The Ruga controversy has got a lot of tributaries. It is playing out in diverse forms.
Its original concept was the imposition of Fulani reign and rule on Nigerian communities that are not theirs. The idea, as pleasing as it was to the Fulani, sounded inchoate to non-Fulani areas of Nigeria. They rejected the plan outright. But northern youths could not understand why the south of Nigeria was averse to the idea. In their fury, they issued a 30-day ultimatum to the South to accept the Ruga policy or be prepared for the unpleasant.
The ultimatum, from all indications, sounded laughable to the South. It was dismissed with a wave of the hand. The northern groups, obviously, were ill at ease with the southern resistance. A frontal response, they thought, would not help at this stage. And so, they opted for a change of tactics. The plan, this time, was to ask herdsmen living in southern Nigeria to return to the North. They said their call had become imperative since, in their estimation, the safety of the herdsmen in the South was no longer guaranteed. But to do that, they had to consult their oracle. Ango Abdullahi, the enfant terrible, was on hand. He helped them to amplify their position, to wit, that northerners in the South should return to the North.
The call has a lot to it, and Nigerians of various persuasions have been voicing their concerns. On the surface of it, the call is a piece of blackmail. It is a case of trying to force the hands of then South. It is like saying that southerners do not want northerners in their territory. And so, the unwanted North has no choice but to leave. This is especially so when issues of safety come into play. A herdsman who is not safe to ply his trade in southern territories will have good reasons to find accommodation elsewhere. This is where the blackmail comes in. From what we know and what we can see, the Fulani herder is not unwanted in southern Nigeria. He has been roaming in the South with his cattle for decades. Nobody made any issue out of his operations.
But the story changed. The nomadic Fulani whose trademark in the past was his stick with which he whipped any straying cow into line, has transformed into something monstrous. He has become a sight to dread. He has transformed from stick-wielding to gun-toting. In a country where citizens are not permitted to bear arms, the Fulani herdsman freely and openly wields sophisticated weapons of war. Armed with firearms, which the locals cannot match, he rides roughshod over them in their own territory. He kills and maims and claims responsibility for his action in the public. He also rapes the wives and daughters of his hosts whenever his libidinous instinct so dictates. He is the master and the conqueror, the custodian of life and death. Then, if you expect the authorities to take him on, you will be utterly mistaken. He does not suffer any consequence for his misdeeds. But the law comes after you if you dare raise a finger against him. This makes him a special breed. A sacred cow.
In a situation such as this, his hosts are bound to resent him. They are bound to loathe him. This is what is playing out right now in the South. That is why the people cannot accept Ruga. It will amount to planting a muderous gang in their domains. The people of the South cannot, therefore, be a party to their being killed. It would be unnatural if they ever accept this ungodly order. Their rejection of organised annihilation is what has angered the Coalition of Northern Groups and the Northern Elders Forum. They are angry to the extent of asking northerners living in the South to return home. What we have here is a case of misplaced aggression. The people of the South who are being massacred in their own land have every reason to be angry. They have good grounds to revolt against the order. But they are not fighting back. They are simply asking the government of the day to rein in the murderous herdsman. But rather than do that, government is paying lip service to the issue of protecting life and property. It is because of government’s complicity in matters of security that the rampaging herder has grown wings. He is angry that he is being asked to stop his dance of death. Rather than the oppressed and harassed natives complaining, the oppressor who has been killing at will has assumed the moral high ground. He is incensed that he is not being goaded on to continue with his concert of blood. That is the irony that we are facing.
But the return-to-the-North call has a deeper import. It is not as simple as the herdsman returning to the North. The truth of the matter is that those making the divisive call have plans. They have their eyes on southerners living in the North. They want to create a scenario that would look like the northerner in the South has been prevented from doing his business in the South and, therefore, has to return to his homeland. If they succeed in sowing that impression in the minds of people, its counterpoise would be that the southerner doing business in the North should leave. It would be a case of, if you cannot accommodate me, why would you expect me to accommodate you? If we get to that point, where the North will be for the North and South for the South, then we should see it that we have reached that dangerous bend where a crash will be imminent.
The spark we need for the conflagration to begin is a listening ear by the Fulani herder. If he packs his bag and baggage and leaves, then we should have cause to feel afraid for the country. We pray he does not leave as he has been told to do. But if he must stay, it cannot be on his own terms. He must drop his weapons of war and be law-abiding. He must not be a terror to his hosts. The law must be made to catch up with him, if he transgresses. That is the only way he can remain the guest of his host community.
I am suspicious of the return call for another reason. I suspect that some troublemakers in northern Nigeria want to hide under it to cause mayhem in the country. In the bid to have southerners leave the North, these elements might wake up one day and begin to kill and maim southerners in their region. In all this, business premises belonging to southerners will be the target. The question they will be asking would be: why do business in our land when you have not allowed us to do business in your territory? All of this, naturally, will have grave implications for the survival of the country. To save the situation, government must rise to the occasion. It is not enough for government to ask Nigerians to remain where they are. Those who are fanning the embers of hate and disaffection must be called to order. It looks like we have got to that point where people do whatever they can to survive the onslaught that comes their way. If government has become an abstract entity without a life of its own, then everyone will be for himself and Devil will consume the last man.