Events in the 19th century helped shape today’s violence between mainly Muslim Fulani cattlemen and largely Christian farmers — a battle of blood and identity. Many of these faithful are barely-literate Fulani herders who have not read any of Fodio's writings but learned of him through madrassas, or Islamic schools. Roots of conflictThe conflict in Nigeria between Fulani and sedentary farmers has erupted in a fertile central region called the Middle Belt. Fulani herders are routinely called "terrorists," and a supposed Fulani "plot" to Islamise Nigeria, begun under Fodio, is also media fodder. Stigmatisation worsened after the election in 2015 of President Muhammadu Buhari, a Muslim Fulani from the north.

Source: The Guardian June 28, 2019 06:45 UTC