Remember Yoruba in Fulani communities of Northern Nigeria before you unleash your violence on Fulani in Yoruba Land, Pastor Bakare warns Sunday Igboho, other separatist elements

*Wants terrorists in the forest separated from agricultural pastoralists

By KEMI KASUMU

“The moment Sunday Adeyemo gave 7–day ultimatum to Fulani herdsmen and to the chief of the Fulani in Oyo, I knew we were face to face with a major crisis. I heard him say over and over again that former Governor Rashidi Ladoja “is my father, is my mentor, he is the one that blessed me”. So I knew that if anyone had a mentor and he has to be approached, that mentor should be able to put a stop to what we consider as excess.”

One of Nigerians with divine claim to nation’s presidency come 2023, Pastor Tunde Bakare, has waded into the separatist activities led by Sunday Adeyemo a.k.a. Sunday Igboho, who recently issued Fulani in Yoruba Land a seven-day quit notice or face him and his ‘warriors’ in serious battle.

He told the tribal activist, who not only boasts to be “PDP man to the core” but also strong fighter for the Oduduwa Republic separatism, Sunday Igboho to watch the consequences of his threats before he carries them out as, according to him, Fulani would not fold their arms and watch Yoruba people thrive in their Northern communities while their fathers, mothers and siblings are being butchered in the South West by him and his acclaimed warriors.

While acknowledging Igboho to look like a man wanting to fight for his people because they were murdered, raped by criminals, the Serving Overseer of Citadel Global Community Church warned that he must operate within the ambit of the law.

It will be recalled that Igboho, in carrying out his threat, returned to Igangan in Ibarapa Local Government of Oyo State and set houses and cows ablaze among other attacks on the persons of the agricultural pastoralists, as a result of which all the 19 governors of Northern Nigeria issued a communiqué that sounded strong consequences to perpetrators of attacks on fellow Fulani herdsmen in Southern Nigeria if something urgent was not done.

In his intervention, Bakare said those asking an entire race to leave any part of Nigeria where they have the right to reside by law must watch it saying, rather, people must separate terrorists in the forest from agricultural pastoralists or those who are invading other peoples’ farms and who are the people that must be stopped by government.

“If our laws would not stop them and property rights not respected, then the government is not doing what it should do. What government should do is to pass laws, property laws must be respected,” he said, adding that, “We have lived with the Fulani and the Fulani have lived with us across this land. We must separate agricultural pastoralism from the second thing, terrorist issues in the forest. We have to be careful about indiscriminate violence.”

Bakare, according to a media report, spoke during a television programme in Lagos, when he revealed how a particular politician in Oyo State is sponsor that anointed Sunday Igboho for what he is doing.

Pastor Bakare said: “The moment Sunday Adeyemo gave 7–day ultimatum to Fulani herdsmen and to the chief of the Fulani in Oyo, I knew we were face to face with a major crisis. I heard him say over and over again that former Governor Rashidi Ladoja “is my father, is my mentor, he is the one that blessed me”. So I knew that if anyone had a mentor and he has to be approached, that mentor should be able to put a stop to what we consider as excess.

“But as God would have it, while I was trying to reach out to former Governor Ladoja who I have met personally in times past and whose number I have, an avenue occurred through an AIG who happened to know someone that knows Sunday Igboho.

“So I placed a call to him, he didn’t pick the call but I left a message that I would like to speak with him. He graciously called me back and we were able to speak and we agreed that he will be coming to Lagos to meet with me alongside his team and I also got our own people ready so that about five people here and five at that end, we could sit and resolve this crisis. And he agreed totally.

“But the day he was to come, his father took ill and he had to rush him to hospital in Iseyin or thereabouts. And he called and said he would not be able to come. And I said “family first and health first”. And I did not only pray with him, I also prayed with his father who also graciously thanked me and said “e jowo e ba wa da si oro yi o” (help to resolve this matter).

“And I found that the tension was already being detonated by the involvement of men of goodwill who were able to reach out to Sunday Igboho. There may be other ways of resolving this crisis other than issuing death threats and beating drums of war. Thank God that the situation has a bit calmed down but it is not yet completely resolved. We will by God’s grace do all God has given us the power to do as well as other men of goodwill.

“My intervention and that of other well meaning Nigerians is to de-escalate the tension by the challenge or the 7-day ultimatum he gave and to try as much as possible to reset the narrative before it gets out of hand. Please let’s be careful not to tear this country apart. And I am appealing to all men of goodwill to rise to the occasion. There are four issues involved in this matter and, by the grace of God, as soon as I have the opportunity I will bring them to the attention of Mr. President.

“And I believe his ministers and those in government are doing the same thing. One of the issues is open grazing. I think it is obsolete and it should end because the nations of the world have gone beyond this. I was in Glasgow, I was in Israel, there are so many things that we can do about agricultural pastoralism that will stop all the trouble in our land. We have lived with the Fulani and the Fulani have lived with us across this land. We must separate agricultural pastoralism from the second thing, terrorist issues in the forest. We have to be careful about indiscriminate violence.

“We must separate terrorists in the forest from agricultural pastoralists or those who are invading other peoples’ farms, they must be stopped. If our laws would not stop them and property rights not respected, then the government is not doing what it should do. What government should do is to pass laws, property laws must be respected.

“And all these pastoralists need to be registered so that we can know who they are and where they are going. It is a private business, it must not generate the kind of heat it is generating right now. Igboho looks like a man who wants to fight for his people because they were murdered, they were raped but he must operate within the ambit of the law.

“Indiscriminate violence is an ill wind that will blow no one any good. And remember before you unleash, there are Fulani in the South-West and there are Yoruba and other ethnic nationalities in their own (Fulani) communities too. And if they would open fire on them, it will be so indiscriminate and it is an ill wind. We must avert it before it gets out of hand.”