While efforts are being made to identify where we are getting things wrong and how to build up a stable nation, it is needful that sincere Nigerians who are deeply perceptive should speak up occasionally. Let us not call Chief Olusegun Obasanjo a mischief monger or describe him as playing to the gallery; rather, he is a whistle blower. At his age and with his vast knowledge about Nigeria, he deserves the listening ears of honest and sincere Nigerians.
The issue of a preponderance of mischief makers and fifth columnists in all spheres of life in Nigeria should not be taken lightly. Many of those who engage in such activities make some personal gains, while some others do so as a regular life-style or to spite others. Far back in 1963, some perceptive Nigerians saw a glimpse of some hidden agenda in an emerging independent Nigeria. The fear of ethnic domination was an issue; so also the feeling of vulnerability and the issue of manpower equalization. Mutual suspicion followed.
The situation led to the retention of some foreign consultants and advisers and the formation of political parties that pursued regional rather than national agenda. Specifically, a statement by the captain of a ship threw some light into what was going on in the first four years after independence. There was a joke about “who shook the ship in the night”. A ship that was moored between Brass and Akasa had a female occupant which brought about some gossip. The captain said: “those of you who think that Hausa and Fulani people are stupid because they are silent, would soon know who the stupid people really are”.
There were similar snippets here and there across the country, such that the military coup of 1966 became a culminating point. The event also provided an opportunity for foreign consultants and advisers to warn that it was a part of the “domination process”, thus leading to a misconception of what really happened. Since then, there has been the strategy of planting private ears and fifth columnists everywhere, to guard against being “taken by surprise”.
Maybe it would be wrong to suggest “Fulanisation agenda” but it would be necessary to explain the motives and strategies of the operations of fifth columnists. The University of Ibadan campus would have been a boiling point of religious conflict some decades ago, but for the timely intervention of some patriotic Nigerians. The issue is that aggressive religious proselytisation can take the form of combat, resulting in animosity and fanatical self-righteousness, both in campuses and the wider society.
Despite the existence of security and intelligence agencies, there are fifth columnists operating a cryptocracy under private sponsorship. Some people had complained that they had borne” unprovoked abuses and noise-making” for too long and demanding “tactical mellowing down of the trend”. Sponsors of parallel informants range from religious, to political and other interest groups, using various means to find solutions.
It was not long after complaints about aggressive proselytism and a plea for intervention by some interest groups, that military President Ibrahim Babangida made the Moslem world to welcome Nigeria into the family of the Organisation of Islamic Conference. Religious issues often bordering on sentiments feature high in the activities of fifth columnists, sometimes spreading information that can be alarmist and mostly false. Similarly the unguarded statements of some religious leaders rarely help matters. It becomes hard to know wolves from lands!
Former President Goodluck Jonathan had a taste of the activities of fifth columnists whereby some of those that he trusted as friends and party loyalists turned out to betray him at last. Officiousness on the part of such crafty persons whose zeal and smart talks often fuel national crises, can make it hard for their associates to know that they have some hidden motives. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo despite his military background had also been bamboozled by some of those he had believed were close friends.
The issue of Fulanisation is the issue of the ability of apparently docile, silent, illiterate and enigmatic people, to penetrate into the stronghold of supposedly learned, clever and arrogant people who often under-rate the intelligence of other people. One of the principles of under-cover operations is to play the fool and never give away what your true nature is. The movement began long ago and Obasanjo knew it.
Dr. Amirize is a retired lecturer from the Rivers State University, Port Harcourt.

Bright Amirize