Plateau crises: The cotton has fallen. The FALSE narrative has been unmasked
By: Zagazola Makama
There was a time when every violent incident in Plateau was quickly packaged, exported and presented to the international community as another chapter in a supposedly endless “Christian genocide.” And it worked. But something has changed.
For those following the crisis from outside Nigeria, videos like this may still sound convincing because they are often presented without the context that Nigerians living through the crisis already know. But within Nigeria, particularly among communities directly affected by the violence, the simplistic genocide narrative has increasingly collided with the messy reality on the ground. And that reality is inconvenient.
We have documented thousands of pieces of evidence showing attacks, killings, destruction of property, cattle rustling, reprisal attacks and displacement affecting different communities. In some locations, one community suffers an attack and retaliates; elsewhere, the pattern is reversed. Yet somehow, in certain advocacy circles, the first attack can disappear into the footnotes while the retaliation becomes the headline.
Take, for example, some organisations engineering narratives in Plateau. Their reporting has repeatedly been criticised for selective emphasis, particularly when violence involving Plateau natives is concerned. If the victim belongs to one preferred category, the incident receives international attention. If the same crisis produces victims from another community, particularly Fulani, the story suddenly becomes much more complicated or disappears altogether in the media space.
Nigeria’s security crisis is increasingly being fought on two fronts. There is the physical battlefield, where terrorists, bandits and other criminals attack communities. And there is the information battlefield, where competing groups fight to control the narrative about what happened, who is responsible and why.
The second battlefield can determine what happens on the first.
What they want to push to the international community is: “Hundreds and thousands of churches are being destroyed,” and “Christians are killed for wearing the Cross.” They use terrible headlines to amplify what is, in many instances, a complex farmer-herder and communal conflict.
But what is the business of herders whose livestock was stolen with attacking churches or planing to orchestrate Christians genocide? Even recently, we have seen how the bullet does not differentiate. This time, one Muhammed Abdullahi was shot, but some conflict reporters carefully omitted that part because it does not fit their preferred narrative.
Apparently, in this version of Plateau’s history, the first bullet does not matter nearly as much as the identity of the person who fires the second one. And then comes the familiar formula:
Attack → retaliation → mass burial ceremony → international statement → “Christian persecution” or “genocide” → fundraising, advocacy and another round of international attention. Meanwhile, the underlying cycle continues.
Zagazola has recently published evidence of Fulani victims from Berom and Mwaghavul communities receiving compensation. Just yesterday, another Fulani man paid ₦1 million as compensation for destroying a farm.
Now the question is: Are they paying the compensation for committing genocide against Christians? Because from the look of things, even farm destruction is sometimes described within the wider Plateau conflict narrative as “genocide.”
Unfortunately, the crisis entrepreneurs will never publicise such narratives because stories like these do not fit neatly into the fashionable narrative. They demonstrate something profoundly inconvenient: there are people on both sides suffering losses, and Fulani individuals, when found wanting, are also coming forward to pay compensation.
@DHQNigeria@HQNigerianArmy
It’s shameful that President Bola Tinubu has remained silent on the tragic killings in Katsina, yet he quickly spoke out and even visited Benue when people were killed
If he’s truly serious about a second term, he cannot continue to ignore the unending killings in the North.
I was actually expecting all the APC governors who share the vision of Mr President for the reform to engage with the protesters in their respective states and calm them down.
I also expected all the ministers and cabinet members of the @officialABAT administration to go to their respective states and engage in dialogue and address the protesters who are peaceful
I also expected that all appointees of Mr president to flood the airwaves TV, Radio, zoom, and social media engaging with the protesters and or millions of Nigerians who are not protesting but share views one way or the other
Adversity defines loyalty, not longevity or proximity
But alas, majority took cover and are silent. This is disingenuous and unfair to the man who appointed you. Sad
How President Tinubu Can Restore Calm and Normalcy in the Face of Protests
Politic is a contact sport. Right now, there needs to be contact between the leadership of Nigeria and the Nigerian people to calm things down.
This is necessary because even those who called for this protest have lost control. And while interventions from traditional and religious leaders can help, such mediation has limits.
Protests in a country like Nigeria are often an economic opportunity for looters and others who want to cash out from a state of tension.
To nip this in the bud, I urge President Tinubu to either call a National Council of State meeting, or give a National Broadcast, or even do both.
Douse water on the fire. Make some concessions. May I humbly suggest to the President to consider further reductions in the cost of governance by cutting his salary and that of every appointee of the Federal Government, and to limit all ministers to only two official cars in their convoy. One for them and the other for their security.
An announcement that any planned purchase of a presidential jet will be shelved will go a long way.
To show that the President feels the people's pains, perhaps the President can make some concessions by temporarily returning the electricity subsidy for six months. Not fuel subsidy. The subsidy on power. That will ease the burdens of Nigerians and show that we have a listening President.
Finally, the President may want to grant a year's tax holiday to every person earning minimum wage to give them room to adjust to the changes in our economy.
However, doing nothing at the presidential level is the worst strategy. History will forgive a leader who makes the wrong decision. But not the one who takes no action.
There have already been some deaths. That is most unfortunate. But if the government acts proactively, there may be no more deaths, and normalcy could be restored.
Reno Omokri
Gospeller. Deep Thinker. #TableShaker. Ruffler of the Feathers of Obidents. #1 Bestselling author of Facts Versus Fiction: The True Story of the Jonathan Years. Hodophile. Hollywood Magazine Humanitarian of the Year, 2019. Business Insider Influencer of the Year 2022.
It's important to remember that the first military coup in Nigeria was staged by some Ibo officers, resulting in the assassination of leaders from the South-West and the North, prompting their own leaders to seek refuge in the UK.
Now Ibo children are currently planning how to burn down and destabilize Nigeria.
Never again
Yoruba Ronu
Those planning unnecessary protest should bear in mind that this administration has the interest of the youths at heart.
Just at Tinubu's first year in Aso Rock, the Students Loan Scheme has been activated and now in motion. This initiative was enacted to empower youths in the aspect of Education and other related matters.
Futhermore, this administration has varieties of youth empowerment programs on the line. All we gotta do is calm down to understand that Tinubu's administration can not be judged based on one year performance.
Say no to politically motivated Protest!
#DefendNigeria
#UnitedForHope
This same man???
Hypocrisy will be the end of Peter Obi!!
This man is too dangerous to be the president of Nigeria.
You wld think this man has never been in Public office before.
This is Mr. Jubril Ahmed, an Arewa man from Adamawa. His pregnant wife, Harira Jubril, and their four underaged daughters, Fatima, 9; Khadijah, 7; Hadiza, 5; and Zaituna, 2, were killed in broad daylight by IPOB in Anambra on May 22, 2022. Yet, Peter Obi did not visit Mr. Ahmed nor the Arewa community in Anambra.
But today, he went to Kano to visit Arewa Muslims killed during a mosque burning incident because he needs Arewa's votes in 2027.
But can a man who ignores any bad incident occurring in his own state and region, yet amplifies the same things when they happen outside Igboland, a sufficiently detribalised leader for Nigeria? Let us ask Mr. Jubril Ahmed to answer that question.
The Muslim Ummah should never forget what Peter Obi planned for them in his Yes Daddy leaked audio!
#TableShaker
After Billions of Dollars ‘pumped’ into Agriculture by Successive Nigerian Governments through the Agric ministries,Central Bank and Bank of Agriculture,We are still in the 17th century.Where did all the money go?
Honestly, sometimes I wish I was an Obidient influencer, I would have cashed in massively on them.
Obidients are the living examples of M0ng0lo!ds, they’ve taken mental ret@rdat!on to a whole new level that no diction can properly describe it.
Peter Obi is not the president, so we really don’t care about him, but we will continue to talk and write about him until he completely withdraws from Nigerian politics. The reason for this is because he is about the most dangerous political figure to ever set foot on Nigerian soil. I will explain below:
Election interference does not necessarily involve the physical manipulation of votes in one's favor, but rather the orchestration of various schemes against a particular candidate with the intention of influencing election outcomes in favor of another candidate or a preferred candidate.
1. Muslim-Muslim ticket (False claims from clergy men supported by PO as evidenced in the leaked yes-daddy audio).
2.BAT was a Drug Lord (False claims from David Hundeyin, which were debunked by verified documents showing BAT was never convicted).
3. BAT Certificate Forger (False claims from David Hundeyin, debunked by verified documents from Chicago State University showing BAT was indeed a student, and the case was thrown out of court).
4. BAT is Sick, Old, or Mentally Incapacitated to Govern (False claims from multiple paid influencers).
5. Conspiracy that BAT is impersonating someone else or a woman (False claims from multiple paid influencers).
These are just few examples of fake social media campaigns aimed at undermining Tinubu's candidacy to influence the election in favor of their preferred candidate which is Obi. Throughout this, Peter Obi showed support and did not refute any of these claims. This was election interference and it happened real in Nigeria in 2023.
When similar election interference happened during the 2015 American election, the American government took it very seriously. They investigated and sanctioned the perpetrators, as well as implemented strategies to prevent such interference in future elections.
So, if you are wondering why we still discuss Obi, it's simply our own way of implementing a strategy to educate, enlighten, expose the lies and to ensure that the Nigerian people, particularly the youth, are well-informed and can, on a go forward basis, make decisions based on factual information rather than deceptive narratives from individuals pursuing personal goals.
8 million-plus votes seem small for someone like Tinubu, but we are fortunate and grateful to God that he won despite the numerous social media campaigns against him.
What is the ideology of the obidient movement ?
Is it tied around Peter Obi as a person or the Labour Party?
If we then agree that it is tied around the person of Mr Obi
1. Is it okay to take an advice from a mad man ?
2. Invest Anambra state funds into his personal business enterprise under the guise of saving for the state.
3. Refused to conduct LG elections for 7 years despite including this in the budget continuously.
4. Approved state budgets without the consent of the assembly
5. Got a court order to avoid testifying on the Akwuzu killings
6. Intercepted by the Nigerian police while moving monies to his Lagos warehouse on a regular basis
7. Increased the poverty lovel of Anambra state as Governor
8. Commissions mobsters to attack anyone perceived to expose his hypocrisy
9. Divided the state along religious lines and till date only Catholics can qualify as governors in Anambra state
10. Inabilty to answer questions coherently, widely known for obfuscation and meandering around to answer straight forward questions.
Does his ideology support your religion? And finally if he decides tomorrow to support Biafra movement, will every Obidient follow that same path?
You can just imagine someone aspiring to govern Nigeria insulting our nation and praising Tanzania! Someone who admitted that he did not even build one nursery school or any school during his eight years as Governor of Anambra is trying to undermine Nigeria in favour of Tanzania in the area of electricity generation.
Tinubu and Fashola built six Independent Power Projects in Lagos as governors. Obi did not construct even one in Anambra. He only built a brewery. And now, he has the guts to attack Nigeria's power sector and praise Tanzania. It is because of leaders with misplaced priorities, like Obi, that South Africa mocked us as 'Generator Republic' during AFCON!
Tanzania that I go to regularly? I was in Tanzania in February this year. Has Peter Obi visited Tanzania? You just sit and read fake news, then start attacking Nigeria.
This is me in Dar es Salaam, the capital of Tanzania. I have also toured the entire nation, including their rural areas. Tanzania is a lovely country. But it cannot compare to Nigeria in terms of development. The entire GDP of Tanzania is only equal to the GDP of Lagos State.
Peter Obi is too desperate to be President!
#TableShaker