*Viral Video Negatively Profiling Major Northern Ethnic Group Sparks Outrage
By Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna,
Against the well-chronicled clarification of former military President, General Ibrahim Babamasi Babangida (fondly called IBB) that the historic January 1966 coup d’etat was not an Igbo coup, controversial Islamic cleric, Sheikh Sani Yahaya Jingir, has stated that the Fulani will never forgive Igbos for the killing of then Premier of Northern Region, Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto.
Sheikh Jingir, who is Chairman of Izala Islamic Movement, spoke during a sermon in the Plateau State capital,with the video going viral and sparking outrage among Nigerians.
Recall that in his book ‘A Journey in Service’, launched last February, IBB, a witness to the coup, revealed that rather it was an Igbo officer, Major John Obienu, who crushed the coup even as its leader, Major Kaduna Nzeogwu, was Igbo only in name as he was born and bred in the far North and spoke Hausa fluently.
He wrote: “For instance, the head of the plotters, Major Kaduna Nzeogwu, was only Igbo in name. Born and raised in Kaduna, his immigrant parents were from Okpanam in today’s Delta State, which, in 1966, was in the old Mid-Western Region.
“Nzeogwu spoke fluent Hausa and was as ‘Hausa’ as any! He and his original team probably thought, even if naively, that they could turn things around for the better in the country.
“It should, however, be borne in mind that some senior officers of Igbo extraction were also victims of the January coup. For instance, my erstwhile Commander at the Reconnaissance Squadron in Kaduna, Lt-Col. Arthur Chinyelu Unegbe, was brutally gunned down by his own ‘brother’, Major Chris Anuforo, in the presence of his pregnant wife, at his 7 Point Road residence in Apapa, for merely being a threat to the revolution.
“As a disciplined and strict officer who, as the Quartermaster-General of the Army, he was also in charge of ammunition, weapons, equipment, vehicles, and other vital items for the Army, the coup plotters feared that he might not cooperate with them.
“It should also be remembered that some non-Igbo officers, like Major Adewale Ademoyega, Captain Ganiyu Adeleke, Lts Pola Oyewole and Olafimihan, took part in the failed coup.
“Another officer of Igbo extraction, Major John Obienu, crushed the coup.”
However, apparently sticking to the old, discredited narrative, Sheikh Jingir insisted that Igbo officers killed the Sardauna, alleging that the reason was because the Premier stood against what he described as a nascent Igbo domination.
“The political conflict between Sardauna and the Igbo military officers stemmed from Sardauna’s determination to limit their access to power, knowing they often use every opportunity to fill positions with their kinsmen. That’s what led to his assassination,” he claimed.
The pronouncement raised concerns about the accuracy of sermons spewed by some clerics in the country as well as their motives.
The Izala leader raised further dust,saying government and security agencies should spare the Fulani, no matter the crimes they commit.
“Stop calling Fulani people ‘bandits.’ Even if they commit crimes, they should be spared. Arrest only the Hausas,” he said.
The cleric also spoke on the wearing of a Hausa attire on Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 polls, Mr Peter Obi, by an Igbo Muslim scholar, Sheikh Sambo Rigachukwu, who hosted him and some leaders of the opposition coalition under the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Jos.
Sheikh Jingir said: “If those scholars are not insane, why would you dress someone from the tribe that killed our Sardauna in Hausa garments? We will never forgive the Igbo for that. Shame on you for receiving the killer of Sardauna! How can you welcome them?”
His statement on sparing the Fulani and arresting the Hausa, literally set the social media space on fire, especially among residents of the North-East and North-West, where armed herdsmen are believed to have killed scores of Hausa civilians, including the Emir of Gobir.
For instance, an analyst and history researcher, who identified himself as Musa Kabir, responded thus: “When Hausas criticize Fulani dominance, they’re labeled as ‘contract seekers.’ But Sheikh Jingir is openly defending Fulani killers from the pulpit.
“What’s worse: the killing of one Sardauna decades ago, or the ongoing mass slaughter of Hausas by Fulani bandits today?”
