Buhari must declare Fulani Herdsmen Terrorist organization……Bishop Owen Nwokolo

www.odogwublog.com reports that the Bishop on the Niger, Anglican Communion, Onitsha, Anambra State, Rt. Rev. (Dr) Owen Nwokolo, has called on the Federal Government to declare the Fulani herdsmen terrorists, as well as proscribe their activities like it did to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

Bishop Nwokolo who made the call recently in a chat with newsmen in Onitsha pointed out that the activities of Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen were clear agenda to Islamize Nigeria.

He, therefore, urged the Federal Government to urgently tackle their menace in the same way and manner it fought IPOB.

His words: “When the IPOB was reigning, we heard how the government sent different dances, the Python One and other kinds of the Crocodiles and dealt with the problems, but this one nothing really substantial has been done. So, I don’t know what else to say rather than to ask the people if they have any means to defend themselves they should do it, but still appeal to the Federal Government to tackle this matter headlong because that is the only solution.

“The Boko Haram whatever idea people think they are portraying is purely to Islamize Nigeria. Fulani herdsmen whether they say it is cultural or outsiders coming into Nigeria, the whole idea of herdsmen bearing AK47 guns, going around killing and intimidating people, is to Islamize Nigeria. In the case of the Dapchi girl in Yobe state, where some abducted school girls were released and they held one because she refused to denounce her Christianity was a typical example. Why was she detained after others were released just because of her faith in Christ?

“We are saying that Nigerians should be watchful, Christians should also pray, be watchful and speak out concerning their faith and take their stand. The issue of Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen is an agenda to Islamize Nigeria and Christians should not allow that to happen. We must hold our faith, we must stand our ground, we must defend our churches, we must defend our fellow Christians, we must also watch and pray”. 

He said that he supported the call by General T.Y Danjiuma for self-defense “because Nigerians won’t fold their hands and watch their people to be slaughtered in the guise of either Boko Haram or Fulani herdsmen,” stressing that Nigerians should rise up and defend their territory and stop the killers of innocent citizens mostly Christians in the country. 

“If somebody like Danjiuma is saying that Boko Haram, and Fulani herdsmen that disguise in different ways, killing people; that Nigeria should defend themselves, so, we know how the things had been going. It appears that the Federal Government is turning deaf ears to the plea of the people, behaving as if nothing will happen because they have the power, there is nothing else anybody can do. We have said so many things before now, we have appealed to the Federal Government to defend the citizens, it appears nothing substantial is happening. It is not that the Army is not doing anything or they are not making any effort, but we have not seen drastic measure that will curb the old system.”

On the call by IGP to mop up arms from vigilance groups in the country, the bishop said: “I don’t know the people that are vigilance groups and those who are not; if any group has been registered in the government and has obtained license to own and use weapons, withdrawing their weapons from them is to make room for anarchy. In this country we don’t have enough security men, we don’t have enough policemen to cater for the citizens, the number of policemen in Nigeria, I don’t think it is up to 500,000 but we have over 180 million Nigerians with about 500,000 policemen to guard them, it is insufficient, there is no way it can work. 

“So, because the situation is like that the government in one way or the other permitted local people to organize themselves to secure their areas by working with the police and to come now to withdraw their weapon in the guise of security is something we can’t support because we see it as a deliberate attempt to destroy the people. If the government will withdraw the weapons of people, they must first of all increase the number of policemen to march the population, and it will still take them a number of years to do that and Nigeria is not yet prepared to take such steps except there is a hidden agenda of eliminating the people.”

On efforts by the church leaders to curtail the alleged plot to clampdown on Christians in the country, he said: “The church has been trying and has condemned the killing of innocent citizens by Fulani herdsmen. We had let the opinion known to the government and we are yet to see drastic measures being taken by the government to tackle the herdsmen issue. 

“The problem we have is that our country is not yet purely united, sentiments govern a lot of things. Benue State, for instance, made a law, no grazing land in Benue, no cattle settling centre (cattle colonies), the state passed it as a law and that is the persecution on them, because of it other states are afraid in taking a clue from them because nobody wants to be persecuted, but the issue is that we must say something; but when you say something when you don’t control the army or other security agency, it becomes a problem, that is why we are calling for the introduction of the state police so that every state will take care of its security measures, now you said that governor of a state is the chief security officer of the state while he has no power over the security of the state.

“How can he be chief security officer of the state while he will give order to the police they will not obey, rather they obey the IGP. So, when we have handle it holistically, we will deal with the issue of state police, deal with the issue of making laws and keeping the laws, but for now we are carried away with sectionalism. If a Fulani man is the president, he will dominate the country with Fulani tradition. If a Yourba is the president, he will dominate the country with Yourba tradition and nobody knows when the Igbo man will be there.”