As Right Wing Fulani Terrorism Strikes in his Homestate, Kogi, Formerly Pro-Govt Nigerian Public Intellectual Pius Adesanmi Cries Out

[Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju]

How does one describe a terrorist movement which is run by  an interest group, Miyetti Allah,  led by some of the most prominent elite of a particular ethnicity, supported directly and indirectly by politicians of the same ethnicity, the most committed supporter being the head of state, also of the same ethnicity and using a military wing associated with cattle husbandry which is a defining occupation of the nomadic wing of people of that ethnicity?

That is a  critical question embroiling Nigeria today, as evident from the most recent Facebook update by formerly pro-govt Nigerian-Canadian public intellectual Pius Adesanmi  and comments on that update from various ideological positions.

The latest stage of the unfolding verbal scenario unfolding agst the backdrop of news of the horrific killings by the terrorists, is presented below:

Post of 16/03/2018

Pius Adesanmi

7 hrs · 

Bukola Saraki always thinks he is clever. Newspapers widely reported killings by Fulani herdsmen in Kogi yesterday. He issues a statement condemning the killings and blanketing out the perpetrators.

Newspapers: Fulani herdsmen attack villages, kill people in Kogi.

Saraki: I vigorously condemn the killings in Kogi.

Me: I vigorously condemn the killings by Fulani herdsmen in Kogi.

People were killed & people were killed by Fulani herdsmen are two different sentences. If you want to be clever by half, you use the noun form of finite verbs to avoid having to use the subject, in this case, Fulani herdsmen...

Comments

Adenike Anike Akintola We are waiting for the outcome of all this killing. Because I know it just can't continue this way.

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 · Reply · 7h

Izu Onwunali there won't be any outcome because people do not see it as a problem if not it won't be a daily occurance.

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 · Reply · 7h

Ogechukwu Uchenna Ezeanyika "We are waiting for the outcome of all this (Fulani herdsmen) killing..." 

This is how it should be stated.

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 · Reply · 6h

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Raji Ibrahim Prof! This one na sliding tackle o!

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 · Reply · 7h

Daniel Obodo Professor, its not called being clever but daylight hypocrisy.

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 · Reply · 7h · Edited

Eke Amede The same group of people the government wants to indiginise in the state

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 · Reply · 7h

OlayinkaSegelu Akintola Oladimeji Straight point.Gbam!

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OlayinkaSegelu Akintola Oladimeji

-1:58

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 · Reply · 7h

John Yakubu I feel so bad.

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 · Reply · 6h

Akanbi Okin The stupidest video I've seen on social media in a long time.

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 · Reply · 5m

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Ugwu Osita But I thought the style you employed is ethnic profiling, not all Fulani are killers. Just my thought, Prof.

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 · Reply · 6h

Ortese Ahanbee Cedric But those who did this killing are Fulanis and he in no way said all Fulanis are killers.

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 · Reply · 6h

Marx Bayour Have you also forgotten that; not all Fulanis are herders?
In case you need some reminding, there is a difference between "Fulanis" and "Fulani Herdsmen".
Ugwu Osita, don't be "clever by half", like the subject of the update!
Don't try to be politically correct, at the expense of incontrovertible evidence!
Blackmail won't work in this circumstance!

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 · Reply · 6h

Abdulmumin Ali The people that killed must have been with their cows, I presume. Otherwise, how did we reach the conclusion that they were herdsmen?

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 · Reply · 4h

Uthman Ibrahim Abdulmumin Ali, same question I ask people. Maybe "herdsman" was written on the foreheads of the killers. These same newspapers didn't reveal the ethnic identity of the killers of the Fulani men that were murdered in Gboko. Pure ethnic profiling, only those spellbound by demagoguery fail to see this!

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Bamidele Ademola-Olateju He elected to be finite 😜

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 · Reply · 6h

Kayode Ejibunu Fakes all!

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 · Reply · 6h

Osule Collins Sorry oh! Prof. But you forgot quickly that Saraki is from Kwara, which makes him "Bat" and on top of it he is a Nigerian politician. Another man travesty is like drama to them

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 · Reply · 6h

Abubakar Usman Almajiri How are you sure who did the killings? Were you there Prof.? Perhaps joining the bandwagon is so enticing, that resort to due care in pointing identifying the perpetrators is needless. Saraki is surely not wrong on this. You got it wrong this time, Prof.

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 · Reply · 6h

Peter Chime Inyamah Fulanis have crept up to defend their ruthless and blood-thirsty brothers. Bloody hypocrites.

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 · Reply · 5h

Abundant Lif I think many of us are not really getting it. Prof seemed to target Saraki, because of Kwara state identity crisis of Ilorin, the state capital especially but also of the SARAKIS too! They sometimes once to be addressed as Northerners, namely Fulanis but at the same time they want to be Olusola, Gbemisola or Bukola namely Yoruba -Westerners! Saraki in this case again trying to play it safe! He is a Fulani, he should call a spade and spade.

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 · Reply · 5h

Yakubu Angwa argument ,argument? argument! 
like "fela kuti's music"
and genocide rate keeps increasing.

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 · Reply · 5h

Abubakar Usman Almajiri Abundant Lif, Ilorin is of the north and so also Kwata state. The Emirate of ilorin is Fulani. So also the dynasty. There are many yoruba subjects but so also other tribes. Yoruba happen to be the lingua franca. That's fine. Good matrix. 

We know the history of sarakis from their root. .. The grandfather who was from. Ogbomosho or so and who settled in ilorin. From the names they bear, you cannot Successfully assert that they are reporting to be addressed as Fulani. 

Not even Saraki's failure to do bias as prof and probably you like him to do can prove that he is purporting to be Fulani. Saraki (not my fan) but is more righteous on this issue and Prof. Got it wrong as I said. Unless if prof was there when it happened or he can help us prove how come it is Fulani that did it.

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 · Reply · 4h

Johnnie Eze How people tend to rewrite history to achieve a particular goal. Ilorin is not a Fulani town. We know the story of Afonja and Alimi and how the fulani emirate council came to be in Illorin. Pleas don't teach us nonsense.

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 · Reply · 4h

Adewale Ibraheem So what does it matter how he condemned it?
Because he did not give it ethnic colouration?

Pius, I live in Vancouver. So if Natives commit crimes here, would you get in the media to say "I condemn killings by Natives?"

I know you receive 'likes' for comments like this, but you're setting a dangerous narrative.

I just feel silence is golden at times when you're bored.

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 · Reply · 3h

Uthman Ibrahim Adewale Ibraheem, sycophancy and ethic bigotry have clouded or dampened the sense of judgement of a lot of people.

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 · Reply · 3h

Abubakar Usman Almajiri Johnnie, you can teach me bullshit instead. Why don't you go and change the emirate system with your cock and bull story

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 · Reply · 2h

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Lucky Aburu He's trying to play safe. Nobody wants 2 be in Buhari's black book

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 · Reply · 6h

Peter Chime Inyamah No. He wants to exonerate his brothers(fulani herdsmen) from the killing.

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Ezemus Maximus But he's clever na. He's a rare combination of high intellect, ambition and criminality all rolled up into one huge motherfucker.

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 · Reply · 5h

Johnnie Eze The truth is that of late there is an official attempt to change the narrative regarding the tribe of these habitual killers. However we already know who they are.

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 · Reply · 4h

Alozie Emma Ok. Let there be peace. They're Igbo herdsmen

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 · Reply · 4h

Abdulhakeem IbnAbdurrahman-Agboola How I wish the ethnicity of every criminal is attached whenever a crime is reported , for example till date we don't know the tribe of those who burnt those Fulani travellers to death.

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 · Reply · 3h

Yusuf Alh Saley Prof, it the herdsmen are at the receiving end the newspapers would use the exact words use by Saraki and would even downplay further that "bandit attack kill so so number of people in... Until all parties stop politicizing these mass killing and find lasting solution the headline will keep playing our intellect

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Nasiru Suwaid In places like Canada, racial or ethnic profiling is a big deal, no matter your scholarly eminence, if you dare utter it, it generates and elicits societal disapproval, in fact, even ostracizing, on why a whole community is blamed, for the ill actions of a few, criminally minded individuals.

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Hrm King Obs Awon Fulani darandaran kolu awon abule ni ipinle kogi, pa opolopo eniyan.

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Akanbi Okin I'm no fan of Saraki but I'm surprised to see you making a whole post to emphasize the ethnicity of the killers and Saraki's deliberate omission. Yes we know they are Fulani herdsmen. I doubt that anybody is denying that. Calling them so is not wrong or bad either. But we have absolutely no pressing need to emphasize it nor do we need to characterize a failure to emphasize it as some kind of cardinal sin. 

We all know that most Yahoo boys are Yoruba. How come we don't use the term "Yoruba yahoo boys". We all know most drug dealers are Igbo. How does "Igbo drug dealers" sound? We know that most Boko Haram terrorists are Moslems/Hausas. Yet we don't say "Hausa Boko Haram" or "Muslim Boko Haram".

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Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju For Pius Adesanmi to have begun to use the 'Fulani herdsmen' concept, something must have reached a critical point. Oga Pius, could you please explain why you are using this controversial term?

[Obododimma Oha]

Just wondering: if I, an Igbo person, were the elected the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and people from my ethnic group were going round the country massacring citizens and I am not doing anything to stop them, even declaring that I won't take military action against them, would I still be there in office? Won't Nigeria burn? 

Just wondering. Shaking my head. Surprised at how low Nigerians can sink in tolerating what they feel affects them less. In being partial!

-- Obododimma.

--
--
B.A.,First Class Honours (English & Literary Studies);
M.A., Ph.D. (English Language);
M.Sc. (Legal, Criminological & Security Psychology);
Professor of Cultural Semiotics & Stylistics,
Department of English,
University of Ibadan.

Fellow,
Centre for Peace & Conflict Studies,
University of Ibadan.

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