Trans-border Terrorists, Not Fulanis killing, kidnapping Nigerians — Security Expert

Renowned security expert, Amb. Abayomi Nurain Mumuni has called on the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government to do more in strengthening the security architecture of Nigeria’s borders — especially the land borders.

According to him, the move would go a long way to nip in the bud the protracted incidence of banditry and terrorism ravaging the country which are on the cusp of dividing the nation.

Amb. Mumuni made this call against the background of mixed reactions and feelings that have greeted the various ultimatum given to the Fulanis to vacate certain areas in the South-west due to the incessant killings and kidnapping allegedly masterminded by their kinsmen.

Recall that last week, Sunday Igboho and his supporters stormed Igangan community to give the Fulani residents a  7-day ultimatum to leave Oyo State. 

Igboho’s eviction notice was coming at a time the Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu issued a similar directive for herdsmen to vacate the forest reserves in the state.

In a statement by his media aide, Rasheed Abubakar on Tuesday, Mumuni — a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), said those unleashing attacks on farmers and other Nigerians are not Nigerian Fulanis but, foreigners hiding under the guise of Fulanis to perpetrate sundry nefarious activities.

The one-time Lagos State gubernatorial candidate under the platform of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) maintained that the Fulanis have lived with their host communities across Nigeria for years without allegations of killings or kidnapping levelled against them.

Mumuni added that as a matter of fact, he had Fulanis who helped him herd some cattles in the past, saying his experience with them was nice and mutually beneficial.

According to him, “I am very surprised with the recent happenings in the country. The incessant killings and kidnappings of our people allegedly perpetrated by the Fulanis. It came as a rude shock to me because the Fulanis I know are great and nice people. Though there might be bad eggs among them, just like there are in every ethnic nationality, my  professional view is that most of those launching cowardly attacks on Nigerians are not necessarily Nigerian Fulanis but cross-border criminals/terrorists.

“Our borders are porous and the porosity made it so easy for trans-border terrorists to enter under the guise of herding without being checked. Even if the innocent Fulanis are evicted from Yorubaland, that wouldn’t stop insecurity if we fail to strengthen our land borders.

“I call on President Buhari to up his game in the area of security which is one of the tripods on which he rode to office. Essentially, the security of our borders should not be taken lightly. There must be proper documentation and screening of immigrants from neighbouring countries, to ensure border control. If we are able to secure the borders, half of our problems are solved,” he noted.

Amb. Mumuni, the Aare Jagunmade 1 of Lagos, said, while he does not support lawlessness from any private citizen, he hailed the bravery of Chief Sunday Adeyemo, popularly know as Igboho for speaking up against insecurity in the Southwest.

Mumuni, a member of one of the most prestigious security institutions in Europe, The Security Institute, said he knows Igboho to be a respectable individual who might not know much about Nigerian law but acted largely on emotion for the duress his people are facing.

According to him, “I really will not blame Igboho for his action but rather commend his bravery and resilience for standing up for his people. After making the threats, the Governor should have called him to order immediately. 

“It is the Oyo State Governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde and the Yoruba elders who should have called and cautioned him against his wrong move. They all kept quiet waiting for him to carry out his threat for the country to be in mess,” he said. 

Amb Mumuni, who is the author of fast-selling books on terrorism sounded a note of caution to war-mongers, politicians, opposition elements and opportunists who are fanning the embers of internecine war to desist from such move, noting: “No one knows the endpoint of war.”