The Ijaw Youth Council, IYC Worldwide has declared that the proposed Ruga settlement for Fulani herdsmen in various states of the federation will not be not accepted in Ijaw land, asserting that “we don’t have land to accommodate foreigners”.
IYC national leader, Pereotubo R. Oweilaemi, Esq made this assertion in a statement signed and sent to DAILY POST in Warri on Tuesday.
The IYC said, “The desert North is big enough for the Fulanis to rear their cattle. We will not accommodate people whose ultimate goal is to carry out religious jihad against their hosts in order to establish their Islamic caliphate.
“The Fulanis who have been terrorising the indigenous people in the Meddle Belt as well as some parts of Southern Nigeria are seen as a Trojan horse to us.
“IYC rejects in its entirety the move by the Federal Government to establish the said Ruga settlement for the Fulanis.”
The Ijaw youths continued, “The Government should not by act or omission instigate ethno-religious crisis in the Country. The genocide being perpetrated against the Meddle Beltans by these Fulani warmongers under Buhari’s government has not been addressed by the latter with a determined effort.
“At the height of the killings by the Fulani terrorists, the presidency only said the Meddle Belt people should relinquish their ancestral lands to the killer herdsmen or be ready to be killed continuously.
“How can we cede a land to such persons who take delight in massacring innocent people under the gleeful eyes of the federal government of Nigeria?
“We will not invite such Trojan horses to our land in order not to betide future generations. We are warning the six governors of the South South states together with the Governor of Ondo State not to accept that dangerous proposal.
“Should any of them being politically cajoled to accept the proposal then we will take a bloody revolution against them and their imperial interest. This is not a warning. Ijaw people are ready to defend our land even with the last drop of our blood.
“On the Fulani Vigilance Group, our message is the same. We don’t need any vigilante group by the world number fourth terrorist organisation. If the Government of Nigeria cannot protect us then the Ijaw nation is able to protect our lands and people.
“We are able to protect our territorial integrity to ward off internal and external aggressors including criminal syndicates. The security of lives and property is constitutionally vested in the government.
“If however, the government is unable to protect us then we will set up our own security outfits to protect our lands. President Buhari should immediately call his Fulani people to order before they set the Country ablaze.
“Nigeria is on the precipice which is heading to the cliff. The time bomb is ticking faster than expected. The antics of the Fulani ethnic group may ignite the conflagration which will consume the entire the Country. Our patient is running thin.”
