assumed an epidemic dimension. A criminal activity that started some years ago as a tool of agitation in the Niger Delta has since been adopted by criminals in all parts of the country to make quick and easy money.
It is no longer targeted at the rich and their close relations. Everybody is now a potential target. The recent kidnap of journalists, Ms Donu Kogbara and Mrs Oluwatoyin Steve Nwosu of Vanguard and SUN Newspapers, attest to this.
By far the most dangerous incident in recent times involved the abduction of Chief Olu Falae, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Finance Minister. Chief Falae,a respected elder statesman in our country, was taken away from his farm by criminals said to be Fulani cattle herdsmen. They reportedly assaulted him iand demanded a ransom of N100 million for his release. Incidentally, this happened on his 77th birthday, which fell on 21st September, 2015.
Efforts to secure his release by the Nigerian Police did not yield any positive result until four days later when Falae’s family reportedly paid an undisclosed sum of money as ransom.
The kidnap of Falae left many Nigerians deeply worried because of the political consequences that could have arisen if anything untoward had happened to him. Being a former presidential candidate of the defunct All People’s Party (APP) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and more importantly, a chieftain of Afenifere, the socio-cultural and political umbrella of the Yoruba people, the kidnap by Fulani herdsmen sparked off unwholesome ethnic tension.
In fact, there are still vestiges of such in the media space where leaders in the South West and the North have been exchanging hot words. A meeting of the Afenifere group has even called for the cessation of nomadic cattle-rearing activities by the Fulahis in the South West , and threatened to resort to “self-help” if the Federal Government did nothing to halt the rampage of the herdsmen.
We join millions of Nigerians in expressing gratitude to God for the safe return of Chief Falae, a gentleman and true nationalist whose fatherly contributions at the National Conference called by former President Goodluck Jonathan helped in resolving many knotty national issues and bringing the Conference to a successful outcome.
We call on security agencies to quickly bring the culprits to book and halt the nefarious activities of these herdsmen who have been killing, raping, robbing and pillaging innocent citizens in communities all over Nigeria.
Unless this is done, the unity of this country could be seriously undermined.
