FULANI SETTLERS SHOULD STOP HIDING BEHIND AREWA AND ISLAM TO MESS UP OUR COUNTRY 

By Col Gora Albehu Dauda Rtd.

For a start “Arewa” as many of our southern friends usually describe those of us from the Northern part of the country should rather be called “Hausaland” after the owners of the lando. Arewa means North, therefore it ought not be deployed to describe any part of this country specifically.or its population. Wherever you stand on the planet there is a north as one of the cardinal points of a compass much in the same way as there is a South, East and West, The Fulani settlers in Nigeria have classically boxed themselves in, as they cannot fail to remember that they do not belong here. They know too well from whence they came because written History has already chronicled that. They know also the tones of lies they have told over time some of which was recorded as History and thought in Northern Schools for a long time. In due time the truth has come to the fore and before our own eyes . They ought to know that they are now boxed in on all fronts and not too long from now they wil be frying in their own oil.

Let us examine some of the nonsense and falsehoods which was chronicled as History. First, dubious lies that the Fulani came to Nigeria as learned Islamic preachers. The truth is that they arrived Gobir as gypsies as has always been their culture to move about in search of pasture for their cattle. This is to say that they have always been nomadic by nature. History though, has nor recorded whether or not Usman.Dan Fodio’s forebears came along with any cattle to Nigeria. It was upon their arrival that they embraced Islam as a religion from their Hausa benefactors.

After many years of association with the Hausa hosts and because they were in search of land and power, they came up.with the ploy that the Hausa leaders were brutish in the treatment of their subjects and that the subjects were being overtaxed against the teaching of Islam. Additionally, they accused the Hausa of corrupting Islam by observing pagan practices.These were the principal excuses that were advanced to justify the rebellion which culminated in the Jihad of 1802-1804.

The Jihadists overthrew the Hausa rulers of that period and established a bridgehead in Hausa land. They took over and occupied Palaces built by the Hausa people and installed Fulanis as Emirs to this day. Because they did not have the numbers to make any noticeable difference aside the fact that they were in power, they had to attache themselves to the Hausa majority to make meaning. Meanwhile, the Hausa people and owners of the vast northern landscape became subjects of the settlers on their own land and that has also continued to the present time. The Hausa technically became a marginalized people on their own land.

Wherever you can find a Fulani, all he craves about is to occupy a position of leadership or power even when such may not actually be qualified for such positions. They have personalized Islam to themselves which is why in almost every mosque not limited to the core North, no other clerics are worthy to lead prayers if not themselves. They are to be followed but not for them to follow as a people, they have rubbished the well known thinking that one must be ready to follow if such expects to be followed in due time. The Fulani settlers over time have over exploited the peaceful nature of the Hausa people to such a level that they have lorded it over them since the dubious Jihad. Let nobody be deceived, the Fulani are not in anyway better Muslims than the others yet, they will not follow others as their religious leaders.

There are essentially 2 classes of the Fulani, the first being the elites who are mainly those who chose to abandon the nomadic way of life for a settled lifestyle. This class has produced the educated group who acquired Western Education and have gone into intermarriages with the Hausa and perhaps other indigenous peoples. These intermarriages birthed the fraud called Hausa Fulani. This coinage was on purpose as to creat a close bond between the Fulani and the Hausa people. The coinage ended up benefiting only the Fulani as the Hausa people remained abandoned. The benefits for the Fulani accrued in a number of ways, first, it provided them a willing host and a much larger space to operate. Second, it provided them the opportunity to usurp much of what would have benefited the Hausa owners of the land. On the political part in modern times, they have latched on the huge Hausa votes to access political power and other influences. Quite paradoxical that the Hausa contribute the votes, yet the Fulani coast home with the victories.

Here is how the Fulani have manipulated the Hausa people politically. The Fulani always made sure that only Fulani candidates emerge to contest any election in almost all the political parties from the Councilors, Chairmen Members of the State Houses of Assemblies, Governordship and up to the National Assembly. The only role left for the Hausa people is for them to cast their votes for Fulani candidates. The moment the victory is won, the Hausa electorate are abandoned to their uncertain fate. Once in their offices, the Fulani will always be focussed on their kinsmen when it comes to appointments and contract awards. It has therefore been a deliberate policy of ensuring that the Fulani continue to exploit the Hausa such that they are always relegated to the background.

The situation is set to change in the years to come thanks to the Hausa Renaissance currently underway. Some folks may be holding the Hausa to blame for their condition in Nigeria politically and otherwise because of their state of inertia or atrophy for this long since the dubious jihad. The activism of the Hausa heroin Hajiya Khaltum Allumbe Jitami of Jaruma Hausa TV 24 is providing the spark or igniting the Hausa into realizing that the balance of political power in Nigeria lies with them as they have the numbers to effectively turn the tables against the Fulani settlers. To succeed the Hausa must not allow the imposition of candidates at all levels in all the political platforms. This way, it will be practically impossible for the Fulani settlers to extend their political hegemony over them. Put simply, let the Hausa votes go to Hausa candidates. That done, the Hausa would be in a position to reclaim their lost glory.

The Fulani settlers have positioned themselves in positions of authority politically as Councilors, Council Chairmen, Members of State Assemblies, Members of the National Assembly, Governors and Ministers but the current advantage will expire if elections do hold come 2027. The agencies the Fulani are using to plough their way into positions of authority include the impotent so-called Arewa Consultative Forum that does not consult anybody, and the equally impotent Northern Governor’s Forum almost populated by Fulani settlers as members. There is also the Northern Traditional Rulers body which ironically has a religious leader as its Chairman. What is the Sultan of Sokoto doing in such a forum? Is he also a traditional ruler aside the religious portfolio he is holding? All these worthless bodies should be scrapped as they are creating more problems than they are solving.

Religion is a personal relationship between an adherent and the Creator. Not so in Nigeria for religion has from time been a formidable tool for oppression. There is no issue of National importance that is not given a religious coloration. Religion, rather than bringing the people together is putting them asunder. The place of religion in our lives has been elevated to a ridiculous level as it is being used to discriminate against other faiths. As the opium of the people (apologies to Karl Marx) it is religion that was deployed to producing the Tinuku leadership. Can you now see the relevance of the Muzilim Muzilim ticket? The truth remains that those guys high up the political ladder are not so concerned about religion, all that they care about is to flaunt religion for the oppressed masses to kill themselves over. The next Constitution that is if we get to having one, should relegate religion to where it belongs that is in the minds of the practitioners.

If Islam as a religion was practiced in Saudi Arabia where that faith originated the same way it is practiced in the North of Nigeria, the KSA would long have disintegrated. There are many Muslims.in the Southwest of Nigeria and in almost every family BUT you never will hear acrimony, violence or riots on account of religion. Had Islam originated in the North of Nigeria, a curious observer could understand in part why these guys up here are so fanatical about the faith but it did not. To the extent that faithfuls cannot practice Islam in their own language but only in Arabic and given that so many faithful rely on barely learned Muslim scholars to interpret the text for them, many understand differently. Many from the Fulani stables still hold on to the falsehood passed on to them into believing that Usman Dan Fodio bequeathed Nigerian territory to them as a Fulani homeland, a land to which they are settlers.

Generally speaking, the Fulani settlers have applied a strangulating hold on the throat of Nigeria for far too long. From the colonial period during which they were the next in command to the British exploiters through to the Independence era, the period of Military rule till date the Fulani settlers have eaten their cake and they still have it. The time has therefore come for the people who have suffered under the yoke of the Fulani oppression to say NO, IT IS ENOUGH and we cannot take more. They must be made to abandon the spurious tale of the territory of Nigeria being a Fulani homeland they must also be reminded that they left their homeland, back in Fouta Djalon and Fouta Toro. Nigerians must be mindful of the fact that the Fulani settlers have not completely given up on Usman Dan Fodio’s fraudulent dream of dipping the Quran into the deep blue waters of the Atlantic which he failed to do. Realising that they do not have the numbers to militarily achieve that bogus dream, Muhammadu Buhari sought to achieve it through a more subtle manner which was why he prioritized the Ruga and Grazing reserves Bills. Knowing that his kinsmen were armed to the teeth with arms from the fallen Libyan regime of Muamar Gaddafi and exploiting the ECOWAS Protocol on free movement Fulani tribesmen from everywhere were to move with their cattle and to occupy other peoples lands and forests. Before the hosts communities would realize what was going on, it would have been too late as Fulani AK 47s would already be pointing to their heads. Thank God, Allah, Chineke, Oluwa, Agwazah that the bills were defeated in Parliament. Nigeria did live to fight someday as we are into that right now.

The ongoing insurgency in Nigeria is understandably the last kicks of the Fulani settlers in Nigeria.Tinuku obviously committed a huge blunder by appointing the likes of Nuhu Ribadu, Badaru Abubakar and Bello Matawalle into strategic positions in his government. The counter insurgency operations were deliberately frustrated because of these characters who were playing the role of moles or fifth columnists to the effort. As this essay was being concluded, news came through that the Defence Minister Badaru Abubakar has resigned his appointment. Good news, 2 more to go. Further down the line, Tinuku must ensure that the security forces keep an eye/ear on Sheikh Dr Gumi, Yahaya Jingre as well as many other extremist Islamic clerics muddying the waters in Nigeria. To God Be The Glory.

Gora Albehu Dauda

2 December 2025