You said what they were trying to do is not going to happen here. What are those things they are trying to do?
I’m not just the third ranking chief in Ayede-Ogbese kingdom, professionally, I’m a journalist. Words matter to us. Beyond that, I have a degree in English, Literary and Curriculum Studies. What they are trying to do is so clear to everybody. You know that from the intelligence available to the leadership of our kingdom.
These people will come, pretend they have a genuine agenda of integrating with the people in the community and they are harmless. But if I start to count on the tip of my fingers, you’ll understand that even when they say they are coming for simple things like basic health facilities, you’ll see under their clothes dagger and swords sheathed. For what purpose is that? Sometimes, we get so proactive. We begin to collect those swords from them. You can’t be bringing things like that into medical facilities.
Sometimes they enter our markets with swords under their clothes. Of course, we have a very big cosmopolitan market in our community. The market is patronized from the entire West Africa sub-region, and then somebody comes into that market carrying a sword. To do what? That is the one that is so visible. The one we also know is that under the animals they rear, they wrap AK-47 . You would think it’s their personal wears and foodstuff .
We are aware from what some of the freed hostages told us that when they collect that ransom, they don’t even know the denomination. That means they are illiterate. Some of them do not even speak the Nigerian variant of Fulfude, which is the language of the Fulani people. If you want to start a conversation with them in simple English, they don’t even understand because they speak French.
They believe in the unity of the Fulani nation across wherever they exist in Africa. So, they think they’re coming here to give consolidation to interest that are not clear, to struggles that are not known to anybody and to individuals not completely loyal to the Nigeria nation.
In your submission, you believe that they are not Nigerians. How did you say they were consolidating an interest in Nigeria?
It’s not difficult to know. For example, the people and the government of Ondo State took a fundamental position; something that is backed by the constitution; that these people cannot continue to illegally occupy Government Forest Reserves. The herders themselves did not speak. A voice echoed from the seat of power in Abuja. Isn’t that enough indication that they think you’re hurting one of their own out there. Peace loving Nigerians actually voted whoever that is leading this country today. These people that they are defending; I’m sure they never even voted. While the rest of us were in the queue exercising our franchise as free citizens of Nigeria, remember that these people were plotting how to kill the majority of us, how to prevent us from exercising our voting rights. And then, we defied all of these to put the government in power. Only for the certain operatives of the government to start using the instrument of state to defend lawlessness.
Few days ago, there was a meeting where everybody agreed with what Governor Akeredolu has done by giving that four-point order. Even the representatives of the MACBAN supported it. Do you see sincerity in their purported support?
Honestly, I don’t. The preliminary comments made by the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti, was almost going to scape-goat the media, saying the intent and purpose of what Governor Akeredolu said was misconstrued in the media. Which media? You don’t know that when you take on the media as a major institution like that anywhere in the world, you’re really trying to bring the nation itself down. Honestly, people tend to see governance and democracy as event. Governor Fayemi is in a position to know better. He was a practising journalist at a time as well as an agitator and a pro-democracy activist. I give that to him.
From the look of things and with what Miyetti Allah said, the position of Governor Akeredolu is unassailable. The bad eggs should be fished out and their members in the forest should get government permission. What they are not telling the world which we now know is that the Bororo, the cattle Fulanis, do not even interact.
They don’t have respect for the liberated Fulanis. So, for all we can care, everything that transpired at the meeting, the Fulani ethnic militia operate by an agenda that is uttered and directed and anchored by the devil. The other people, decent as they are, may not be able to speak to the minds, agenda and actions of the violent Fulani.
And guess what, since the expiration of the seven days ultimatum given by the government of Ondo State, what have they been doing in the forests? Yes, they are leaving the forest reserves, but on their paths, they’re leaving on their trail blood, destruction, sorrow, tears.
Coming out in a huge exodus and destroying everything they see on the way. They are not just using AK-47.
As a traditional chief who is close to the people, what do you think can be done to flush the criminal herders out of your domain?
Honestly, I’ve a confession, if you ask me about what can be done, I look at a the solution that was applied in a place like Ijare Community ( where lightening killed 36 cows) No matter how crazy the Fulani ethnic militias today, he will not venture into Ijare. Secondly, I look at the Sunday Igboho , maybe it’s a matter of boldness and courage but it takes the extraordinary for somebody to disarm a Fulani militia firing AK-47. That kind of boldness in Sunday Igboho is something that has to be replicated.
You are commending Igboho for the steps he took, but some people are crucifying him for doing that. What is your take?
Who are the ones saying that? I’ve not heard that. On the contrary, people are misinterpreting the initial silence of a section of the leadership of the South-West. For example, they said Iba Gani Adams did not speak so early as the Aare Ona Kakanfo but as a traditional generalisimo, he said he was studying the situation and looking at the intelligence behind it all. And fundamentally, he has no disagreement with Sunday Igboho.
You said you are close to some victims of herdsmen attacks in your axis and some of them narrated that their abductors took them to the bush and they were hearing people talking, but people of the community are the owners of the land, can’t the obas do something against all trespassers?
My brother, do you know one thing, do not let us deceive ourselves. What the indigenous individuals who have run this nation in succession after the exit of British colonialists, what they have done is to pursue extreme radical agenda against the traditional royalty in this country. They’ve emasculated our traditional institutions.
From the revelations of victims, they said these bandits have links with some people in the town who act as spies?
That may not be completely false. There must be people who tell them that their targets have big pockets.
Can’t the community investigate and take the necessary action?
Community do investigate but we don’t have the power to arrest. So, what do we do? We provided reasonable intelligence to the police or the NSCDC command and again you are at their mercy. Let me give you this narrative, it will interest you, the late Alayede of Ayede-Ogbese, Oba Isaac Oluyele decided to install someone as the Seriki Hausawa. While that ceremony was on, Chief Olu Falae, a prominent Nigerian politician was in attendance to honour that occasion. A loser in the contest, one individual called Mustapha who happened to be a so- called organizer and youth leader in the Hausa community for the ruling APC, decided to bring almajiris. They invaded the palace ground where the ceremony was going on. They started pulling down canopies, throwing chairs. So, in the wisdom of Alayede-in-Council, a decision was reached that, that kind of impunity could not be allowed.
Going back to the issues of the freed victims, I will cite the example for example, Olatubosun Johnson, the son of Aro of Uso. His father is the third in royal hierarchy of Uso land. When he was kidnapped, they took him for two days just because he was blindfolded, they were taking him around the same locality, beating and torturing him. When eventually they released the hood on his face, he was able to recognised one community in the locality. That’s was how, he knew he was around, Ayede-Ogbese.
Look at the case of Boniface, an employee of Petroleum Training Institute, Effurun, Delta State who was kidnapped on Sunday and released on Thursday. He was taken around the same spot Olatubosun Johnson was kidnapped and he was released around Bolohunduro and Eleyowo. What are they doing all this kind of stupid stuff for.
What do you think can be done about this issue?
Somebody must be held accountable for the broken chain; the link that is broken in the hierarchy of command, whether in the military or the police. Whoever is weakening that strong link that must be effective in terms of law enforcement, whoever that is sending that wrong signal that these people enjoy the protection of the Presidency or in the police command; that person must be identified.
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