The Ijaw Youth Congress (IYC) Worldwide on Tuesday said the proposed RUGA settlements for Fulani cattle rearers in various states of the federation will not be accepted in Ijaw land as the area does not have land to accommodate foreigners.
Barrister Pereotubo R. Oweilaemi, IYC President worldwide, in a statement made available to NEXT EDITION in Lagos, maintained that the desert North is big enough for the Fulani to rear their cattle.
He said: “We will not accommodate people whose ultimate goal is to carry out religious Jihad against their hosts in order to establish their Islamic caliphate. The Fulani, who have been terrorising the indigenous people in the Middle Belt as well as some parts of Southern Nigeria, are seen as a Trojan horse to us.
“IYC rejects in its entirety the move by the Federal Government to establish the said RUGA settlement for the Fulani. The government should not by act or omission instigate ethno-religious crisis in the country.”
Oweilaemi stated that the genocide being perpetrated against the Middle Beltans by these Fulani warmongers under Buhari’s government had not been addressed by the latter with a determined effort.
According to him, “at the height of the killings by the Fulani terrorists, the Presidency only said the Middle Belt people should relinquish their ancestral lands to the killer herdsmen or be ready to be killed continuously. How can we cede a land to such persons who take delight in massacring innocent people under the gleeful eyes of the federal government of Nigeria?
“We will not invite such Trojan horses to our land in order not to betide future generations. We are warning the six governors of the South South states together with the governor of Ondo State not to accept that dangerous proposal.
“Should any of them be politically cajoled to accept the proposal then we will take a bloody revolution against them and their imperial interest. This is not a warning. Ijaw people are ready to defend our land even with the last drop of our blood.”
On the establishment of Fulani Vigilance Group, Oweilaemi said the Ijaw nation did not want such, stressing that the Fulani herdsmen had been identified as the world’s number four terrorist organisation.
He said if the Nigerian government could not protect the people, “then the Ijaw nation is able to protect our lands and people. We are able to protect our territorial integrity to ward off internal and external aggressors including criminal syndicates. The security of lives and property is constitutionally vested in the government.
“If, however, the government is unable to protect us, then we will set up our own security outfits to protect our lands.”
The IYC boss urged President Buhari to immediately call the Fulani to order before they set the country ablaze, stressing that “Nigeria is on the precipice which is heading to the cliff. The time bomb is ticking faster than expected.
“The antics of the Fulani ethnic group may ignite the conflagration which will consume the entire Country. Our patient is running thin.”
