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Expected outrage has greeted the statement credited to National President of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Alhaji Bello Abdullahi Bodejo, that the Fulani own Nigeria and will continue to rule the country.
Bodejo was also quoted to have said that herdsmen do not need any permission to enter any community as they are the owners of land anywhere across the nation, and that the Fulani would float a 100,000-man vigilante to be deployed across the country.
The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN; Southern/Middle Belt Leaders Forum, SMBLF; Ohanaeze youths; the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB; First Republic politician, Chief Mbazulike Amaechi; and Second Republic lawmaker, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, were among those who flayed the comments, they're capable of imploding the country.
The angry reactions came as Bodejo made a U-turn and said that he never claimed that Nigeria belonged to the Fulani. The Christian Association of Nigeria in the Northern states and Abuja warned that the statement was divisive and capable of tearing the nation apart.
Vice-Chairman of CAN, 19 Northern States and FCT, Rev John Joseph Hayab, said in a statement in Kaduna, yesterday, said Nigeria does not belong to any ethnic group, section or religion but to all Nigerians.
He said the newspaper story credited to the National President of one of the groups of Miyetti Allah who was quoted to have said that 'Nigeria belongs to Fulani and would rule forever' confirmed and identified those who do not wish Nigeria to live in peace and unity.
"Our stance is that no well-meaning individual should use the name of an association or platform like Miyetti Allah to make such serious, divisive statements as these.
"The truth is that Nigeria does not belong to any ethnic group, section or religion but to every one of us. Making such false claims as that of Miyetti Allah's President only create tension and fuels crisis," he said.
CAN therefore, called on the Federal Government through the D-G, DSS and Inspector-General of Police to have a session with the ethnic superiority champion to "school him on the diversity of Nigeria and the need for restraint from such reckless statements."
He continued: "All well-meaning members of the Miyetti Allah group need to urgently disassociate themselves from the provocative statement linked to the group as proof that the speaker is not playing a script.
"Without a doubt, there are members of Miyetti Allah who love this country genuinely, craving to see the country grow in peace and develop in every sphere, reckon that the statement credited to the group's President is not a popular view, as such, needs to be publicly opposed.
"Nigeria's problems are numerous; from insecurity to bad economy and now, the COVID-19 pandemic. CAN, therefore, does not want to add to the barrage of problems the country face by letting unscrupulous people make grave and ungodly utterances that have dangerous security implications.
"Nigerians will wait and see what the Federal Government through its security agencies will do about this inflammatory statement unless we have separate laws for different groups of people in this country."
Reacting to the claim by Bodejo, elder statesman and sole surviving member of the Zikist Movement, Chief Mbazulike Amaechi, said he had been warning Nigerians that the aim of the present administration was to achieve what Sarduana of Sokoto, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, leader of Northern People's Congress, NPC, said in the Parrot Magazine of October 12, 1960, less than 12 days after Nigeria's independence.
According to Mbazulike Amaechi, the late Sir Ahmadu Bello had shortly after independence said that Nigeria is an estate of their great-grandfather, Othman Dan Fodio, that they must ruthlessly prevent change of power.
"In my book: 'A political History of Modern Nigeria', on page 90, I quoted Sarduana of Sokoto, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello's comments in Parrot Magazine of October 12,1960, twelve days after independence, where he said that 'the new nation called Nigeria should be an estate from our great grand-father, Othman Dan Fodio, we must ruthlessly prevent a change of power.
"We must use the minorities of the North as willing tools and the South as conquered territories and never allow them to have control of their future. Our great-grandfather conquered up to Ilorin but we have now accomplished the task which he did not complete. I will dip the Q'uran at the sea."
Mbazulike, who was the First Republic Aviation Minister, said the Fulani believed they owned Nigeria and that other sections of the country were their property.
He continued: "Today, the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore is telling Nigerians the same thing and you want to disagree with them; that is what this government is all about. I have been telling Nigerians that the purpose of this government is to Islamize Nigeria and empower the Fulani but nobody is listening to me.
"Sarduana of Sokoto said it in Parrot Newspaper of October 12, 1960, twelve days after independence, that they own Nigeria and all other sections of the country is their property and they will continue to rule the country and the Miyetti Allah is telling you today and you still want to doubt them. I said it that this is where the country is going now."
Speaking further, the elder statesman said that "nobody should blame them because they are matching their words with action and Nigerians do not care, nobody wants to listen to me, so Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore is right in their thinking."
In a response to the building national outrage in response to his inflammatory comments, Bodejo again doubled down on his assertion stating that in the face of the formation of Amotekun, that the Fulbe will pursue their business anywhere in Nigeria and will also form their vigilante groups if necessary to ward off any threat against our people and against the incessant cattle rustlings.
The Fulbe, Bodejo said, 'have the ability and capacity to defend themselves in Nigeria and indeed anywhere.
Nigeria's President, Muhammadu Buhari, himself a Fulbe (Fulani) has again characteriscally kept silent, as he has always done, on matters relating to the highly charged issue of the atrocities of the terrorist Fulani herdsmen and their benefactors.
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