I do not know what language the word “Ruga” is derived from. I do not know the meaning either. But I understand, from what I have heard, that it has to do with the establishment of colonies or settlements for the Fulani across the country for the purpose of rearing their cattle.

ose who know the details of the proposal say the colonies will be established in every state of the federation. They also tell us that each colony will have a landmass as large as that of of an average-sized local government in Nigeria.

Those who are proposing the idea say it is the solution to the ongoing farmers-herders’ clashes across the country. But the idea, as things stand now, has largely been rejected by southern and Middle Belt states of the country.

These are really strange times. We live in the age of the unimaginable in Nigeria. The way things are going, it is as if the country has just come into existence and the peoples that make up the entity are trying to come to terms with the problems of co-existence. Otherwise, why are situations that we waded through almost effortlessly in the past tasking us to no end now? Cattle-rearing has been with us since Nigeria came into existence. But suddenly and strangely, it has become a blight. We can no longer cope with it. What went wrong?

We have heard some argument that indiscriminate grazing has become the norm because grazing routes, which were created in the past, have been blocked by whoever. Consequently, the herder freely roams about with his cattle and openly converts people’s farms into grazing fields. This is usually done with reckless abandon. The herder has no consideration for the crop and its owner. Every green land, no matter what is on it, is for grazing. That is the mentality that rules the herder of today. And to demonstrate that he is on a mission of destruction, he is heavily armed with sophisticated weapons. Those who know say it didn’t used to be so.

So, why has the herder become so daring in Nigeria of today? The answer, from what we can see, derives from a certain agenda of the Nigerian government. The ascendancy of Muhammadu Buhari, a Fulani, to the presidential throne seems to have heralded what looks like the Age of the Fulani in Nigeria. Suddenly, a minor ethnic group has become a nightmare to the rest of the country. They are strutting about with sardonic arrogance because they are armed. The Fulani herdsmen are the only Nigerians who openly wield their weapons of destruction. Government and its security agencies do not go after them. They do not ask questions as to how they acquired the weapons. No other group in Nigeria enjoys that privilege. This has made the Fulani a special breed in Nigeria under the Buhari administration. That is why they are talking about Ruga settlements. They want to have homelands all over the country as a matter of compunction. The rest of the country must surrender huge portions of land for the Fulani to settle. And this is going to be a state policy.

The whole idea sounds provocative to non-Fulani Nigerians. They are agitated. And they have rejected the idea in its entirety. If ours were to be a proper country where government promotes peace and unity, the government of Nigeria would have addressed the people on this matter. Government should have explained to the people what it meant by proposing that there would Fulani settlements all over the country and, possibly, seek justification for it. But what we see is dumb discourse. Nobody is saying anything to anybody.

A lot of people believe that there is something sinister about the proposal. Some people have called it “fulanisation” agenda. The overall impression is that there is a plan by the Fulani-led federal government to have the Fulani dominate and subdue the rest of the country. This will begin with this planned process of infiltration. The more insightful ones among us have even argued that the Ruga plan goes beyond Nigeria. It involves the importation of Fulani from wherever they may be in Africa to come and settle in Nigeria. The argument is that the original Fulani of Nigeria do not have the population to have settlements all over Nigeria. But the plan is that their little number will be swelled by the Fulani from all over the African continent, thereby making all parts of Nigeria the permanent homeland of the Fulani. Is this the case? Let the government of Nigeria speak up on this vexed issue. The continued silence of government on this matter makes the whole agenda look suspect.

It is difficult to understand why a government that is supposed to be for all Nigerians has chosen to protect only a particular ethnic stock. The preference for the Fulani under the present order is so obvious that we can safely say that the Buhari era is the Fulani era. Under him, the Fulani are at the height of their powers. They look down and talk down on the rest of the people. When they kill, they openly admit doing so. And there is usually no consequence. Sometimes they give notice of intention to kill and go ahead to execute their threat. Government has not been able to stop them or bring them to justice. In fact, the Fulani have become the most dreaded ethnic group in Nigeria today. They are not afraid of anything because the system protects them. Under the Buhari presidency, we have had numerous cases of Fulani effrontery. They made Benue State a killing field. They murdered scores in Enugu State. Plateau State has been a boiling cauldron owing to incessant Fulani invasion. Centres of worship have not been spared. Many Catholic priests have been felled by the bullets of Fulani herdsmen. The development is worrisome. But even much more so is the fact that the law does not catch up with them. Their mother organisation, the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), has consistently claimed responsibility for some acts of murder in the country. Yet, they walk scot-free. Nobody goes after them. They seem to have the license to kill and maim.

Having developed flapping wings, the killer herdsmen have graduated into making provocative demands. A few weeks ago, they told the people of the South East that they want to set up vigilance groups in their territory. They have expressed their desire to establish such security outfits in some other territories that are not quite receptive of their expansionist agenda. If the wishes of the Fulani are granted, then we can as well say that we live in a Fulani country. Nigeria will, if the Fulani agenda is not put in check, become a Fulani empire. A new form of colonisation has already begun.

Ruga settlements will enthrone an army of occupation who can rise up any day and subdue the original owners of the land, making them slaves in their own land. With Fulani from all over Africa relocated to Nigeria, their population will swell and the Fulani will no longer be a minority ethnic group. This new reality will, sooner than later, alter the existing and known ethnic and political equations in Nigeria.

The Ruga agenda, to all intents and purposes, is a provocative agenda. It is the most dangerous idea mooted so far by the Fulani. It is an assault on the sensibilities of other Nigerians. But the agenda is not supposed to be an issue, if the government of the day were for us all. We are arguing over the Ruga plan because it is an agenda of the federal government of Buhari. But this government must understand that it exists in the service of the people. The government cannot be more powerful than those it is elected to serve.

•This column originally appeared in today’s edition of Daily Sun. Amanze Obi can be reached via amanze.obi@gmail.com

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