HAUSA/FULANI HERDSMEN: THE NEW “JANJAWEED” OF NIGERIA

The Janjaweed?
Much of the violence in Sudan, which has created over 1 million refugees, has been attributed to the militias known as the Janjaweed. The word, an Arabic colloquialism, means "a man with a gun on a horse." Janjaweed militia men are primarily members of nomadic Arab tribes who have long been at odds with Darfur's settled African farmers, who are darker in skin colours. The labels “Arab and African” are rather misleading, given the complexity of the region's ethnic history.

For the sake of simplicity, explainer will stick with these inelegant terms. Until 2003, the conflicts were mostly over Darfur's scarce water and land resources - desertification has been a serious problem, so grazing areas and wells are at a premium. In fact, the term "Janjaweed" has for years been synonymous with bandit, as these horse or camel-borne fighters were known to swoop in on non-Arab farms to steal cattle.

Read also:THE FULANI HERDSMEN: THE SACRED COWS WITH THE COWS?

The Janjaweed of Nigeria
Biafra has been the scene of a fierce mass genocide against Christian-Biafrans by the Hausa/Fulani herdsmen. The latter, however, is supported by the central government - Buhari's administration, which is accused of tolerating and supporting the fierce raids of the Hausa/Fulani hersdmen. Biafrans are opposing the Hausa-Fulani herdsmen just like Sudan Janjaweed, a militia group recruited from members of Boko Haram. The Nigerian government, while publicly denying supporting the Hausa-Fulani herdsmen, has provided them with arms and assistance and has participated in joint attacks systematically targeting innocent Biafrans.

 Buhari's administration helps the militia groups known as Hausa/Fulani herdsmen with arms and money to complete the mission of making Nigeria the "largest Arab country." To fulfill the mission of total islamisation, they have to remove the Biafran population. These terror groups usually and habitually enter the villages and burn them to destroy Biafran traditions and culture and take the lands abandoned by the fleeing population.

 The Hausa/Fulanis want to dominate the Biafran population forcing them to convert and to speak Arabic and prohibiting local dialects.
The Nigerian Illiterate President - Muhammadu Buhari, considers the peaceful Indigenous people of Biafra (IPOB) exclusively an internal security problem and who should be eliminated. Figures from last spring shows that more than 7,000 civilians were assassinated by Fulani herdsmen.

What crime has been committed by the Indigenous people of Biafra (IPOB) when they only demand for their rights to self-determination, because for too long, they've been discriminated against, marginalized and massacred in mass. The International community; EU, AI, UN and US government used to define these killings of innocent Biafrans, with the terms "ethnic cleansing" and "genocide." The most shocking thing is how 99 percent of this Hausa/Fulani herdsmen are part of the regular Nigerian army and Boko Haram as well.

They are well armed and paid by their governments and supported by their kinsman – Buhari, who is the president. What is going on in Biafra is considered a genocide that has left at least 200,000 dead and one million injured. Two hundred thousand people have had to abandon everything to find refuge abroad, while over 2 million are displaced. Thousands of villages, schools, houses are reduced to rubble by the destructive fury of the Hausa/Fulani militia. This was reported by the Office of the UN Humanitarian Coordination (OCHA).

By Anderline Amamgbo
Edited by KeneChukwu HalleluYah Okekenta
Published By Nwosu C.S
For Biafra Writers