One core standpoint of the national conundrum within the discourse on Nigeria concerns the reoccurring conflicts and dissentions in the South western Nigeria, which is driven by struggles over land – based resources and boundaries.
During this period, it is quite breathtaking and at the same time depressing that, through the extent of barbarism, killings and violation of human rights bedeviling the South West, with a case study of the recent reprisal attack on the people of Igangan in Ibarapa North Local government Area of Oyo state, the federal government has refused neither make any stance nor stand, not to even talk about taking any sort of repressive and punitive measures against such gory attack.
With plausible information in the public, no fewer than 20 people were murdered in cold blood in the Igangan attack in Oyo state late on Saturday, 5th June, 2021. In recent time, the South-Western part of Nigeria has become a lushful terrain for deadly clashes between nomadic herders and local farmers over access to land and resources.
The insecurity besieging the Northern States, coupled with the slothfulness of security units to respond to the dire situations and the presidency’s inexplicable reticence on the issues have rented the entire northern orb of the country, which have pushed the herders down South in forage for safety and comfort for their cattle to graze. But the intermittent rampage experienced in hotbed areas like Igangan and other places in the South-West has called for great concern, which the federal government must rise to combat the ills, if there is anything left, to savage the entity called Nigeria.
In some of the pictures made available to the media in the fresh attack, a host of Igangan indigenes were seen killed, while their bodies were left lifeless on the streets with blood oozing from their remains. The nerve-wracking impacts of machetes were obvious on their head and other parts of their body. Some of the victims heads were seen to have been obviously hacked diagonally with the marauding Fulani blades and one’s belly would rebel to make one puke at the sight of those horrible images.
Another sight is that of two kids laying dead with their bodies riddled with bullet shots. All these happened in a spine-chiling operation carried out by Fulani men at Igangan.
The prevailing injustice and biases ravaging the country is also a widespread harmmattan fire that has heightened the persistent demand for the creation of the Oduduwa Nation. And until a quick intervention is made, the Yoruba race may, in no time walk away from the marriage of the multi-ethnic society called Nigeria.
Ethnic imbalance, Banditry, kidnapping, raping and killings of the people of the Southwest coupled with the lop-sided appointments into public offices are part of the grievances that could aggravate the birth of the Yoruba Nation.
With all sense and thirst of urgency, the federal government must wake up from their slumber and create a functional security squad to tackle the hydra – headed monster threatening the peace and cohesion of Nigerians. The incident in Igangan is indeed an illustrative paradigm and prototype of the preeminent farmer-herder crisis in Nigeria. Many petitions have been written about the surging clash between herders and farmers in the country but none of those calls have been yielded to. We do not need any soothsayer to inform us that the Fulani herdsmen menace has become deadlier than the Boko Haram’s insurgency. While the former is seemingly becoming unpopular, the former has graduated into an household cum daily topic in the country.
A day after the Igangan town was brought to its knees by the heavy matchetes and guns of Fulani herdsmen, the popular Yoruba activist, Chief Sunday Adeyemo popularly called Sunday Igboho visited the town in Ibarapa North Local government Area of Oyo state to access the level of damage in the invasion with his boys attempting to also comb the forests which have been serving as hideouts for the marauding Fulani assailants. Unfortunately, to one’s utter chagrin, he was blocked from entering the forests by a team of fully armed soldiers, who trailed his convoy immediately they arrived in town. Should we say the soldiers had their hidden plans up their sleeves or were carrying out such condemnable act from the queer order given to them? What are they not telling us about the attack?
For how long shall our people watch their kins murdered, all in the name of forceful take – over of their steds. President Muhammadu Buhari must be ready to nudge the Service Chiefs to act swiftly to end the killings if the country’s gravest challenge must be curtailed. If not outrightly at least to bring the country into sanity just before his occupation of the corridor of power.
Dr Babatunde Olotu
Media to Osumare Group ( MOG )
For: Engr Olatunde Alejo ( Òşùmàrè )
