Individuals, sub-national government and organisations reacted
differently. Bauchi State declared that they had no problem with RUGA because
the state was largely a Fulani State( I hope these are local variants);
Nassarawa Government agreed to the programme, which made the indigenes wonder
how the FFH could be handsomely rewarded and pacified for slaughtering and dispossessing the people of
the state. The states in the South jointly and severally stated that they had
no land for RUGA while the South East States offered a grass-exchange
contractual relationship and started the formation of forest guards. Governor
Wike of Rivers offered to support the programme with water which his state has in abundance and which
would be easy for the RUGA authorities to transport; after all they siphon fuel
from Rivers to Kaduna refinery. Anambra
state started the ehi-Igbo ( Igbo-Cow) programme while Akwa-Ibom State Government imported 2000 Brazilian
Cattle. Governor Ganduje asked the
government to stop the movement of cattle to the South while the Northern Elders
Forum asked the FG to stop the stigimatisation of Fulani.
That was when Ohaneze asked Ndi-Igbo to defend themselves while
Wole Soyinka and the OOni asked the Yorubas to defend their ancestral lands.
And then, one Yusuf Ardo, a Miyeti-Allah Chieftain argued that 99% of Fulani are peaceful, that
all these attacks were political, that Fulanis were more affected by the crises
and that people should stop embarrassing the Fulanis and their cattle.
The National Association of Yoruba Pig Farmers demanded for 10 hectares
of land in each of the 19 northern states for
pig colonies while South East Native Doctors and beer-parlour operators,
and South-South dog herders made similar requests
The issue is that treating the Fulani( foreign or local) as
special citizens is antithetical to the unity, peace and continued existence
of this country. The collaborative and
communal climate is fouled when people who have been allowed start seeking
allowance, when those given a meter start seeking a kilometer and when some,
like Abel, are taking blessings through the back door. In order words, some
people are brazenly taking an unfair share of communal resources. In any case,
the fear of the Fulani is now the cornerstone of wisdom in Nigeria and that was
why Governor Uguwanyi hastily called a world press conference to announce that
no community in Enugu state had chased the FFH away! Surely, this handshake has
gone beyond the elbow.
There are two simple and practical solutions to the FFH invasion
and despoliation of our communities and intimidating the whole nation, and this
RUGA monkey-business. 1) People who attack, kill, rape and maim, should be
treated as criminals, which is what they are. And this is irrespective of
whether they are foreign or local Fulani,
bandits, kidnappers or whoever.
2) Spending communal wealth on private
business is against economic and political commonsense. Namapreneureship (
Cattle-based entrepreneurship) is a private business. Those who are in this
business ( and the herdsmen are their marginalized employees) should acquire
and develop the type and quantity of land they want for their cattle. If the
CBN or Ministry of Agriculture has any programme for farmers, they should apply
if they are interested. There is nothing more to add.
Other matters: Lagos to Ago-Iwoye:2hrs; Ago-Iwoye to
Ijebuode: 24 hours!!!
On 29/3/13, I travelled, as usual, from
Lagos to the East but had an unusual experience. While I spent 7 hours from
Onitsha to Asaba, (a very smooth ride, given the treacherous traffic on that
route), it took me 7 hours to move from
Asaba to Onitsha. Indeed, the 7 hours were the minute-by-minute
calculation of the time I spent just to cross the Niger Bridge because when I
joined the queue, the bridge was already visible. In ordinary times, this would
have taken 2 to 3 minutes. As it has always been in my character, I shared my
experience with the whole world ( Ik Muo:Lagos to Asaba, 7 Hours; Asaba to
Onitsha, 7 Hours!, BusinessDay 2/4/13). Well, I thought I will never have such
an experience again but lo and behold ,an encore happened on 2/9/19, on the AgoIwoye-
Ijebu Ode route, of all places!
Actually, I had braced myself for traffic
on that day but not in this axis and in this magnitude. The day before, news
and commentaries on the partial closure of Lagos Ibadan express way were all over the place with motorists
advised to stay at home, take alternative routes or wear iron-cast garments of
PATIENCE. Very few people loath extended hold-up like I do and so on that day,
expecting the worse, I left Lagos, circa 6am. Surprisingly, it took me less
than 10 minutes to move from the Berger to the last bus-stop in Ibafo, which
were the theaters of the anticipated traffic madness. I gave thanks to God,
informed my beloved there was no
nothing on the road and before 9am, I was at OOU. Unfortunately for me,
I had rejoiced so soon, what we
change-management practitioners call premature celebration’
I could not leave school at 5 as I
usually did because of sundry official commitments. Why do I always leave
around 5? I have a daily 6pm engagement
at Ijebu-Ode and whenever I left by 5, I got there in good enough time. You
want to know what the daily engagement is
all about? I wont tell you! Around 6pm, I was at the Oando Petrol
axis, about 2 minutes to IjebuOde. There
was what I thought was a minor traffic and being a veteran of Lagos internal
traffic as well as Lagos Sagamu-Benin
perpetual gridlock, I was none-pulsed. Two hours later, some people
started turning back and I believed that
they were impatient. Anyway, the alternative route I knew was bad, lonely and I
don’t even know it very well and in any case, Ijebu-Ode was just 2 minutes.
Well, to cut the long story short, at 11pm, I had not moved beyond 1 kilometer
nearer to Ijebu-Ode! And when the trailer drivers started spreading their mats
on the road, preparatory to ‘going to bed’, I knew that the come had come to
become. There was one hotel in that neigbourhood(OK Hotel and Suites, Iperin)
and I had always been wondering what the hotel was doing at the middle of
nowhere along the express way. Well, it became my saving grace that night
because I made a u-turn and Room 18 or
so became my flat for the night. By the
time I checked in and settled for the night, it was already 12am.
I woke up the next day with the intention
of getting to my real home, and restructure myself for another day’s challenge
but the traffic witch was still there. The road was still blocked and so, I
turned against the traffic and went back to Ago-Iwoye. It was around 630pm on
that day( 3/9/19) That I got to my abode to Ijebu-Ode and that was how it took
me 24 hours to cover a distance that ordinarily took +-30minutes. What caused
this 24 hour gridlock? An accident involving a Dangote truck and driver! That
will be the story for another day.
Ik Muo, PhD. Department of Business
Administration, OOU, Ago-Iwoye
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