28/03/2025
When the North Decides to Take Revenge, No One Should Play the Victim Card
For over a decade, Northerners have engaged in various businesses across the South, West, and East, one of which is hunting. Hunters from Northern Nigeria are the major suppliers of bushmeat in markets across these regions because they usually migrate there for hunting activities immediately after the rainy season. Therefore, Northern hunters are neither new faces nor is their business unfamiliar in these areas.
It is heartbreaking to watch a gory video of Northern hunters being killed and set ablaze in Edo, right in front of local security operatives (vigilantes). Their only offense was carrying their hunting guns and dogs while traveling back to the North to celebrate Eid and prepare their farms for the upcoming rainy season.
In 2022, Harira and her four young children were brutally murdered in Anambra, yet justice has not been served. The perpetrators remain unidentified and have not faced the law.
The killing of truck drivers from Northern Nigeria in the East, South, and West is not a new occurrence. It has been happening for a long time, yet security operatives continue to turn a blind eye.
Many Northerners still remember the case of Yunusa Yellow, who married a woman from the East. The girl was claimed to be underage, and as a result, the entire North was vilified. Yunusa was forced to face the law, while similar cases against Northerners are often ignored.
Northerners are among the most peaceful and law-abiding citizens. This is why people from other regions live comfortably in the North. We employ them, admit them into our schools, provide them with spaces to conduct business, and even sell them land to build houses and places of worship. Yet, instead of reciprocating this hospitality, some choose to kill our people, people who dedicate their lives to feeding and supplying goods to them.
The East, South, and West should understand that Northerners are not afraid of them. The North has only been forgiving and moving on because its people respect the law. But let it be clear, if Northerners are pushed to the edge and decide to take revenge, no one should play the victim card.