Elder statesmen representing four of the country’s geopolitical zones have united under the banner of the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) to implore President Bola Tinubu to confront the escalating wave of violence and widespread destruction of lives and property in the Middle Belt region.
The group, comprised of influential leaders such as Chief Edwin Clark, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Dr. Pogu Bitrus, and Senator Emmanuel Ibok-Essien, expressed their concerns through a letter released in Abuja on Tuesday.
In their appeal, the leaders urged President Tinubu to take decisive action, emphasizing the need to prevent a recurrence of the dire situation and cautioning against following the path of his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari.
They criticized Buhari for, in their view, handicapping himself by assuming unity solely based on religion and tribe within the Northwest, leading to a lack of intervention in internal conflicts.
The SMBLF leaders characterized the ongoing killings as a severe threat to the nation’s corporate existence, stressing that the responsibility to address the issue ultimately rests with the President. The letter stated, “The unrelenting massacre bordering on ethnic cleansing and armed occupation of the territories of the indigenous peoples of the Middle-Belt and most parts of Northern Nigeria by identified ethnic militias have shown without any doubt that the Nigerian state, its government, and security forces have continued to fail in the fundamental duty of the security and welfare of citizens.”
The group expressed dismay at what they perceive as the government’s misrepresentation of the conflict, describing it as a deliberate attempt to label the violence as mere “herders/farmers’ clash” and the perpetrators as “bandits.” They highlighted the danger of an extra-territorial agenda, referring to the Fulani ethnic nationality and organized militias, which Amnesty International declared as the “4th most deadly terrorist organization in the world” since 2018.
SMBLF emphasized the historical settlement of ethnic nationalities in their respective regions before Nigeria’s amalgamation in 1914, warning that territorial ambitions and attempts to alter demographic structures could lead to chaos and internecine wars, potentially resulting in the dismemberment of the fragile Nigerian federation. The leaders urged President Tinubu to confront the evident ideological Fulanisation agenda, drawing parallels with his predecessor’s failure to address similar concerns.
