The Uprising and the Cacophony of Ethnic Profiling: Why we should learn from History

 “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it” –George Santayana

States emerge as result of several factors including through conquest, the Nigerian state can be said to have emerged as a result of colonial conquest, one which was a business pally between the Royal Niger Company and the British Government. The pally engendered an aggregation of over 250 ethnic groups to make up a state; members of which would later relate on mutual distrust, ethnic bigotry and cultural intolerance. Hence, the challenge the Nigerian state has continued to grapple with borders on national unity and the question of nationhood.

In recent weeks, the country has witnessed spate of killings across various zones, particularly, there has been a heightened level of security challenges in the southern states, most of which have been attributed to the activities of suspected killer herdsmen; one which garnered wide media reportage was the killing of Funke Olakunrin, the daughter of Pa Reuben Fasoranti, the chairman of the Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere. Consequently, the tension in the country has been allowed to linger as various ethnic groups in the country have taken recourse to their primordial public. Sadly, several threatening statements of reprisal actions have been issued out, the drums of war have continued to be beaten by warmongers and there is a dire need to salvage Nigeria and to avert the ticking time bomb that may plunge the country into the abyss of violent uprisings.

On the 20th of July, Punch reported: “Barely 62 hours after President Muhammadu Buhari asked Fulani herdsmen in the South to ignore the call by northern elders asking them to return to the North, the Miyetti Allah kautal Hore, the umbrella body for fulani herdsmen in the country, has asked its members to defend themselves against any ethnic militia group in the country, saying herders should exercise their right to free movement as Nigerians.”  In another report by Sahara Reporters on July 25, the Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere also issued a threatening statement saying “Leave South-West now or face Confrontation”. Details of the report read inter alia: ”We demand their immediate exit from Yoruba land. And if they refuse to leave in a reasonable time, we will not stop our people from confronting them”.

It is no new happening to hear leaders issue out statements that can fan the flame of ethnic discordance. Even the late Sardauna of Sokoto, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello in an interview he granted the British Press in 1964 may have been caught in similar case when he noted that, “the Igbos are more or less the type of people whose desire mainly is to dominate everybody”. This was in relation to the Igbos occupying most of the top executive and administrative positions in government agencies and parastatals while the northerners had to grapple with menial jobs.

The pogrom against the Igbos and needless gory of the civil war era should be one we continue to take a cue from. Thousands of people lost their lives to the heinous events that played out and many died of hunger and starvation. None of the casualties or victims or survivor of that era would ever wish for a repeat. Hence, it important to pay attention to of the men who still has the scar of war. We may choose to ignore the messenger; we should not ignore the message.  Drawing from former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s letter to President Muhammadu Buhari; although, he was quick to subtly mention how criminality in the country is widely perceived as a Fulani menace, which to all intents, constructions and purposes is a way of profiling an entire ethnic group as responsible for the many crimes across the country. However, he, nevertheless, didn’t hesitate to draw an analysis of what the uprisings in the country may lead to. He explained this by expressing his worry about four avoidable calamities, two of which are worthy of note:

1.      ”Spontaneous or unplanned reprisal attacks against Fulani which may inadvertently mushroom into pogrom or Rwanda-type genocide that we did not believe could happen and yet it happened.

2.      Violent uprising beginning from one section of the country and spreading quickly to other areas leading to the dismemberment of the country.”

Let it be known that: “Our enemies are the political profiteers, the swindlers, the men in high and low places, that seek bribes and demand 10%; those that keep the country divided permanently so that they can remain in office as ministers or VIPs…” Those were the words of Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu during the first military mutiny.  Herbert Hoover also noted that, “Older men declare war. But it is youth that must fight and die.” Needless to say, that some of the crises the Nigerian state is faced with are sustained by the political class whose desire is to continue to parade themselves in the corridors of power while ensuring that the country is divided along ethnic and religious lines.

Perhaps, it is time to redefine the character of the Nigerian state; nations do not develop in the face of violence and political bloodletting. The Nigerian state should as a matter of priority, avoid any action or policy that can plunge the state into anarchy.  As we journey to build a virile nation, let the words of Albert Dietrich guide us: “There are perhaps many causes worth dying for, but to me, certainly, there are none worth killing for.   

©FATSSSA PRESS ORGANISATION 2019

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