Editor’s note: The Department of State Services alleged tht
five Fulani herdsmen were killed and buried in a mass grave by IPOB members and
this has sparked reaction and the possibility of inter-ethnic tension.
In this opinion, Abimbola Adelakun wonders why the death of
the Fulani herdsmen seems to matter more than the atrocities and killings they
have committed and why the DSS should not be believed
Why do Fulani lives matter?
Ordinarily, the news that the Department of State Services
“discovered” 55 shallow graves in Abia State should spark excitement. Of this
lot were bodies of five Fulani who were said to be residents of the state. The
rest, presumably victims of violence, have yet to be identified. At a time when
public officials wield no magic wand, and cannot find solutions to Nigeria’s
multifarious problems, the DSS’ rising to its own responsibility makes one
almost want to deafen their ears with wild applause. Yet, to take it for
granted that this affair is solely about administrative efficacy is to be
naive.
First is the question, why do Fulani lives matter? No, I am
not about to engage in whataboutery, that diversionary tactic people resort to
when they do not want to engage in uneasy topics. To shift focus from the issue
at hand, they respond with, “What about XX?” Instead, I am curious if their
discovery is not the DSS’ way of playing politics with the death of those
unfortunate victims. The DSS, like other state security agencies, has not been
consistent in responding to such even when there has been raucous public
outrage at violence. So, why this, and why now?
The numerous crimes of Fulani herdsmen
Not too long ago, the Fulani massacred Agatu people in Benue
State. What was the DSS response to those Fulani who have yet to deny their
role in those attacks? The Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, has
dredged up a number of reasons he cannot find enough adrenalin to pursue this
cause; not even when those accused of committing the crime pompously raise a
middle finger at Arase by swaggering in and out of Agatuland, taunting the
impotence of the institutions he represents. In the past one year, the Fulani
have allegedly carried out other dastardly acts such as killing, maiming, and
raping women across the country. They have left sorrow tears and blood in their
wake but what has Nigeria done in return? Coddle them. State officials have
employed empty rhetoric to cover up their lack of moral courage necessary to
redress the violence the Fulani have perpetrated. Instead, they want to talk
about grazing reserves and the changing climate as if that will cure the
murderous inclinations. Those who should be talking about justice for the dead
are the ones who deflect from that very topic, instead choosing to play
politics.
Just lately, Senator Shehu Sani joined the throng of other
pusillanimous politicians who cannot confront the issue of violence carried out
by these Fulani. When he went to a Fulani community, he could only whine about
how all Fulani are labelled for the sins of the few. Sani, who in his days as
activist would have stood on his Twitter Soapbox to point out what was wrong
with the society, could only obsess about the maligned image of the Fulani
community.
Is the DSS biased?
The DSS should realise the importance of consistency in the administration
of its duties and treat all Nigerian lives as if they matter. We have had
serious of violent deaths in Nigeria but in how many of those cases did the DSS
issue a passionate press release? In
2013, 24 dead bodies were discovered at the Amansea River in Anambra State, how
many people were arrested and prosecuted? What of the 2013 Ombatse killings in
Nasarawa State that claimed the lives of some operatives of the DSS itself?
What has been the result of their investigation since then? What of the deaths
of the Shiites in Kaduna? Recently, we were told how 347 corpses were buried in
a mass grave. Should that kind of disaster not compel urgency in the DSS’
activities?
Again, one is curious why the DSS became the accuser and the
judge in this case. The press release put out by the DSS spokesperson, Tony
Opuiyo, is laced with tendentious words and phrases that suggest that the
person who penned this is either letting his/her emotion run riot or has an
underlying agenda. I do not think that the public relations department of the
DSS is made up of mentally lazy people who do not reflect on the wordings of
their own material before pushing such out. Rather, this seems like a
calculated attempt to rile the public, ignite inter-tribal discord or at best,
produce social media rants that will momentarily distract the nation from her
many troubles.
Otherwise, why has the DSS concluded that the Indigenous
Peoples of Biafra- whose activities the state has been desperate to repress- is
“gradually showing its true colour” and was attempting “to ignite ethnic
terrorism and mistrust”? How could they have known the motives of the killers
when the identities of most of the victims remain unknown? The members of IPOB
have been victims of violence themselves but their deaths have scarcely
generated any outrage. At this stage, one knows Nigeria well enough that their
death is not the kind that attracts retribution. So, if IPOB members have been
victims of Nigeria’s characteristic nonchalance, then why the haste to push
this on them?
This beats my imagination: If IPOB truly wants to ignite
ethnic terrorism and mistrust, why would they kill and bury those Fulani in
secret? Would their tactics not have been more effective if they had displayed
some brazenness?
DSS is trying to create ethnic divide
Can one not conclude that it is the DSS itself that is
trying to incite ethnic mistrust and create further disaffection for the IPOB,
a group of ragtag fighters whose will and passion the DSS has not been able to
curtail? If the DSS was not up to mischief, why identify only five out of 55
victims, write a press release where you shape a slanted narrative of the Igbo
killing the Fulani? What was their point other than throwing red meat at the
salivating dogs of war who hang around the highways and pathways of the
internet, newspapers vendors’ stands, and Nigerian political talksphere?
Also, I am curious to know why a federal agency would
identify the victims as “Fulani” rather than “Nigerians” as if they were not
primarily citizens of Nigeria who only happened to be of an ethnic extraction.
By reducing them to “Fulani” the statement becomes a dogwhistle in a country
where most public issues are viewed through the prism of primordial identity.
Did they even think of the implication of pushing such a story to a volatile
public like Nigeria? Do they remember history at all?
READ ALSO: IPOB gives DSS 7-day ultimatum to prove killingallegation
Finally, I wonder why the DSS rushed to put this information
out to the public without conducting a full investigation first and having
their facts ready. Why did they not find out the names of other buried victims?
Or, were they afraid that that would detract from the skewed narrative they
wanted to sell? What was their hurry? Or, to ask broader questions, what is it
about these Nigeria’s agencies that make them rush to feed the public with
tales when their investigation is still as raw as uncooked cassava? In this
case, the DSS claimed to have made arrests and investigation, but in another
breath, it said it would not “hesitate to… ensure that the sponsors and
perpetrators of this action are apprehended and prosecuted for their crime.” If
in the same press release it claims to have investigated and made arrests, and
contradicted itself some sentences later, then its level of competence becomes
highly questionable. So, who were those arrested if the DSS has yet to
apprehend the actual perpetrators? Is this kind of lack of thoroughness and
flippancy not what has doomed a lot of corruption cases in Nigeria such that
only in rare cases have people been actually convicted? What informs this level
of sloppiness?
Whatever the DSS’ reasons for generating this needless
controversy, it should know that making the deaths of these five Fulani a site
to stake its politics is reprehensible, irresponsible, and morally wrong.
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