18/06/2025
Here's a well-researched and analytical
Title: The Silence of the Sultan of Sokoto, Arewa Leaders, and Northern Elders over the Fulani Jihadist Attacks in Benue, Enugu, and Ebonyi: A Critical Analysis
Introduction
Nigeria is once again at the crossroads of ethno-religious conflict, with the recent wave of violence in Benue, Enugu, and Ebonyi states carried out by suspected Fulani militants. Disturbingly, influential northern figures like the Sultan of Sokoto, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), and Northern Elders Forum (NEF) have maintained an unsettling silence despite the scale of the massacre. This silence raises significant questions about complicity, hidden agendas, and the possible long-term strategy of territorial conquest and Islamization.
Historical Context of Fulani Expansionism
To understand the events unfolding today, one must revisit history. The Fulani Jihad of 1804 led by Usman dan Fodio was a religious and territorial conquest that established the Sokoto Caliphate, subjugating numerous Hausa kingdoms. The playbook of conquest, displacement, and religious domination is neither new nor accidental. What we are witnessing today mirrors the patterns of the past—only with modern tactics.
Analysis of the Silence
1. Religious and Ethnic Loyalty
The Sultan of Sokoto is not only a traditional ruler but also the spiritual head of Nigerian Muslims. Many Fulani regard him as their ultimate leader. Speaking out against Fulani militias would mean criticizing his own ethnic and religious kin.
The Arewa and Northern Elders represent predominantly Fulani and Hausa interests. Speaking against Fulani jihadist actions may fracture the perceived northern unity they rely on for political dominance.
2. Strategic Interest in Land
The Middle Belt (Benue) and Southeastern states (Enugu, Ebonyi) are rich in agricultural resources and minerals.
Fulani herders have long desired access to fertile farmlands. Violent displacement creates room for Fulani settlers, under the guise of grazing rights, RUGA, or cattle colony programs.
Silence from the northern leadership may be a quiet endorsement of this gradual territorial acquisition.
3. Islamization Agenda
Many analysts believe there’s an underlying agenda to Islamize regions predominantly Christian. This hypothesis gains weight when the pattern of attacks is analyzed: Christian-majority villages, destruction of churches, selective killing based on religious identity.
The northern oligarchy may view silence as a tactic to allow Fulani expansion and religious spread without attracting international backlash or sparking national outrage prematurely.
4. Political Calculation
With national elections always around the corner, northern elites play long games of control. Allowing chaos to fester in the Middle Belt and Southeast weakens those regions politically, reducing their negotiating power in national politics.
Occupied lands become future political assets: new settlements, voting blocs, and bargaining chips in future power-sharing arrangements.
5. Fear of Retaliation or National Division
Some may argue that speaking out could further fracture Nigeria along ethnic and religious lines, leading to uncontrollable reprisals. By staying silent, they may believe they are “containing” the situation. But in reality, the silence emboldens the attackers.
The Pattern of Occupation and Displacement
Stage 1: Infiltration – Armed Fulani militants infiltrate farming communities under the guise of herding or temporary settlement.
Stage 2: Intimidation and Attacks – Targeted killings, burning of villages, and destruction of farmlands to create fear and drive people out.
Stage 3: Occupation – After successful displacement, Fulani settlers occupy the lands, sometimes bringing in families, with silent support from certain northern elites.
Stage 4: Political Normalization – Over time, there may be moves to legalize the occupation through local traditional rulers, politicians sympathetic to their cause, or future constitutional amendments on land use.
Conclusion
The silence of the Sultan of Sokoto, Arewa Consultative Forum, and Northern Elders over the Fulani jihadist massacres in Benue, Enugu, and Ebonyi is not accidental. It is strategic. It is complicit. It is deeply rooted in a long history of conquest, territorial ambition, religious expansionism, and political calculation.
However, Nigeria must not allow history to repeat itself. The indigenous people of these lands, alongside responsible national stakeholders, must rise, speak out, defend themselves, and demand that international organizations hold perpetrators accountable. Silence in the face of genocide is complicity.
Call to Action
Immediate national and international condemnation of the ongoing genocide.
Empowerment of indigenous communities to defend their lands legally and, where necessary, by constitutional means of self-defense.
Open dialogue and proactive political engagement by leaders from the Middle Belt and Southeast.
Demand that the Sultan of Sokoto, Arewa, and Northern Elders publicly condemn the killings or face global scrutiny.
