By Kareem Shamsudeen
Speaking on the topic titled: “Citizens’ Participation as a Categorical Imperatives in the National Security Architecture,” Prof. Charles Adeshina, Head of Department, History, UI, affirmed the citizens constitute features of the country. “You all constitute a feature of this country,” he stated. His lecture which he delivered on Thursday 31, October 2019 at Pifa Hall, Distance learning centre, UI was a commemoration to the 5th Annual Professor ‘Bayo Okunade Intervarsity Debate.
Professor Adeshina expressed concerns on the Nigerian youths’ declining patriotism to the country. According to him, “the Nigerian youths are those whose body are in Nigeria, whose minds are in UK and whose hearts are in America.” Showing his pessimism for Nigeria, he said “I also dream of a great country that is safe.”
Using the Fulani herdsmen as a background to his discourse, he shared his encounter with a Fulani along the Abeokuta express way who, he said, “was ready to sacrifice his life for his cattle”. He also added that the problem with the Fulani is not peculiar to Nigeria alone. “In Ghana, they have similar Fulani people and what they did was to constitute an Operation Cow leg, comprising soldiers and police men.” “The Fulani in Togo, Ghana, Benin, are one,” he explained.
Prof. Adeshina also mentioned that rather than seeing the Fulani as terrorists, “we have to begin to re-calibrate our knowledge.” “The Fulani have proper understanding of the flora and fauna of your environment,” he added. He however went ahead to mention the things that have made the Fulani what they are. In his words, the three essence of the Fulani are: “Munyah which means patience, discipline, self-control; Septende which means modesty and appearance and Hakikilo which means wisdom.”
