The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) says the rise in ethnic nationalism can be traced to the failure of President Muhammadu Buhari and his lopsided appointments.
This is contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting of the National Executive Committee of the CDHR.
According to the communiqué signed by the National President of the CDHR, Dr Osagie Obayuwana, the NEC exhaustively deliberated on two major issues: the state of the CDHR and the state of the nation.
It read in part as follows:
“Again, to the CDHR, the primary culprit is the failure of the Buhari government whose six-year tenure has so far promoted want and deprivation across board for the teeming masses of Nigeria on the one hand, and wealth accumulation for a few, on the other hand.
“Buhari has through appointments and body language encouraged the thinking that his tenure in office is to promote the ethnic hegemony of the Fulani stock; some hawks amongst whom who now openly talk of the consummation of the Uthman Dan Fodio Jihad of conquering the entirety of the landmass called Nigeria.
“President Buhari, being an owner of herds of cattle himself, obviously cannot rise above his entanglement in conflict of interest in the Herdsmen/Farmers faceoff. We are not surprised that after the rejection of his Ruga proposal, he has retreated into subterfuge in shadowy manoeuvres.”
The CDHR has therefore urged government and the Security Chiefs and agencies to find out how the expensive AK-47 rifles end up in the hands of poor herdsmen.
It said it was possible that it was the owners of the cattle that were supplying the pastoralists with weapons.
The statement further read, “Nigerian people from all parts of the country also need to see these issues through this prism. Given that the average Fulani herdsman cannot afford an AK47 rifle, it should be clear that it is this cow owing clique that is arming the herdsmen as part of their strategy to enforce their will, to get other Nigerians to be responsible for their business expenses.”
As regards the arrest of #OccupyLekki protesters on Saturday, the CDHR said every Nigerian had the right to protest. It, therefore, called for the immediate release of all detained persons.