By Chijioke Kingsley
Abuja (Sundiata Post) – The National Christian Elders Forum (NCEF) have raised alarm over the invasion of what they describe as foreign invaders who kill and sack communities in rural areas, rename and occupy those communities.
Addressing journalists on Thursday, the Chairman of NCEF, Dr Samuel Gani said In Plateau and Kaduna states, data exists that hundreds of villages of the ethnic nationalities have been taken over by foreign Fulanis.
He said the owners of the land have been driven into Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps while the names of the villages have been changed to Fulani names.
“In Plateau state, over 102 villages were reportedly taken over by Fulani invaders while in Kaduna state, over 109 villages have been dislodged. The owners of the land are in IDP camps.
“Recently, a community leader in the Niger Delta, Mr. Asari Dokubo, posted in a video clip that thousands of Fulanis have entered the country and they have taken over villages in Bayelsa and Rivers state. He raised alarm that a displacement invasion is ongoing. Similar reports have been made in Taraba, Benue, Adamawa, and in other parts of the country”, Dr Gani said.
“The recent visit of Hamas terrorists to Nigeria, bearing in mind that Hamas is not the government of Palestine, neither does it represent the Palestinian people in any legislative capacity, also raises concern about government’s commitment to fighting terrorism.
“Shortly after the abduction of 287 secondary school children in Kuriga, Kaduna State, a security expert, Dr. Kabiru Adamu, stated on Arise TV that the location of the camps of the bandits was known to government four years ago”, he noted.
The NCEF maintained that the problem facing Nigeria is a complex one and it is evident that the country is facing an organized invasion by foreign forces masquerading as religious extremists. “Nigeria is facing a racial and cultural domination agenda disguised as religious intolerance”, Gani noted.
NCEF called on the indigenous Muslims in Nigeria to examine these issues and take positions that will be in the long-term best interest of their ethnic groups.
The NCEF however recommended that “the Report of the 2014 National Conference, which included a draft new Constitution for Nigeria, should be implemented without any further delay.
“There should be an immediate ban on nomadic cattle rearing. Cattle owners should be compelled to set up ranches at their own expense as business entrepreneurs. It should not be the responsibility of the government to fund one enterprise at the expense of other businesses in the country.
“The RUGA project should be abolished. In the first instance, the Federal Government has no statutory right to allocate land in Nigeria under the Land Use Act. This is the responsibility of the States. Any business investor that requires land should apply for
land like other citizens. Preferential treatment should not be accorded any group in Nigeria.
“The ethnic nationalities should assert their right and ownership over their ancestral land and assert the dominion of their thrones in Nigeria.
“The ethnic socio-cultural groups such as Afenifere, Ohaneze, Ndigbo, Arewa Consultative Group, Middle Belt Forum, and PANDEF should consider these issues in greater detail.
“Nigerians have no problem with each other. It is external forces that are seeking to tear the country apart for hostile takeover of the land and its resources. The demand for devolution of power should be intensified by the ethnic nationalities.
They NCEF also recommended that President Tinubu should set forth his agenda for Nigeria instead of following in the infamous footsteps of his predecessor whose tenure brought only grief and penury to Nigerians.
NCEF also reiterated its earlier recommendation that President Tinubu should appoint a Special Investigator to conduct a Commission of Inquiry into the causes, as well as expose the actors, in the various acts of terrorism and religious insurgency that overwhelmed Nigeria since 2009.
