The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria must resolutely reject any calls, no matter how loud, well-dressed, or politically motivated, to carve out statehood or autonomous regions for Fulani nomads, especially those with unclear origins and dubious citizenship status. It is a matter of national survival that Nigeria does not cede an inch of sovereign land to stateless, ungoverned, and often foreign actors who have entered our forests not in peace, but with arms and intent to dominate.
The forests of Nigeria, now teeming with unregulated Fulani settlers, many of whom have no verifiable connection to our federation, have become breeding grounds for organized criminality, cross-border terrorism, and the erosion of state authority. To reward this dangerous phenomenon with legal recognition or land allocation would not only normalize foreign infiltration, but also permanently compromise our territorial integrity.
Let us be clear: Nigeria is not a no-man’s land, nor is it a sanctuary for lawlessness. If these elements cannot submit to lawful identification, registration, and integration into regulated ranching systems, within already existing state structures, they have no place within our borders. The Nigerian Constitution does not recognize ethnic conquest or terrorism as valid criteria for self-determination or statehood.
The duty of the Commander-in-Chief is to protect Nigerians, not to indulge violent pressure groups disguised as pastoralists. If we begin to carve out states for foreign-backed militias today, we invite the Balkanization of Nigeria tomorrow. That is a Pandora’s box no leader who claims patriotism or foresight should dare open.
The president must stand firm. He must ignore all pressures, internal or external, political or diplomatic, that seek to entrench violent nomadism as a legitimate claim to land or power. The only proper response to those unlawfully occupying our forests, terrorizing our communities, and defying our sovereignty is one of law enforcement, not appeasement.
This is a test of leadership, of courage, and of the very essence of statehood. To protect Nigeria’s future, we must reclaim our land, secure our communities, and draw a firm line between citizenship and conquest. The line must be unmistakable, and it must never be crossed.
The proposal to create special states or autonomous regions for Fulani herdsmen is not just constitutionally problematic, it is morally bankrupt, strategically dangerous, and historically tone-deaf. No matter how elegantly packaged, what it represents is nothing less than a capitulation to terror, violence, and ethnic cleansing masquerading as a national strategy.
Let us be absolutely clear: this communication arises from a deeply emotional, historically grounded, and ongoing national trauma, the carnage inflicted by armed herdsmen on farming communities across Nigeria. From Benue to Plateau, Enugu to Oyo, Taraba to Delta, the story has been the same: villages razed, lives lost, women raped, communities shattered, and a nation’s conscience repeatedly violated. This is not some theoretical conflict, it is a real and sustained campaign of destruction that has turned thousands of Nigerian citizens into refugees in their own land.
To now suggest that these same actors, or those who conveniently claim their identity, should be rewarded with a special state or autonomous homeland is an affront to every victim of this ongoing crisis. It is a slap in the face to the communities who have endured death and displacement, and it sends a chilling message to other violent non-state actors: kill enough people, burn enough villages, and the government will give you land.
The herder-farmer conflict has evolved into one of Nigeria’s deadliest security threats, with groups like Boko Haram, ISWAP, and other insurgents actively disguising as herdsmen to infiltrate communities, kidnap civilians, and seize land. This is not conjecture, this is fact, documented by NEMA, international observers, and global terrorism indices. The Global Terrorism Index has ranked Nigeria among the top five most terrorized countries in the world, and the herdsmen conflict has consistently been cited as one of the deadliest.
Rather than mobilize the full strength of the Nigerian military to smoke out these violent elements, we are now being told that the solution is to accommodate them, to rehabilitate those who have yet to be held accountable, and worse still, to legitimize violence as a pathway to political recognition. Is this what our Republic has come to?
Supporters of this plan argue that the creation of such states will bring about peace, economic transformation, and modern livestock development. But that is a false peace, peace built on the graves of those who had no say in the matter. Peace cannot exist where justice is absent. Before any thought of accommodation, there must first be accountability: arrests, prosecutions, and reparations. Until then, talk of “special states” is premature, dangerous, and morally reprehensible.
Furthermore, the claim that Fulani herdsmen lack a “fixed Nigerian state of origin” and thus need special territory is deeply flawed. There is no Nigerian ethnic group without a place of ancestral origin within the country. If certain nomadic groups cross borders or lack clear legal status, the response should be border enforcement and documentation, not a wholesale redrawing of Nigeria’s internal map to suit transnational movements.
Yes, open grazing is archaic and unsustainable in the 21st century. Yes, ranching is the way forward. But the solution is not state creation, it is policy reform. Let ranches be established in existing communities and under existing legal frameworks. Let there be government incentives, infrastructure, and training programs, but not at the cost of justice, not in appeasement of terror.
And let us not ignore the chilling precedent this sets. If we create a state for herdsmen today, what stops us tomorrow from creating one for bandits? For kidnappers? For insurgents who demand territory as ransom for peace?
Nigeria cannot survive on appeasement. We are already a fragile federation straining under the weight of ethnic tension, insecurity, and economic instability. To now inject a policy that would legitimize ethno-religious violence and encourage territorial claims through bloodshed is to invite further fragmentation and chaos.
If President Bola Ahmed Tinubu truly believes in the unity and survival of this Republic, he must ignore this reckless proposition and instead commit to a nationwide security sweep to flush out armed herdsmen, protect vulnerable communities, and enforce existing anti-open grazing laws. Benue and Plateau States are bleeding. They deserve protection, not betrayal.
The Fulani herdsmen crisis has not been one of mere nomadic misunderstandings. It has been a brutal, sustained, and coordinated campaign of killings, land grabs, rape, and displacement, particularly in Benue, Plateau, Southern Kaduna, and other Middle Belt and Southern communities. Thousands have been killed. Entire villages have been razed. Farmers have been driven off ancestral lands. And yet, rather than smoking out the killers, some propose settling them with statehood?
This is not peacebuilding, it is capitulation. It sends a clear message to the rest of Nigeria: if you’re violent enough, the state will reward you. It punishes peaceful communities and emboldens militias. It validates bloodshed as a means to political ends.
To those citing “reality” and “collapse,” let’s be clear: the path to national collapse is not in confronting killers, it is in accommodating them. True peace does not emerge from appeasement, but from justice, accountability, and the rule of law. Creating a state for any criminal group, be it Boko Haram, bandits, or Fulani militias, is state-sanctioned warlordism. It is the dismantling of the Republic under the cloak of federalism.
Where is the full-scale military response? Where is the national outrage from the President, who has so far failed to visit Benue or Plateau, even as the ground is soaked with the blood of his own citizens? How many more mass graves do we need before Aso Rock wakes up? And the bitter irony is not lost on us Benue and Plateau voted for the very government now turning its back on them. This is the price of trusting leaders who see security through the lens of politics, not humanity.
This is a defining moment. We can either stand for justice and national integrity, or we can surrender our country inch by inch to the forces of impunity. But let it be known: there will be no peace without justice, and no unity without accountability.
Let us stop dressing appeasement as progress. Let us stop calling surrender strategy.
Long live the victims. Long live justice. Long live a Nigeria that refuses to reward murder with statehood.
By Chimazuru Nnadi-Oforgu
Duruebube Uzii na Abosi
OBLONG MEDIA UNLIMITED 
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