Outspoken southern socio-cultural groups, Afenifere and Ohanaeze Ndigbo have responded to the boastful claims by Miyethi Allah that herdsmen all over Africa will not require visa before entering Nigeria, warning that such grandstanding in the face of the proposed visa on arrival policy of the federal government can only worsen the security challenges currently faced by the country.
In his reaction, Afenifere spokesman, Yinka Odumakin said “They are just confirming what we knew all along that the visa-free entry into Nigeria is a policy for Fulani herdsmen all over Africa to invade Nigeria. The government is shutting border in the western part of the country while leaving it open in the north shows it all. Who are the Africans the government is opening its borders for, is it not the Fulani that is coming to Nigeria. We knew but kept quiet and now they are confirming a secret we all knew that it is a policy for the Fulani herdsmen, to invade Nigeria, to change our demography and carry out their plan without let or hindrance because we have what people are calling ‘Fulani government of Nigeria.’Some might think there is confusion here; there is no confusion on the agenda. Shutting the border in the southern part of the country is to promote the rice being grown in the north. Asking people to come into Nigeria without a visa is a Fulanization policy; to allow herdsmen to invade and use Miyethi Allah against the rest of us.”
Also speaking for the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the group’s National Publicity Secretary, Uche Opaga- Achi said that Miyethi Allah could afford to do whatever it likes in the country because it has the backing of the powers that be.
“It stinks to high heavens that these people could speak with impunity because one could see and say that the Federal Government has tilted towards one ethnic group, the Fulani group. It also shows that the immigration law of the country has been rubbished and thrown to the dustbin and that is why you don’t need the international passport as long as you are a Fulani and a herdsman. It is just unimaginable. This does not obtain anywhere, only in Nigeria.
“These people are saying it with impunity because they feel they are protected and truly nobody could stand them because they are truly in charge of all the security apparatus; military and paramilitary. Is there any security agency that they are not in charge of, absolutely none. Theycouldalsosaythatbecausethebor- der is free for them to cross at any point in time they desire while other tribes or groups cannot. It is the absolute truth of what we are facing in Nigeria, it is what the country has become. The rule of law no longer obtains here, what is obtained here is body language and that is the body language we have in the country. It is quite a pity that we have come to the end of the road.
“This is why the insecurity of this country has remained intractable. Our borders are porous because we allow people who are not Nigerian to invade and kill us in tens and thousands, and a group is boasting about it because it is to their advantage. It is a pity for us and I hope that someday somehow our leaders will be called to account for their stewardship,” he stated.
THE SUN, NIGERIA