FG yet to react to claims of populating Nigeria with alien Fulani herdsmen
Getting to one week after a former presidential adviser, Echefuna ’Rotimi Onyebeadi faulted in a letter, the premise of the sudden resort to e-Registration of aliens in the country immediately the Federal Government’s controversial RUGA scheme failed, the Federal Government nor the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) is yet to provide concise reply.
Recall that on July 13, 2019, Onyebeadi, wrote a letter titled: ‘From Ruga To E-Registration Of Immigrants: What Next?’
The professor of Engineering Economics and Strategic Management had accused the Buhari government of trying to “confer unsolicited and unlawful citizenship on illegal immigrants.”
In the letter, he argued that “The outcry of Nigerians on the attempt by Buhari’s government to forcefully acquire native lands for these alien Fulani herdsmen through the ‘suspended’ RUGA is yet to die down and, now, just a few days after, as though in a relay race, this unlawful conferment of citizenship on illegal immigrants by the government through the backdoor has been brought up.
“Why is this government hell-bent on populating the already pauperised and over- populated country with alien Fulani wanderers? Why does Buhari want to confer citizenship through the backdoor on aliens under whatever guise, to the detriment of Nigerian citizens? Are these not the same people the Buhari government is creating RUGA for?”
Continuing, he noted that “There are existing laws guiding naturalisation of foreigners which, again, this government is trying to jettison as usual with impunity and reckless abandon with the introduction of this obnoxious e-registration of illegal immigrants to the unsuspecting public.
“Documenting illegal immigrants should necessarily lead to returning them to where they came from. But, no, the Buhari government is determined to implement a certain unconstitutional hidden agenda that is gradually unfolding everyday by his government’s actions, inactions and responses, which are averse to the well being of the country.”
Apart from the Professor’s letter, statements by the presidency and the NIS on the initiative appeared to have conflicted.
Whereas President Buhari had declared that the six-month amnesty period is “for illegal migrants already in the country,” NIS spokesman and a Deputy Comptroller of Immigration (DCI), Sunday James, on his remarks, said “It is not illegal migrants; it is irregular migrants across the country we are registering. What we are doing now is to register every non-Nigerian.”
According to him, “People are trying to misconstrue this directive by Mr. President. People should stop giving ethnic colouration to good plans by government. It is good for Nigeria. At least, it would help in our security situation, governance and planning.”
