Breaking Down the CPC Designation: Government Appeasement of (FULANI) Terrorists Led to International Sanction

[Okey Iheduru]

Breaking Down the CPC Designation: How Government Appeasement of (Fulani) Terrorists Led to International Sanction

By Stephen Kefas

Yesterday, the United States designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for severe violations of religious freedom, a long-overdue recognition of the systematic persecution of Christians and other vulnerable communities that has claimed tens of thousands of lives over the past two decades. This designation didn't emerge from vacuum; it reflects years of documented evidence, mounting international pressure, and most critically, the lack of political will by successive Nigerian governments to confront the Fulani jihadist insurgency decimating indigenous communities across the Middle Belt and beyond.

Understanding the CPC Designation

A Country of Particular Concern designation under the International Religious Freedom Act represents one of the most serious diplomatic rebukes the United States can issue. It signals that a government has either engaged in or tolerated systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom. For Nigeria, this designation specifically addresses the government's failure to prevent, investigate, or prosecute mass atrocities against Christian communities, particularly those carried out by armed Fulani militia groups operating with apparent impunity across multiple states.

The designation comes with potential consequences including sanctions, travel restrictions on government officials, and limitations on security assistance. More significantly, it places Nigeria alongside countries like China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea on a list of the world's worst violators of religious freedom, a devastating blow to Nigeria's international reputation and a clear message that the world is no longer willing to ignore the bloodshed.

The Fulani Jihadist Insurgency: An Unacknowledged Genocide

For over two decades, armed Fulani militia groups have waged a systematic campaign of violence against predominantly Christian farming communities across Nigeria's Middle Belt states including Plateau, Niger, Kwara, Kogi,  Benue, Taraba, Adamawa, and Southern Kaduna. These attacks follow predictable patterns: midnight raids on sleeping villages, mass shootings, burning of homes and churches, destruction of farmland, kidnapping for ransom, and forced displacement of entire communities from their ancestral lands.

The Nigerian government and many media outlets have persistently characterized this violence as "farmer-herder clashes" driven by competition over land and water resources, a narrative that deliberately obscures the religious and ethnic dimensions of these attacks. This framing ignores overwhelming evidence that these are coordinated military-style operations targeting Christian communities specifically, not spontaneous conflicts between economic groups. Survivors consistently report attackers shouting "Allahu Akbar" during raids, specifically targetingChristian farming communities.

International organizations including Genocide Watch, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), and Open Doors have repeatedly warned that the violence against Christians in Nigeria's Middle Belt exhibits markers of genocide according to the UN Convention on Genocide. Yet the Nigerian government continues to downplay the religious dimensions, refuses to designate perpetrating groups as terrorists, and has failed to arrest or prosecute those responsible for these atrocities despite thousands of documented attacks.

The Paradox of Invisible Terrorists

During my own incarceration in Kaduna Custodial Center (prison), in the very heart of the region most affected by Fulani terrorist violence, I made a disturbing observation: despite thousands of documented attacks, mass killings, and the displacement of millions, I never encountered a single Fulani terrorist among the prison population. The prisons were filled with common criminals, political detainees, and individuals accused of various offenses, but conspicuously absent were members of the armed groups terrorizing communities just kilometers away from the prison walls.

This glaring absence raises fundamental questions about the Nigerian government's commitment to justice and accountability. If Fulani militias are genuinely criminal groups operating outside state control, why aren't security forces arresting them? If they're terrorists threatening national security, why aren't they being prosecuted? The most troubling explanation is that these groups operate with official protection or at minimum, deliberate tolerance from elements within Nigeria's security architecture.

Multiple credible reports document security forces arriving hours after attacks despite communities alerting authorities during ongoing raids, refusing to pursue fleeing attackers, and in some cases, actively preventing communities from defending themselves. Some survivors report security personnel withdrawing from areas just before attacks occur, suggesting foreknowledge if not coordination. This pattern of complicity extends to the judicial system, where rare arrests of suspected Fulani militants typically result in quiet releases without prosecution.

The Nuhu Ribadu Problem: Peace Deals That Embolden Terrorists

At the center of Nigeria's failed counterterrorism strategy sits National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, whose approach to the Fulani jihadist insurgency has been characterized by appeasement rather than confrontation. Ribadu has allegedly championed "peace deals" with armed Fulani groups in the North West that require no genuine disarmament, demand no accountability for past atrocities, and impose no meaningful conditions on participants.

Most disturbingly, these peace meetings have become theatrical displays where armed terrorists attend openly carrying weapons, not as surrendered arms but as symbols of their continued power. Rather than being disarmed and arrested, these individuals are feted, given platforms to air grievances, and often provided government resources ostensibly for "rehabilitation" that never materializes into genuine transformation. The message sent is clear: terrorism pays, and the Nigerian state will negotiate with you while you remain armed and dangerous.

This approach represents a fundamental misunderstanding of counterinsurgency principles. Genuine peace processes require that armed groups demonstrate commitment to peace through verifiable disarmament, cessation of violence, and accountability for past crimes. Ribadu's peace deals offer none of these, instead legitimizing terrorist groups as stakeholders in governance while their victims remain displaced, traumatized, and vulnerable to renewed attacks.

For communities that have lost thousands of family members, seen their villages burned repeatedly, and remain displaced years after initial attacks, these peace deals represent a betrayal. They watch their attackers attend government-sponsored meetings with full military regalia while they languish in IDP camps with no justice, no compensation, and no protection against future violence. This is not peace; it is surrender disguised as reconciliation.

The Controversial Defense Appointment: Signaling Priorities

The Tinubu administration's appointment of former Zamfara State Governor Bello Matawalle Minister of State for Defence sends a chilling message about the government's priorities regarding the Fulani jihadist insurgency. Matawalle's tenure as Zamfara governor was marked by controversial policies toward armed bandits and terrorists operating in the state, including peace deals that critics argue emboldened rather than deterred violence.

Under Matawalle's governorship, Zamfara became infamous for its approach of negotiating with terrorists while often taking harsh measures against communities advocating for self-defense. His administration faced accusations of sympathizing with armed groups while failing to protect vulnerable populations. Now elevated to a key defense position at the federal level, Matawalle's appointment suggests either profound tone-deafness about the optics of placing a terrorist sympathizer in charge of national defense, or a deliberate signal that the government's appeasement approach will continue.

This appointment is particularly offensive to Christian communities in the Middle Belt who have borne the brunt of Fulani terrorist violence. It communicates that their concerns about religious persecution are not taken seriously, that their calls for justice fall on deaf ears, and that those who accommodate terrorists are rewarded with higher office while their victims remain forgotten.

The Broader Context: Why Accountability Matters

The lack of accountability for religious persecution in Nigeria extends beyond the Fulani insurgency, though that remains the deadliest manifestation. It includes the Boko Haram and ISWAP insurgencies in the Northeast that have killed tens of thousands and displaced millions, primarily targeting Christians and moderate Muslims. It encompasses discriminatory Sharia law implementation in Northern states that criminalizes Christian evangelism while permitting Islamic proselytization. It involves systematic discrimination in government appointments, educational opportunities, and economic development that favors Muslims over Christians in Northern states.

This pattern of impunity has convinced perpetrators that targeting Christians carries no consequences. When terrorist commanders remain free after documented massacres, when government officials who facilitate violence face no sanctions, when security forces who fail to protect vulnerable communities receive no discipline, the message is clear: Christian lives don't matter in Nigeria's calculus of power.

The CPC designation represents the international community finally saying: we see what you're doing, we will no longer accept your excuses, and there will be consequences for continued inaction. This is not interference in Nigeria's internal affairs; it is a response to a government's failure to protect its own citizens and uphold its obligations under international human rights law.

What Must Change: A Roadmap for Action

For Nigeria to address the concerns underlying the CPC designation and genuinely protect religious freedom, several immediate actions are necessary:

First, National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu must be removed and replaced with a competent, no-nonsense security official committed to crushing jihadist insurgencies rather than accommodating them.

The current appeasement approach has demonstrably failed, emboldening terrorists while failing to provide security for vulnerable communities. Nigeria needs security leadership that understands counterterrorism, respects human rights, and prioritizes protection of all citizens regardless of religious identity.

Second, armed Fulani militia groups must be officially designated as terrorist organizations and prosecuted accordingly.

The fiction that these are mere "herders" involved in resource conflicts must end. These are organized armed groups conducting systematic attacks on civilian populations with religious and ethnic motivations. They must be treated as the terrorists they are, with full application of Nigeria's terrorism laws including arrests, prosecutions, and asset freezures.

Third, a comprehensive program of arrests and prosecutions of terrorist commanders must be implemented immediately. 

Years of documented attacks have produced extensive evidence aboutsponsors, operational patterns, and specific perpetrators. This evidence must be acted upon with coordinated operations to arrest sponsors, dismantle networks, and bring perpetrators before courts. This requires political will from the highest levels of government to overcome resistance from those who benefit from the status quo.

Fourth, the appointment of controversial figures like Bello Matawalle to key security positions must be reversed.

These appointments signal that the government is not serious about confronting religious persecution. Replacing such officials with individuals who have demonstrated commitment to protecting all Nigerians regardless of religious identity is essential for restoring confidence in government intentions.

Fifth, a comprehensive program of justice and reparations for victims must be established.

Millions of displaced persons need pathways to return home safely, rebuild destroyed communities, and receive compensation for losses. Survivors of attacks need access to trauma counseling and medical care. Communities need assurance that their security will be prioritized and that future attacks will be prevented.

The Trump Factor: Why This Time Is Different

While I sympathize with President Tinubu's administration, which inherited these problems when taking office just two years ago, the reality is that the lack of political will to confront Fulani jihadists predates his presidency and continues under his watch. Previous U.S. administrations issued strongly worded statements about religious persecution in Nigeria but took limited concrete action. The Trump administration has demonstrated willingness to move beyond rhetoric to consequences, as evidenced by the CPC designation.

This represents a potential turning point. Under President Trump's leadership, the United States has signaled that the days of endless massacre of Christians without accountability are over. The CPC designation is likely just the beginning, with targeted sanctions, visa restrictions, and other measures potentially forthcoming if Nigeria fails to demonstrate genuine progress on protecting religious freedom.

For Nigerian officials who have operated with impunity while facilitating or tolerating religious persecution, this should serve as a wake-up call. The world is watching, documentation is being compiled, and accountability mechanisms are being activated. The comfortable assumption that international outrage will never translate into consequences is no longer valid.

A Message to the Nigerian Government

You have lied to the world about the nature of violence against Christians in Nigeria, characterizing genocide as "farmer-herder clashes" and systematic religious persecution as resource competition. You have protected perpetrators while abandoning victims. You have appointed terrorist sympathizers to defense positions while imprisoning those who dare to defend themselves. You have negotiated with armed terrorists while refusing justice to their victims.

The world is watching, and your lies are no longer accepted. The CPC designation is deserved, and more actions will follow if you continue on this path. It is time to act and act very fast. Crush the jihadists, protect the lives of Christians and other vulnerable communities, demonstrate through concrete actions rather than empty rhetoric that you are committed to religious freedom, and the USA will undesignate Nigeria with immediate alacrity.

The choice is yours: continue the current path of appeasement and complicity and face increasing international isolation and consequences, or demonstrate genuine political will to confront religious persecution and restore Nigeria's standing in the community of nations that respect human rights.

Conclusion: Hope Amidst Darkness

Despite the grim realities documented above, there is reason for cautious hope. The CPC designation represents international recognition that has eluded victims of religious persecution in Nigeria for decades. It validates their suffering, acknowledges their testimonies, and signals that they have not been forgotten by the wider world.

For those of us who have documented these atrocities, advocated for victims, and refused to accept official narratives that obscure the truth, this designation represents vindication. Our work has not been in vain. The evidence we have compiled, the testimonies we have preserved, and the advocacy we have undertaken has finally broken through the wall of denial and reached decision-makers willing to act.

The question now is whether the Nigerian government will respond with genuine reform or with defiance and denial. The path forward is clear: accountability, justice, protection, and genuine commitment to religious freedom for all Nigerians. Whether Nigeria's leadership has the wisdom and courage to take this path remains to be seen, but one thing is certain—the world is watching, and the days of impunity are numbered.

...Steven Kefas is an investigative journalist, Senior Research Analyst at the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa, and Publisher of Middle Belt Times. He has documented religious persecution and forced displacement in Nigeria's Middle Belt for over a decade

Okey C. Iheduru

e-mail: okeyi...@gmail.com

[Oluwatoyin Adepoju]

Woooooooooonderful

but nigerian politicians are in thrall to the extremist orientations issuing from the muslim north.

when deborah was murdered by an islamic mob on accusations of blasphemy all presidential aspirants, except perhaps one whose name is not well known, were silent, including the much acclaimed peter obi.

why?

they wanted to make sure they dont alienate northern muslim voters having learnt of the power of those voters through their fanatical support of buhari who was careful to always identify with the right wing orientations dominant in the region.

nigeria has an islamic supremacist problem.

nigeria has a fulani supremacist problem.

its true muslims also suffer from the violence which these orientations unleash.

but at the heart of the victims of these destructive cultures are non-muslims.

ill share my own views on these issues later, giving specific timelines and quoting  the expressions of extremist northern muslim and fulani supremacist voices.

the muslim north is its own victim. the region is confused. its also the greatest security problem of nigeria.

i can defend these views if required.

the core problem is the fulani jihad of uthman dan fodio, an ethnic supremacist drive entrenching an extremist form of islam alongside an ethnic  enthronement strategy.

can nigeria decisively address the fulani supremist internal colonisation drive?

i doubt it.

the southern politicians are spineless, greedy and visionless. the right wing forces in the muslim north, at the heart of which is fulani hegemony, are fully in control, both in the north and national politics. 

opposing them implies risking political failure or assasination or both.

why do i expect the country to go from here?

the leadership will hope that they can ride out the storm.

can anything short of breaking up the country resolve the islamic and fulani supremacist problem?

thanks

toyin

--
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfric...@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDial...@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialo...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/usaafricadialogue/CAGCbkjpZMnXZ%2BEe7fQbMx54-wSKqs8P7ybheWtxSH9oDp4aoOQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[Cornelius Hamelberg]

Stockholm

Sweden

Dar al-Harb

 

Wednesday, 5th November, 2025 

Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju, 

I trust you are also celebrating Zohran Mamdani making history as the first Muslim to be democratically elected Mayor of New York ( “the Big Apple”) and what a victory speech ! 

I trust you are celebrating and not in mourning, in fellowship with Donald J ( loser) & Cuomo, the old horse he was backing, having deserted his Republican brother Sliwa ( another old horse)  

To Trump I'd just like to say “Babu yai o! ”

We could also listen to Cuomo’s brother, Chris Cuomo, not exactly a doomsday prophet just because he fears “Things are going to get worse” in the United States, which means that Trump had better focus on his own backyard instead of going down the path of destruction messing up with fantasies about wanting to invade Nigeria, Venezuela, North Korea, Iran, China etc, with Russia most recently boasting about their new nuclear-powered missile baptised “Invincible” and that if in doubt the wannabe World Emperor should just fuck around and find out. 

Of course, Donald Trump would love to read your post which he might even quote to his son-in-law Kushner and his war cabinet that it seems his worst nightmare is becoming reality, that the Muslims are taking over in his America and that even in New York his own hometown where his dear Trump Towers are located a Muslim is now mayor of that jurisdiction.

Btw, has it occurred to you that Mamdani could have been Fulani ?

I’m compelled to respond to some of your hard words. bandying around as you do,like a good missionary boy, ideas such as

 “nigeria has an islamic supremacist problem”

“extremist northern muslim and fulani supremacist voices”.

“nigeria has a fulani supremacist problem.”

About the latter, my initial reaction was, how can such a relatively tiny ethnic minority as the Fulani  - at most 18 million people, be causing such a big problem , veritably a bone in the throat of  Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju  and the at least 230 million population of Nigeria ? But then if such matters are to be understood in terms of the ratio of one people’s numbers in relation to the other peoples, there’s always  the example of Israel and Arabs where the ratio is 10 million Jews to 500 Million Arabs…

With regard to “the core problem is the fulani jihad of uthman dan fodio, an ethnic supremacist drive entrenching an extremist form of islam alongside an ethnic  enthronement strategy.” - bear in mind that there was no Nigeria then, and secondly ,who told you that Shehu Usman dan Fodio preached “ an extremist form of Islam"? Are you familiar with his  Handbook on  Islam, Iman, Ihsan ( Maliki Fiqh ) ? Did  Rasulullah  sallallahu aalihi wa salaam preach “ an extremist form of Islam” ?

 

Ad nauseam, you have preached against the Fulani and  the so called “ Northern Hegemony” , “Fulani Herders”  ever since you came to this Forum, and I wonder if there’s anything new that you wanna say in which case before you do ; I’d sincerely urge you to digest TheTragedy of The Muslim North where A.G.Abubakar does for the North what other ethnicities have mostly been doing for themselves in terms of introspection/ critical self-examination, a far cry from  e.g.  the Igbo’s  lamentations about alleged victimization and marginalisation , all in tune with Cry Your Own Cry 

 “the southern politicians are spineless, greedy and visionless”?

You say that you “can defend these views if required.”

Let’s see if  Nnamdi Kanu is going to change his mind and defend himself today….

And, by the way  I’f like to recommend Chigozie Obioma’s absolute best, so far : The Road To The Country 

[Oluwatoyin Adepoju]

Thanks Cornelius.

I'm following the New York election news.

As for Dan Fodios book, why do you  think the history and outcomes of the Fulani jihad  are more in alignment with what you have read in the book as opposed to my own analysis of that movement?

I have read Abubakars essay. A fine effort but presents half truths, if I recall correctly.You could share your views about it.

Thanks

Toyin

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/usaafricadialogue/53417e12-6be7-4568-a98b-b74461e0155cn%40googlegroups.com.

[Cornelius Hamelberg]

Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju, 

We have been here before - many times 

Christian missionaries are fond of quoting Acts 4: 11 - 12, aren’t they ?

The best way forward is for Nigerian Christians, Muslims, Indigenous African Religions’ traditionalists to come together in a common understanding that they can all live together in peace and harmony, in accordance with Surah Al-Kafirun

Surah Al-Baqarah 62-65 gives these assurances : 

“Lo! Those who believe (in that which is revealed unto thee, Muhammad), and those who are Jews, and Christians, and Sabaeans - whoever believeth in Allah and the Last Day and doeth right - surely their reward is with their Lord, and there shall no fear come upon them neither shall they grieve.”

Christians could also be further assured by Surah Al-Ma'idah - Ayat 82

The wise man remains silent,the fool shouts ( https://www.youtube.com/@thesilentthinkerofficial

 Nnamdii Kanu has been given two more days of extra grace.

Two more days to begin to plead for mercy… 

From Niger : Tears of Injustice - Mdou Moctar ‧ 2025

[Oluwatoyin Adepoju]

may it be so-

''The best way forward is for Nigerian Christians, Muslims, Indigenous African Religions’ traditionalists to come together in a common understanding that they can all live together in peace and harmony, in accordance with Surah Al-Kafirun''

in the midst of that, let us recall bob marley- ''everyone is crying out for peace, no one is crying out for justice''-as long as there is mutual understanding of the fact that ''peace and harmony'' implies justice for all, not the freedom for some to feed on others who remain supine, the kind of peace espoused by a representative of Buhari's govt who urged that it is better for communities to surrender their lands for use as ranches by fulani herdsmen rather than, by their refusal to surrender such land, to  risk or court death by at the hands of those herdsmen and their enablers.

when you examine the assumptions in your previous response, as i suggested earlier,  ill be happy to respond.

toyin

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/usaafricadialogue/21145f0b-9574-4633-b191-70860dc77962n%40googlegroups.com.

[Oluwatoyin Adepoju]

Edited

may it be so-

''The best way forward is for Nigerian Christians, Muslims, Indigenous African Religions’ traditionalists to come together in a common understanding that they can all live together in peace and harmony, in accordance with Surah Al-Kafirun''

in the midst of that, let us recall bob marley- ''everyone is crying out for peace, no one is crying out for justice, equal rights and justice''-as long as there is mutual understanding of the fact that ''peace and harmony'' implies equal rights and  justice for all, not the freedom for some to feed on others who remain supine, the kind of peace espoused by a representative of Buhari's govt who urged that it is better for communities to surrender their lands for use as ranches by fulani herdsmen rather than, by their refusal to surrender such land, to  risk or court death at the hands of those herdsmen and their enablers, a world in which violent fulani herdsmen and massacre perpetuating fulani militia roam free, mob murderers in the name of islam roam free,  their civil society enablers are vocal and free, yet the Adamawa farmer who killed a Fulani herdsmen attacker who accosted him on his farm is sentenced to death.

when you examine the assumptions in your previous response, as i suggested earlier,  ill be happy to respond.

toyin

[Cornelius Hamelberg]

Stockholm

Sweden

Planet of the People 

6th November, 2025 

Oluwatoyin,

Your Parthian shot is that when I examine the assumptions in my previous response, as you  suggested earlier,  you’ll  be happy to respond.

My assumptions ? Which assumptions? That you were happily or unhappily reading and understanding, agreeing or not agreeing with what I was saying? 

If only I could respond with the grace and elegance of John Onyeukwu I’m sure that I would not be causing any offence, nor could you possibly be charging me with criminal intentions, blasphemy or treason like your friend 

In all this, the main missing ingredient is The Rule of Law 

Once again, I must draw your attention to Bishop Krister Stendhal's three rules

For your edification there’s Muhammad the Greatest by Ahmed Deedat

Or do you think that when it comes to pedigree Trump or any of his predecessors or ancestors are greater? 

“Muhammad is said to have participated in at least 27 military campaigns, with estimates of his total involvement in 86 military campaigns” 

Hopefully, you don’t dispute George Bernard Shaw ‘s well known very high opinion of the Seal of Islam’s Prophets,  Muhammad Ibn Abdallah, salallahu alaihi wa salaam:

“I believe if a man like him were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world he would succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring much needed peace and happiness. I have studied him - the man and in my opinion is far from being an anti–Christ. He must be called the Savior of Humanity. I have prophesied about the faith of Mohammad that it would be acceptable to the Europe of tomorrow as it is beginning to be acceptable to the Europe of today.”

Some more, not leaves of grass but leaves from the past :

 George Bernard Shaw on Muhammad ( S.A.W.) 

For further education about this check out any of these sites 

Just as with Islam,  you want to point out the tension between practical and theoretical Christianity  - the ideals enshrined in the Gospels, Pauls’ letters, and other epistles written in literary Greek by some semi-literate fishermen in the so called “New Testament “ era , and the practical realities such as the Crusades which were not at all about turning the other cheek or following Jesus’ teachings about loving your enemies and not perishing by the sword through “Infallible Pope Pius” turning his nose in the other direction whilst Jesus’ relatives were being slaughtered mercilessly during the Holocaust, by Mister Hitler the Nazi,  a member of his Holy Roman Catholic Church.

 

And,  Ok, is there a difference between Shehu Usman dan Fodio’s compassionate teaching and the practical realities of the Fulani Jihads in those days and even earlier when according to the Almighty's instructions of Devarim / Deuteronomy 12:2-4 to His dearly beloved people,

“You must destroy all the sites at which the nations you are to dispossess worshiped their gods, whether on lofty mountains and on hills or under any luxuriant tree.

Tear down their altars, smash their pillars, put their sacred posts to the fire, and cut down the images of their gods, obliterating their name from that site.

Do not worship your God יהוה in like manner…”

 

And in another day, another age and another location such as your neck of the words in Nigeria, that would have been the end of your dearly beloved forest shrines

Your hobby horse (in this case it’s more like flogging a dead horse) : You want to make a perennial issue out of the Fulani Herdsmen debacle which generated a few dozen  posts by Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju to this forum, although that occurrence of alleged Fulani Herdsmen violence has dwindled considerably to the point of not being an issue any more with ranching gradually taking over as a feasible solution…

N.B. He who feels it knows. Just as with the parable of the blind men and the elephant , so too what you deem to be A.G.Abubakar’s “half truths”  are really what you see looking through the glass darkly

There are many Northern Nigerian intellectuals not least of all Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and  Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah who have poignantly diagnosed some of the problems the North is currently facing and proffered solutions beginning with the importance of education…

[Salimonu Kadiri]

Nigerians must be advised to study something that builds their capacity to think, to analyze, to be creative and to solve problems. Hitherto, it is all studying for the sake of studying. Although Nigerians always sound educated, their specialisations add no possitive value to the Nigerian society. Nigeria lacks thinkers and problem solvers. The non-thinking and non-problem solvers believe that two or four herders leading a flock of 50 cows will be capable of launching attack on villages without losing control over their cattle. Charles Soludo, the current Governor of Anambra State on Tuesday, 8 July 2025 told the world the real fact through this link - https://www.tori.ng/news/307298/criminals-terrorising-southeast-are-igbos-not-fula.html (not Fulani)

On Tuesday, August 19, 2025, there was an assault on a Mosque in Katsina, the home State of the late President Muhammadu Buhari. Https://tribuneonlineng.com/bandits-assault-on-katsina-mosque/ Were the bandits Christian northerners?

S. Kadiri  

---

From: usaafric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Cornelius Hamelberg <cornelius...@gmail.com>
Sent: 06 November 2025 15:13
To: USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafric...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Breaking Down the CPC Designation: Government Appeasement of (FULANI) Terrorists Led to International Sanction

 

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/usaafricadialogue/e7adf9fe-eac7-43ae-a3ec-6af68b271e06n%40googlegroups.com.

[Oluwatoyin Adepoju]

Cornelius,

The opinions you choose to form from selective interpretations on

USAAfrica Dialogues do not nececesarily represent the facts of  Nigerian history nor the trend of Nigerian public opinion.

If you do Google searches on those subjects as well as engage a  robust use of Facebook and Twitter you would get a clearer idea.

As for Dan Fodio, was he not a pacifist whose dominance of the Hausa kingdoms was due purely to the free acceptance of his sublime teachings by the populace?

Those claims that he imposed his kinsmen in rulership in Hausaland is also fiction.

His interest was purely in getting the best hands not in imposing his ethnic kin.

The claim that he was challenged by Kanem- Bornu for trying to conquer a Muslim nation is also false. The story that his invasion of Kanem-Bornu was repelled is also fiction because there was no invasion.

Great thanks 

Toyin

Thanks

Toyin

Toyin 

[Oluwatoyin Adepoju]

Very wise Salimonu.

The claims of the violent Fulani herders as armed and being assisted by a well armed militia is false and all the accounts by international terrorist watch organizations to that effect are just efforts to lie.

The various acknowledgement of massacres by these characters as stated by the fed govt, the governments of the Middle Belt states as well as the Miyetti Allah Fulani Socio cultural Organization who have severally justified

 those massacres are evidence of collective delusion.

Thanks 

Toyin

[Cornelius Hamelberg]

Oluwatoyin,

To date, my main source of Nigerian History of that period is from the relevant chapters of Michael Crowder’s seminal The Story of Nigeria ,and  also from attending some of my Better Half’s graduate history lectures at Legon ( 1970-71) and from some informal conversations over several bottles of alcoholic beverages with friend Jeff Holden , an Englishman and  great fan of Shehu Usman dan Fodio -this was before he was eventually deported from Ghana - given 24 hours to leave the country for saying, “The money of the workers and peasants of Ghana is not being used in their best interests" 

Back then I knew zilch about al-Islam and had never even seen a mosque, speak less of setting foot inside one

 

Just now, I would advise you to disabuse yourself of the petty tittle-tattle that you suggest : 

“ The opinions you choose to form from selective interpretations on

USAAfrica Dialogues do not nececesarily represent the facts of  Nigerian history nor the trend of Nigerian public opinion.

If you do Google searches on those subjects as well as engage a  robust use of Facebook and Twitter you would get a clearer idea.”

And  exactly who you think you are?

By the way , the humblest man I have ever met was Abu wafa al Taftazani, a Rifa’i Sheikh and the then  Professor of Islamic Philosophy at Cairo University ( you know, the venue and  podium from which Barack Obama said “ Asalamu Alaikum “ and kick-started the Arab Spring) -I met Abu-wafa a few days after Ramadan in 1991 ; I had an hour-long audience with him in his office and was initiated into the Rifai  Sufi order at the Al-Rifa'i Mosque in Cairo, that afternoon…

For your own sake, please refrain from speaking about things that you don’t know anything about or saying anything evil about any of the servants past or present,  of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala

[Cornelius Hamelberg]

#"Shaykh Hamza Yusuf's SPEECH That Left Oxford in Awe"

Hamza Yusuf

On Thursday, 6 November 2025 at 17:39:40 UTC+1 Oluwatoyin Adepoju wrote:

[Cornelius Hamelberg]

Abu al-Wafa' al-Ghanimi al-Taftazani (Google

Abu al-Wafa' al-Ghanimi al-Taftazani ( Bing 

Shadiliyya

Shadhili

Al-Busiri

The Qasida Al-Burda  // The Qasida Al-Burda

The Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi Mosque