ONE NIGERIA, ONE PEOPLE: NO TRIBE IS A STRANGER, NO CITIZEN IS A FOREIGNER
Aboki is not going anywhere. Hausa is not going anywhere. The Fulani is not going anywhere. Nigeria belongs to all of us.
Just as an Igbo, an Ijaw, an Itsekiri, or a Yoruba person has the constitutional and moral right to live, work, and prosper in any part of this country without fear or discrimination, so too does the Aboki, the Hausa, and the Fulani. No Nigerian is a visitor in Nigeria. No tribe is a stranger on Nigerian soil.
An Igbo trader can live and build businesses in Kano, Sokoto, or Katsina. A Yoruba professional can thrive in Kaduna or Maiduguri. An Ijaw or Itsekiri family can settle peacefully in any northern city and call it home. In the same way, an Aboki, a Hausa, or a Fulani person has every right to live in Anambra, Port Harcourt, Imo, Bayelsa, Delta, Lagos, or anywhere else in this country.
The reason Fulani herders move around is simple: seasonal changes require them to seek water and pasture for their animals. For generations, pastoralism has been their livelihood. Their movement across regions is tied to nature, climate, and the survival of their cattle. This cattle business is also part of what sustains food supply across Nigeria. The beef, suya, pomo, cow legs, cow head, saki, liver, and other delicacies enjoyed daily in homes, restaurants, and beer parlours come from this same system of cattle rearing and distribution.
Beyond daily consumption, cows play significant roles in our cultural and social ceremonies. Weddings, naming ceremonies, festivals, and even burial rites often involve the slaughtering of cows. The availability of cattle for these important events is deeply connected to the Fulani cattle herding business and the broader livestock trade that supports markets nationwide.
Fulani herders are human beings. They are Nigerians. They have the same constitutional freedom of movement to pursue their lawful business as Igbo traders who travel across Nigeria for commerce, as Yoruba entrepreneurs who establish businesses outside their states of origin, and as citizens from other ethnic groups who relocate in search of opportunity.
At the same time, criminality should never be ethnicized. In every ethnic group, there are law-abiding citizens and there are criminals. There are criminal Fulani herders just as there are criminals among Igbos, Yorubas, Hausas, Ijaws, and others. Armed robbery, kidnapping, banditry, drug trafficking, internet fraud, and violent extremism are crimes committed by individuals—not by entire ethnic groups. It is wrong and dangerous to label millions of innocent people because of the actions of a few.
Blaming an entire tribe for the crimes of some only deepens division and fuels hatred. Justice must be individual, not collective. Criminals should be identified, prosecuted, and punished according to the law—regardless of their ethnicity or religion.
Nigeria’s strength lies in understanding that we are bound together by shared citizenship. Our diversity is not a threat; it is our strength. The markets we trade in, the schools we attend, the streets we walk, and the opportunities we pursue belong to all Nigerians equally.
We must reject narratives that divide us along ethnic lines. When one group is told to “go back,” it weakens the foundation of our unity. Nigeria was built by the collective effort of Hausa, Fulani, Igbo, Yoruba, Ijaw, Itsekiri, Tiv, Efik, and many other ethnic nationalities. We rise together, and we fall together.
Let us choose unity over division, understanding over suspicion, and coexistence over hostility. Every Nigerian, regardless of tribe or background, has the right to live freely, safely, and with dignity in any part of this country. That is the Nigeria we must protect and uphold.
By Mustapha Gembu
February 23, 2026
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