Anybody suggesting that we should either surrender our ancestral land to Fulani herdsmen to establish their cattle colonies and ranches, or we will lose our lives, should have his head properly examined. This is because that person is not normal or that his head is not correct.
For Mr. Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Nigerians should be better off living with the ranches and colonies than dying through the persisting conflicts.
According to him, “You can only have ancestral attachment when you are alive. If you are talking about ancestral attachment, if you are dead, how does the attachment matter?”
In other words, Femi Adesina is telling us that rather than insist on our ancestral inheritance and lose our lives, we should simply surrender our land to Fulani herdsmen for them to establish their cattle colonies and ranches.
We reject both suggestions outright. We do not support the idea that indigenous people should give up their ancestral inheritance under any circumstance or for whatever guise. How can any reasonable person tell us to give up our ancestral land for cattle colonies and ranches, otherwise we will lose our lives?, which is what Femi Adesina seems to be saying. Unless we are cowards, which we are not, we will resist with the last pint of our blood, than to capitulate and give up our land to colonizers or occupation forces.
Throughout history, ancestral inheritance, and in particular land, is held very dear and precious by all manner of people. It is not just at the micro level, but at the macro level as well.
Individuals fight and kill themselves because of land. Nations fight each other because of land. They establish Army, Navy, Air Force, etc., armed with sophisticated weapons, to fight and defend their territorial boundaries. No country will give up any piece of its land or territory without putting up a fight.
Why then does Femi Adesina think we will equally give up our ancestral land to Fulani invaders to establish their cattle colonies and ranches, else they will simply slaughter us? Does he think that we are cowards, or that the Fulani have the monopoly of violence? Or is it because their brother is now in power? But will he remain there forever?
When it comes to the battlefield, are the Fulani invincible? Yes, they fought and defeated many of their neighbours during their jihad of the nineteenth century and imposed the Islamic faith. But that was then. This time around, they will never succeed.
Now that the Fulani are coming out in their true colour, we will no longer fold our arms and stand by, watching while they we will continue to slaughter us like cows, take over our land and establish their so-called cattle colonies and ranches.
We will fight back. We will defend ourselves. Self defence is not sinful. General Theophilus Danjuma has told us what to do: to rise and defend ourselves and no longer wait or look on government to defend us. because the government has failed, or are even colluding with the invaders to slaughter us.
