Zubaida Baba Ibrahim is the team lead and co-founder of Female Advocacy for Inter-Ethnic Relations (FAIRER). The graduate of Mass Communication in this interview, speaks on why she and her partners are pushing for unity among youths while countering false narratives against ethnic groups.
What motivated the group to start this advocacy task?
We started it when I wrote an article about the security threat posed by the alliance between the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the Cameroon separatist group of Ambazonia to the two countries. This article got shunned by most of the media houses I usually publish my articles with. The shoving made me feel ethnically profiled as it connoted that being a Fulani woman, I can’t talk about something that is evidently bad affecting another ethnic group we share history with. Even though it was a bit emotional, I wrote another article where I stated that I was not against the Igbos. I talked about the positive sides of the culture and tradition of the Igbo community I know. This got published and a lot of feedback surfaced to the extent that another woman, an Igbo from Anambra, wrote a rejoinder that Fulani are not the problem of Nigeria.
This interchange of opinions got a lot of feedback and I received emails saying I wrote well and never thought a Fulani could say such things. It made me realize that a lot of people have the same views but they do not know how to channel it for good.
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That was what brought about the campaign and we initiated it so that we can represent people that want national unity and love of this nation.
My partners include Chiamaka Asouzu, a graduate of Mass Communication and a journalist; Nafisat Bello from Kano state and a journalist; Sharon Olatunde, Mass Communication student from Osun state.
What do you intend to achieve with FAIRER?
The goal of FAIRER is to achieve national unity. This does not entail bringing people of diverse entities together without their will. Rather, it is an environment where we are our brother’s keeper; where people from other communities will not inflict harm on others. We want a situation where people harmonise to use their strength as different entities for a greater good for the nation. This is what we are aiming for.
Apart from the campaign on national unity, what other areas are your focus?
We want to advocate for security because without it, there won’t be national unity. If we are always waking up to stories of people dying, kidnapped or abducted, there won’t be peace within us as individuals; therefore, attaining peaceful coexistence in communities will be difficult. The FAIRER Campaign is also advocating for security in the nation.
The campaign is female-led, is there a chance for males?
No, because if we are thinking of nation building in a heterogeneous society like Nigeria, everybody needs to be carried along, we just notice that women are lagging behind and we want them to come to speed, if not to go ahead. Men are also included as we need everyone on board to have one voice for the betterment of the society.
What challenge do you foresee for the group?
Nigerians are not very open-minded to change in the belief they hold on to. Some will not believe in coexisting with other ethnic groups due to preconceived notions or stereotypes from families, colleagues, communities or from the media. For instance, some believe that Fulani are savages. This is cemented in their hearts bringing something contrary will not be accepted outright.
What is your vision in the long run?
Even if we convince a thousand people to advocate our course to other people, it will be a big achievement of attaining national unity. I know a lot of people have lost hope in the country but I will say that our goal is to revive hope in a lot of people to enable us all to spread the gospel of a possible Nigeria of all.
