I remember an interview granted by Abubakar Kawu Baraje, a prominent Nigerian politician and founding chieftain of the APC, in 2021. In that interview, he revealed what many considered to be one of the most shocking allegations about the roots of insecurity in Nigeria.
According to Baraje, during a public interview marking his 70th birthday, the surge in violent insecurity across the country could be traced to political decisions made before the 2015 elections. He alleged that foreign Fulani militias and mercenaries from neighboring West African countries, including Mali, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Niger, and Chad, were brought into Nigeria to assist political interests during that period. He further claimed that after the elections, many of these individuals were abandoned and refused to leave. According to him, they later evolved into the armed bandits terrorizing many parts of the country today. Baraje also stated that he and other politicians had warned about the possible consequences of such actions before the elections.
Typical of the Nigerian way of life, many people in the hall applauded the speech and then settled down to enjoy the amala and ewedu served at the event. Few of those present appeared to realize the gravity of the allegations being made. Looking back today, some would argue that the speech was a warning about a crisis that would later consume many communities across the country.
A few years later, armed banditry became one of Nigeria’s most serious security challenges. Nigerians had experienced different forms of terrorism and violent crime before, but the scale of kidnappings, killings, cattle rustling, and attacks on rural communities reached alarming levels. Many villages were displaced, schools were shut down, and thousands of innocent citizens became victims of criminal violence.
In my opinion, these criminals appear to have no clear ideology, no known political program, and no vision beyond violence and profit. Their activities revolve around kidnapping, looting, extortion, and terrorizing innocent people. The damage they have caused to Nigeria, both economically and socially, is difficult to quantify.
Some of their operations, many Nigerians believe, could not have been sustained without the support or protection of powerful individuals occupying sensitive positions in society. I have personally watched interviews in which a state governor appeared to defend some of these criminals, arguing that they were merely nomads exercising their rights. Such comments left many citizens frustrated and disappointed.
What many people fail to understand is that criminality has no boundaries. Criminals do not respect tribe, religion, or social status. Their mission is simple: to steal, destroy, and enrich themselves. Whether they operate in the forests, on highways, or through corruption in government offices, the effect on ordinary Nigerians is the same.
At least, Nigerians understood the stated grievances of Boko Haram, however misguided those grievances may have been. But many people struggle to identify any coherent cause behind the activities of Fulani armed bandits. To countless victims, they appear to be nothing more than organized criminal groups driven by greed and violence.
I have also observed that some young Fulanis who were once involved in cattle rustling have gradually moved into kidnapping and banditry because of the huge financial rewards associated with those crimes. However, history has shown that criminal enterprises rarely end well. If Nigeria remains determined in confronting insecurity, the same path of violence that brought temporary gains to these criminals may eventually lead to their downfall.
The tragedy of banditry is not only the lives that have been lost but also the trust that has been destroyed. Communities now live in fear, farmers abandon their lands, and families sleep with one eye open. As a result, the free movement of Fulanis in many parts of the country is increasingly viewed with suspicion.
An elderly Fulani man from Oke-Ogun, whom I have known since I was born, recently called me to express his fear of going to the market to buy foodstuffs in densely populated Yoruba communities. I had to send my driver to deliver food items to him.
The good relationship that existed between our fathers and Fulani communities is gradually diminishing. I do not think the Emir of Ilorin, Justice Kolapo Sulu Gambari, would feel as free as before to come to Ibadan to watch his beloved football club, Shooting Stars Sports Club.
Since this wave of banditry began, there has been little visible effort by prominent Fulani leaders and elders in the North to travel to the South-West and publicly encourage young Fulanis to disassociate themselves from bandits and banditry. Instead, many people perceive that political power and personal interests have taken priority over addressing these concerns.
Until the sponsors, enablers, and perpetrators of these crimes are held accountable, lasting peace may remain difficult to achieve.
May God heal this country and save us from evil people.
Mogaji Wole Arisekola writes from Ibadan.
