23rd March,
2021
PRESS RELEASE :
EXPOSE BAD EGGS AMONG YOU: MURIC
TELLS NIGERIANS
Nigerians of all
tribes have been urged to expose bad eggs among them instead of stigmatising a
particular tribe alone if we want a quick solution to the current security challenges
in the country. The advice was given by the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) in a
press statement issued on Tuesday, 23rd March, 2021 by the director
of the non-governmental organisation (NGO), Professor Ishaq Akintola.
MURIC gave the advice against the backdrop
of the story of a Fulani kidnapper, Usman Hasan, who had kidnapped and killed a
farmer in Solalu village, Oyo State, after collecting ransom. He escaped to
Ogun State where he tried to form another kidnapping gang by recruiting fellow
Fulanis. But the Fulanis whom he tried to recruit reported him to the police.
“Here we have an example of good Fulanis.We need more of such actions
from the Fulani living in all parts of the country. The Fulani must work in
concert with their host communities and the security agencies to expose bad
eggs among them. This role should not be restricted to the Fulani alone.
Security must be everybody’s concern. All tribes must be involved. The Igbo,
Yoruba and Tiv must ensure that the bad eggs among them are exposed.
“Focusing on the Fulani alone will only worsen the security challenges
facing us as a people. It will enable the real criminals who are non-Fulanis to
get away with their crime. Some may actually hang their atrocities on the
Fulani even though they are the culprits and they know it.
“A good example of non-Fulani criminals who
try to pin their crime on Fulanis is the recent case of Samuel Udoetok Wills
and John Orji. These are two Nigerians recently sentenced to death in Ghana for
kidnapping and killing four girls. During negotiation for ransom, Samuel gave
his name as Buba Muhammed. He said he was a Fulani herdsman. So the security
agencies began hunting for Fulanis in the area. But after he was arrested, the
police discovered that his Nigerian passport had the name Samuel Udoetok Wills
and it became clear that he had tried to hide behind the façade of the wrong
public perception about Fulani herdsmen.
“There is an urgent need to de-escalate tension particularly on the demonization
of the Fulani people. Criminals exist in all tribes just as great men exist in
all of them. The great Zik of Africa, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, an Igbo man, was one
of the greatest minds Nigeria ever produced. Chinua Achebe authored some of the
best literature materials in circulation today. He was an Igbo man. But Evans
the kidnapper came up as the black sheep in the Igbo family.
“Chief Obafemi Awolowo was the best president Nigeria never had. He
liberated millions of the Yoruba people from the shackles of ignorance. Professor
Wole Soyinka is today a household name, not only among the Yoruba but
throughout the world. The greatest symbol of democracy in Nigeria, Chief M. K.
O. Abiola, was a Yoruba. The greatest human rights giant in Nigeria, late Gani
Fawehinmi, was a Yoruba man. So is the greatest human rights activist and
living legend, Femi Falana. Yet Babatunde Folorunso and Oyenusi, the most
feared and ruthless armed robbers of their time, were of Yoruba stock.
“The Fulani are also of no less noble stuff. They have produced men of
timber, calibre and caterpillar in all fields. Prof. Iya Abubakar,
a Fulani, had 1st Class in Mathematics from the University of Ibadan.
He proceeded to the United Kingdom for his doctorate degree in Mathematics and
became the first northerner to get a Ph.D. in that discipline. Professor
Jibril Aminu is also a great Fulani academic, politician and public
administrator. Alhaji Ahmed Joda is a well-known cardiologist and former
Federal Permanent Secretary, a former chairman, National Communication
Commission, (NCC) as well as current Pro-Chancellor of Bell University, Ota.
The list is endless. Therefore, Usman Hassan, the Fulani kidnapper and a few
bad eggs among Fulani herders, should not be used as index figures of the
tribe.
“Nigerians should
stop castigating any tribe, whether Igbo, Fulani or Yoruba. We are all great
people and we should love one another instead of hurling stigma all over the
place. Let us spread charity from the North to the South, from the East to the
West. Let us eschew malice, bitterness, pettiness, envy and jealousy. The sky
is wide enough for every Nigerian who has wings to fly.
“Our current security
challenges will melt away like ice cream in the hot sun if we all admit that
there are bad eggs among us and demonstrate the will to expose them instead of stigmatizing
the Fulani in our midst. There are many examples of distractions caused by
false allegations against the Fulani people. These false allegations enable the
real criminals to get away.
“The latest example
is that of the arrest of Pa Olawuwo, a PDP chieftain who was alleged to have
been involved in the killing of Dr. Aborode. Unfortunately this was a murder
that had been pinned on the Fulani and on account of which they were attacked
and sacked in Igangan. It is to the credit of Northerners that they have exercised
uncommon restraint in the face of outrageous provocation.
“What herders must stop is the destruction of farms by their cows.
Farmers deserve respect and honour for tilling the land and feeding the nation.
It is the height of wickedness and insensitivity for a farmer to clear the
land, sow the seed and do the weeding, only for cows to eat up everything just
when the poor farmer is getting ready to harvest. The Federal Government (FG) must
find solution to this ugly trend. We have suggested that FG should give cow owners
bailout funds to set up ranches. Open grazing must stop and those who fall foul
of anti-grazing law must be punished.”
Professor Ishaq
Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights
Concern (MURIC)
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