Femi Fani-Kayode, a former minister of aviation, has warned the faceless ‘Fulani Jihadist’ group that gave Ifeanyi Okowa, Governor of Delta State, an ultimatum to rescind the open grazing ban imposed on the state to withdraw their threat or face unmitigated consequences.
Fani-Kayode said this in a series of Twitter posts on Tuesday while reacting to the statement by the group.
The faceless ‘Fulani Jihadist’ group had in a letter dated 13 June and pasted in strategic places across Asaba, the state capital, threatened to invade Asaba and Agbor if Governor Okowa does not withdraw the ban on open grazing as agreed by the southern governors within 72 hours.
Reacting, Fani-Kayode said history has shown that the group of people that no one in the nation would want to threaten is the Niger Delta people, saying that they have shown to be extremely violent and capable of destroying everything within sight.
According to him, the people of Agbor was prevailed not to retaliate the killings of over 1,000 elderly men and young persons during the civil war.
The former minister called on the faceless Fulani group to withdraw its threat and apologise to the Delta residents, stating that the people of the southern region will not allow the Niger Delta state to be attacked by invaders.
“I don’t know who this group are& I doubt that they really represent the Fulani but permit me to share the following.
History and experience proves that the last person you threaten is someone from the Niger Delta. They are exceptionally violent when they are pushed to the wall and when they lose their cool & they have no sense of restraint when they fight.
“I would advise you to withdraw your threat very quickly & apologise to the people of Delta state. I say this because if you poke them in the eye they will cut off your head in return. Pls be advised & give peace a chance.
“Let me add this: In 1968, during our civil war, 1000 innocent & defenceless elderly men of over 60 years old & young boys of 14 years old & under, were lured into the town square of Agbor & massacred by Nigerian Federal troops for no just cause. These were not soldiers or combatants but old men & young boys that had been left in the town because they were too old or too young to fight.
“To make matters worse they actually welcomed and cheered on the Federal troops when they arrived together with thousands of other residents of Agbor. Yet they were lined up & cut down like Sallah goats and Christmas turkeys and as they fell they kept screaming and shouting “WHY?”
“This was a case of mindless cold-blooded mass murder, genocide & ethnic cleansing & Gen. Gowon later apologised for it even though men like Gen. IBM Haruna who was involved refused to do so. Since then the people of Agbor have never retaliated & have been gracious enough to forgive Nigeria for this horrendous event. Provoking them with violence & mass murder all over again over “open grazing” will only wake up a monster in them that you never knew existed.
“Apart from that the South will not sit by idly & allow the people of Delta state or Agbor to be massacred again. This time we will stand by them & fight back. Let us keep the peace. Let us behave like human beings. Let us treat each other with love & kindness. Please drop the threat!
