By Sunny Ikhioya

EVENTS in Afghanistan these past few days have clearly shown that solution to insurgency rests on the indigenous people. No foreign super power can solve your problems for you. The moment the Americans realised that their continued presence in Afghanistan was no longer in their interest, they pulled out. The consequence was an open road for the Talibans to take over with little or no resistance.

I hope those at the helm of affairs in our country are taking note; that you cannot force unpopular decisions on the people, especially when you are operating in a multi-ethnic/religious environment. If the people do not buy into it, your enforcement will only come to nought in the long run.

The RUGA (Rural Grazing Area) settlement policy, inland water ways law, Boko Haram members re-integration, lopsided federal appointments and others being proposed by the leadership are nothing but palliatives; they are not the real answers to the challenges facing the North.

It is clear that the nomadic lifestyle of the Fulanis has made them perpetual travellers, without any base or need for a home settlement. But, with the dynamics of society and technological advancements, cattle herders migration will sooner or later become a thing of the past. The Fulani herders want land settlements that they will call their own; so, in line with the cultures of the past, they believe this could be effected through conquest and acquisition of land belonging to other indigenous people; but those days are gone forever.

The world has changed; you cannot erase a people’s history or legacy by forcefully occupying their lands; there will be repercussions, both from within and abroad. That is why the Fulani must change their strategies. They succeeded in gaining ascendancy into the country’s political hierarchy through manipulations and the connivance of our British colonial masters, coupled with the missteps of Southern leadership.

The only way they can sustain this will be through peaceful and cooperative relationships with other ethnic groups in the country. The frequent displays of hubris by the less informed among them is only succeed in distancing them  further away from their fellow Nigerians.

Making Nigeria the adopted country of the Fulani and forcing it upon other indigenous ethnic groups in the country will only alienate them further. If they are to be sincere and looking at how far they have come,  they will realise that they have been privileged to be in the position they occupy and pushing their luck beyond the normal will only create problems for themselves and the whole nation. Mr. Muiz Banire, a legal adviser to APC, the ruling party, recently alluded to this while answering questions from the press.

According to him, the situation exists because there is inequity. “We are seeing injustice in the land and there is unfairness in the land. If we have a leader that is a just leader and does things equitably, all of these agitations would not arise. The question of where you come from won’t even arise. Nigerians don’t care about where any president or governor comes from. What they care about is good roads, good hospitals, jobs, comfort, etc.,” he said.

If those at the helm of the Fulani hierarchy understand this, they will not be going about the route that they have now embarked on. In the past few weeks, we have been inundated with press reports of ISWAP and Boko Haram surrenders; that is a good development. What should give us concern is what the military authorities do with the surrendering insurgents.

To some of us, it has always been when our military will collectively and willingly decide to either prolong or terminate the Boko Haram and other threats, that we will believe this to be the beginning of the end. So, what is the route for the Fulani? Is it to properly integrate and relate with the rest of Nigerians, the way other ethnic groups do – openly, friendly, productive  – not through the back door or hibernating in bushes and forests to carry out criminal activities?

It is common knowledge that no society progresses without being open to strangers or visitors. A society that refuses to integrate will always remain stagnated. It is good to note that with Nigerians not fully united in the real sense of it, the people have always been friendly and receptive to one another, especially at the ordinary folks level.

That is why cities like Lagos,  Jos, Port Harcourt, Warri, Benin, Kaduna, Ibadan and others have become melting points for different cultural mix, coupled with open love for one another. Unfortunately, our leaders, especially politicians, have reversed the position, whilst the ordinary folks are increasingly becoming polarised such that people are afraid to move beyond their ethnic boundaries.

If Nigerians are such friendly people, why has the situation gotten this bad? Because some leaders are pursuing an agenda to make one group and religion dominant over others, and in an environment where justice is missing, there cannot be peace. The invitation or unrestricted access given to foreigners in the name of brothers is inimical to the peaceful coexistence of people in this country.

While we are not asking anyone to go away, it is very necessary for the visitors to follow laid down and conventional rules. In some parts of the world, when you have lived in a place for up to five years and above you are given entitlements as a citizen of the land, with all rights and privileges attached. That is why Nigerians now occupy leadership positions in foreign lands -Europe, USA, Canada  and others.

We witnessed the enthronement of a Black President in the USA because of this type of arrangement. It is even more important in a multi-ethnic/religious country like ours that lays claim to being a secular nation. There is nothing wrong in a Fulani man who has lived in Bayelsa State for more than five years to be allowed to contest for governorship position in the state; the same way an Igbo man can contest to be governor of Kano State, having lived there for a reasonable period of time and being integrated into the laws and customs of the place. He will no longer be an Igbo man per se but a Kano indigene; that is how it is done and that is how society works in progressive countries.

The recourse to forceful acquisition of land by the Federal Government for the purpose of settling Fulani migrants is, therefore, not the right way to go. The Federal Government should initiate laws that will guarantee immigrants rights that will make them to graduate to become full citizens who cannot be discriminated against for any reason.

They will have access to own land of their own, contribute their own quota to the development of the society in which they reside. That is the direction the world is tilting towards presently. Nigeria must not go back to the old ways. It is time for government to enact laws that will take care of the indigeneship/settler problem in our land. It is a problem that cuts across the length and breadth of the country. That is the answer to our frequent ethnic crises.

*Ikhioya wrote via www.southsouthecho.com