The fear that the Fulani oligarchs in northern Nigeria have the intension of Islamizing the country doesn’t start today. Questions around this have risen on several occasions in the history and evolution of Nigerian politics. The debate predates Nigerian independence and constantly reoccurred after independence, especially during the military regimes. For instance, Buhari was ousted from power by IBB on the accusation that he was trying to Islamize Nigeria. IBB received the same accusation when he added Nigeria into the membership of OIC (Organization of Islamic Countries). In fact, the failed coup led by Gideon Orkar, specifically wanted to remove IBB from power because he was trying to Islamize Nigeria.
Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999 with Obasanjo, a non-Fulani as the president took attention away from the Islamization debate. Nevertheless, when Mohammadu Buhari became president in 2015, the debate returned and has remained a hot political issue in the country, especially following the constant and brutal attacks by Fulani herders on non-Fulani farming communities in the Middle Belt and Southern Nigeria.
One of the selling points of Atiku Abubakar by those marketing him to become president is that he is pan-Nigerian and a unifier. The argument usually is that the Islamization agenda is associated with fundamental version Islam, a group or ideology the argument claims Mr. Atiku is not and has never been a party to. I have also claimed on many occasions that one of the reasons I supported Atiku in 2019 presidential election was because he represented moderate Islam in a part of the country where many politicians including the present president are Islamic fundamentalists.
But is this assessment correct? Is Atiku really a moderate Moslem or a lion in sheep’s clothing? Could it be possible that the Turaki of Adamawa is simply hiding under moderation in other to grab power before showing his real colour? Some recent events seem to give credence to this possibility. Take for instance, the brutal murder of Deborah Yakubu in Sokoto by irate Islamic fundamentalists who accused her of blasphemy. When the news filtered out, Atiku or his spokesperson was quick to condemn the incident but this was quickly retracted and deleted. What was Atiku afraid of? Was he working for some unseen forces who ordered the killing? The fact that Deborah who was with the school security was forcefully taken away and murdered in broad day light was indicative that there were some powerful forces behind the killing. Did these forces warn Atiku to take down his post? Atiku said the post was made without his consent showing that the post must have been made by a supporter without knowledge of Atiku’s Islamic agenda.
Recently, Atiku in a condolence message to the people of Benue State over the killing of 36 people including police men in Gbeji community, Ukum Local Council, by suspected herdsmen, posits: “When our people are well integrated into communities where they live, work, pay taxes and raise their children, they’d be obligated to reciprocate the love and acceptance.”
Arising from the statement are; who are ‘our people’? Are they law abiding Fulanis doing their legitimate jobs in Benue to eke out a living or criminal elements that Theophilus Danjuma and others have said came from outside the country to expropriate land? Atiku also raises the question of the integration of Fulanis into Benue communities. Can these ones live, work, pay taxes and raise their children in Benue, if they were not integrated?
In this interrogation of Atiku’s statement is the need to understand why the Gbeji community rejected his condolence message, describing it as mockery. In a statement signed by the eldest child of Gbeji and Market Overseer, Elder Jonathan Gbeji, the members of community say they are disappointed in Atiku’s statement which claimed that the killing was as a result of a clash between farmers and herders in Gbeji. The community said what happened on Wednesday 19 October 2022 was an “unprovoked attack by armed Fulani militia on the people”. They argue that the talk about integration does not arise as the attackers do not live among them.
Here again is another subtle pointer that Atiku is working for a certain group with some Islamic agenda. Is this the type of President Nigerians want after these 8 years of Buhari’s attempt to enthrone Fulanism in country? I may not want Tinubu to become president because of his age and the corrupt allegations hanging around him but I will choose Tinubu over Atiku any day. There is something sinister about Atiku that Nigerians need to watch out for. All that glitters is not gold!
