember we greet them as they pass by just by saying Pullo.

But my father was never content to just say Pullo. He had a soft spot for Fulanis. He would allow them stay around our family house and even when we thought they were becoming a nuisance, he will either pretend not to have noticed or plead with us to have mercy on them. He even allowed them to bath in the outdoor bathroom! This kindness is especially extended to the Fulanis that stayed around my village and sold cows (males) or sold nunu (females).

My dad was a nice man but his kindness to the Fulanis was not just out of the magnanimity of his heart. In my opinion, perhaps he felt he owed them.

Why?

Because it was a Fulani man that trained him. That man’s name was Dodo and we have seen an old black-and-white picture of him and his wife. When my father joined the army through the help of the same Dodo, he adopted his name. No wonder my dad’s friends called him 02 Dodo until his death. He was a Warrant Officer Class 2 (02 for short) and his surname was Dodo. So there is that primordial sentiment in favour of Fulanis in my family. Unless pushed to the wall, we would be nice to any Fulani person any day any time. After all, it was a Fulani man that helped my dad find his feet in life after he literally escaped from the village as a young adult in search of a better life.

It was only recently that we started becoming tempted to both hate and fear Fulanis, like many Nigerians. But while growing up, they were a blessing to behold. I consider cows funny and like to watch them moo with their big mouths and eat grass. Even today, I bring out my phone to take videos whenever I see a herd of cows either grazing or just ambling along. So again, it was easy to believe what my man told me about his own experiences with the Fulanis in those good old days. Though my man is Yoruba, he met his wife (an Igbo lady) in Gongola. And they are still married today. The only problem he complained about is that his children speak Hausa better than him and even accuse him of speaking Hausa that is tainted with a Yoruba accent anytime he tries to speak Hausa with them. That’s not all. These Yoruba/Igbo children, one of whom is a Boeing 747 pilot, speak Fulfulde, which is the language of the Fulanis. My man does not speak Fulfulde.

If I can keep my emotions aside, it now seems reasonable to believe what Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraja said during his birthday some years ago. The man (who spearheaded or led the New PDP faction that later joined the APC and made the ascension of Muhammadu Buhari possible), confessed that they imported Fulanis into Nigeria in 2015 in a bid to oust Goodluck Jonathan from power. Fulanis with the profile that fits the crimes being perpetrated today and blamed on Fulanis in general. From Mali, Sierra Leone, and Senegal. I am not saying Baraje was right or wrong but he said what he said publicly.

If we take Baraje’s confession as fact, it means that what we are witnessing today is closer to an invasion than a quarrel between Nigerian ethnic groups. When you add the recent statement by the Nigerian military that the attacking herders are foreign rather than local, then you have no strong reason to disagree with Kawu Baraje’s revelation.

So then, our local Fulanis are not the problem?

This will be emotionally less stressful to deal with because our local Fulanis are Nigerians and it feels good to know that they are not the ones committing the atrocities we read about every now and then.

If this is the case, should a foreign invasion not be met with a drastic government response, such as arming the civilian population?

During the Second World War, Hitler (who was so powerful he made the British so scared they expected to be defeated) chose not to attack Switzerland.

Why?

Because the policy of the Swiss is that every male adult must be armed. In fact, it is an obligation. In essence, Switzerland had a national militia for the protection of the homeland. So when Hitler ordered his soldiers to launch an attack on Switzerland, they were reluctant. Because they knew they would be picked up like chickens by Swiss bullets flying from every direction.

Should Nigeria follow the Swiss model at this time and arm every male that is mentally and physically deemed qualified and that has never committed a crime?

The ball is in the court of the government but the question remains:

Who are these Fulanis?

If they are really not our fellow Nigerians, why not follow the sentiment expressed by the DGSS in a recent public speech where he seemed favourably disposed to something akin to the Swiss model? In fact the DGSS commended the people of Tafawa Balewa for defending themselves and sending a strong message to Boko Haram attackers, who have steered clear of that vicinity up until today.

Nigerians are not cowards. We have an army of retired soldiers willing to engage, apart from healthy young men who are so smart and agile and roaring for adventure they will multiply themselves in terms of efficiency in combat and quickly end this menace.

Just the announcement that the Nigerian government is thinking of arming qualified adult males to defend themselves and their families has the potential to send insurgents and even armed robbers in the opposite direction. This idea should be considered. If not, we are all sitting ducks waiting to be slaughtered. Another thing is that people may soon feel so desperate they would attempt to defend themselves in defiance of the government, which would then make them enemies of the government, leaving the real enemies free to take advantage of the situation even further.

Human beings are intelligent beings and self-preservation is a strong and fundamental instinct. If it becomes clear to people that the government will never be able to protect them (people are being killed in Benue, Plateau, and Zamfara everyday) it is just a matter of time before they decide to arm themselves and choose to die fighting the government over the right to bear arms, or fighting the insurgents.

The advantage the insurgents have knowing that the government is not willing to permit people to defend themselves is part of the reason for the brutality of their attacks. In other words, it is the policy of the government that is emboldening the insurgents. Like I already said, if the Nigerian government begins to publicly comment on the possibility of allowing men to defend themselves and their families, that alone can cause the attacks to subside.

Perhaps this move should be considered even if just to test the waters and also as a psychological tool to deter further attacks by creating uncertainty in the minds of the attackers. Knowing that there are armed men living within a village (without knowing how many they are or their level of training or the type of weapons they possess) will raise the cost of attacking that village or town or community. The government can leverage on this psychological strategy by publicly adopting a policy of ambiguity about the issue of self defense. Or go all the way and not only permit but encourage Nigerians to bear arms, with the necessary sanctions in place against those who misuse them. Evil people and criminals will always find a way to get arms. Good, law abiding citizens should not be left at their mercy. A good guy with a loaded gun is an asset to society—especially a society like today’s Nigeria where news about the killing of people is no longer breaking news since it now happens everyday.