This stubborn mobile phone! What will the phone not do to this country! Just imagine, the other day it was the kidnappers at work. Yes, of course; it was those good-for-nothing stupid and lazy boys, who will not get a job to do to keep themselves busy and financially stable – although millions who want jobs continue to roam the streets with no luck, with millions more swelling their ranks daily!”
“What has the mobile phone done to incur the wrath of your sharp tongue this early morning? And what about the kidnappers; are they at it again?”
“They went one step too far and kidnapped Chief Olu Falae; and when the police arrested them the police found that the phones the kidnappers used while perpetrating their act and receiving ransom were unregistered SIM cards. That was the beginning of the trouble for MTN Nigeria.”
“But that’s a simple matter; MTN has been fined for failure to register the SIMs, and that matter is receiving attention already at the highest levels of both Nigeria and South Africa. That shouldn’t worry you anymore.”
“You don’t understand; no, you don’t. Anyway, I’m not surprised. Maybe you’ve not looked at the figure MTN Nigeria is asked to pay in the fine. You don’t even bother to think of those who have had to resign their jobs as a result, and the many more who will lose their jobs, and…”
“Take it easy. Why is that such a problem to you this morning? Surely you must have other very important matters to worry about, don’t you?”
“Oh, now I see; you have no foresight. People like you are the problem of this country. You have no foresight at all. So you have not heard of the rising cases of herdsmen attacking and killing farm owners and even invading communities and visiting all manners of mayhem on such places?”
“But what has that got to do with what you called the stubborn mobile phone? You yourself can hardly spend an hour without your mobile phone. Why are you putting the blame on the mobile phone if cattle herdsmen go beyond their call of duty to attack and kill people on their farmlands or in their communities?”
“A lot; it’s got a lot to do with it. Open your eyes; in fact, open your mind, and you will see the danger ahead.”
“Danger ahead; how? I don’t understand.”
“I didn’t expect you to understand. You know that herdsmen in this country are by nature itinerant people. They have no fixed addresses. They are always on the move with their cattle, for grazing…”
“Yes, I see your point; that’s why many people have suggested the ranching system, so that they can operate within a locality where they have their individual or collective ranches; there, their cattle can graze. So it solves the problem of them having to roam from community to community and their cattle destroying farmlands in the name of grazing; or the herdsmen having to attack farmers.”
“You are really naïve. Do you think these people are the real herdsmen, the traditional Fulani herdsmen that we all used to know? These are terrorists in the name of herdsmen. Don’t you see the type of sophisticated weapons they carry? AK47 and so on? So they have a game plan; or better put, some people who have a game plan are arranging terrorists in the name of cattle herdsmen because Boko Haram is being boxed into a corner and could hopefully soon become powerless in killing and maiming. You see, this one by herdsmen is going to be most devastating. You can see that they have moved from the north, now they are in the south of the country, in the south east; they are going everywhere, running a ring around the country.”
“Well, in a way you have a point there. But isn’t that exaggerating? Besides, where does the mobile phone come in? That’s the point I still don’t see.”
“Okay dummy, it seems your mind is made of mud. Let me explain a bit of the danger to you: the first thing to realise is that the so-called herdsmen are NFA; no fixed address. Being itinerant or NFA, they roam from place to place and sleep anywhere night meets them. This one you understand; don’t you? The first danger is that with the help of the mobile phone, they can communicate with their fellow herdsmen or terrorists in other parts of the country or the world about their location and their plans. The second danger is that if and when they do strike, they can simply throw away the mobile phones they have used to communicate and move on – as NFA; and even if security men arrest them or pick up such phones, they cannot trace anyone to any address!”
“You are making a point; indeed, you are. I am beginning to see your point.”
“Well, people like you are the problem of this country. You only see the points when the danger has hit us; you don’t see the danger coming, and so you cannot act proactively to checkmate it. Let me tell you; in the coming days, as the so-called herdsmen easily penetrate communities anywhere in the country, unlike Boko Haram, which was restricted to one part of the country, with the mobile phone they can operate far worse than the terrorists we read in the papers as they plan their attacks in Europe. The sad part is that in Europe, those idiots are documented and can easily be traced and/or arrested. In which address will you look for the herdsmen-terrorists once they visit mayhem on a community or communities in different parts of the country at the same time, and do away with the mobile phones they used in coordinating their activities?”
“You’re making it look scary. Are you suggesting there is actually a coordinated plan by the herdsmen to attack Nigeria and Nigerians from all corners of the country?”
“For once your mind is working, no attempting to work properly. But note well: these are not our Fulani herdsmen that we know. Our Fulani herdsmen carry sticks, which they use in directing their cattle. They hurt no one; they’ve been here since before the name Nigeria was coined and we were all brought together as one. So, it is not Fulani herdsmen; disabuse your mind of that thought.”
“But it’s herdsmen that are attacking these people in various parts of the country, and …”
“The more people think the way you are thinking, the more those behind them are able to penetrate right deeper into all parts of the country. And by the time they have fully run the ring around Nigeria, there could be no escaping their grip. Remember how Boko Haram started; like child’s play; see where it got us. Now the terrorists organisations that grew Boko Haram have moved their attention to the otherwise harmless Fulani herdsmen; the way the Boko Haram terrorists disguise and mill around till they throw their bombs, the same way the terrorists in herdsmen’s clothing are now going around the country – armed unchecked; and with the mobile phone at their service, they can and are planning perhaps the biggest conflagration we can ever imagine. Make no mistake: they are not alone in this; they have help from the same traditional links that grew Boko Haram; and our intelligence agencies must look beyond the ordinary Fulani herdsmen they see around, for the terrorists in the herdsmen.”
“Oh, what have we done with the mobile phone! So, should the operators refuse to sell SIM cards to herdsmen?”
“Stupid man! Who will come to you, if he is a terrorist, and say, hey, here I am, a herdsman, sell me SIM card?”