Dr. Umar Ardo as Civilizational Strategist of Moral Violence Re; The Crumbling of Nigerian “Christians Genocide” Narrative, By Umar Ardo – Part 3

Olusegun R. Babalola

This DR. Umar Ardo’s disconcerting article, that cannot be thoroughly addressed in a single article, was brought to by notice by a Nigerian nationalist and federalist, Madu Bright O. Alwell. He noted; “We respectfully seeking a detailed response …” This has led 8-part response: The Nigerian Proxy Clash of Civilizations, Dr. Umar Ardo’s Role in the Proxy Clash of Civilization, Dr. Umar Ardo as Civilizational Strategist of Moral Violence, Understanding DR. Umar Ardo in the Age of Civilizationalism, DR. Umar Ardo’s Moral Violence and Kafkaesque Natural Justice Pretentions, Natural  Justice Rightly Understood; Case for Dialogue Between 2-Civilizations, The Fundamental Challenges; Neo-Crusade Between Muslims and Christians; and Nigeria @ Crossroads & the Way Forward. The general purpose is civic self-understanding of our problematic challenges towards a peaceful resolution and if possible, conversion.

Perhaps, driven by the Fulani collective will for survival in spite of: Nigeria’s “unjust dysfunctional federal structure” that is “inequitable and exploitative;” an emerging precarious world of multipolar competition; and the existential disgust caused by most non-Fulbe Nigerian population who are unconscious victims of epistemicide and politicide or what Donald Trump called civilizational erasure, our Nigerian Albert Einstein, Dr Ado (as his friends call him), decided to save himself and his civilization first.

This interesting article establishes Ardo as a Fulbe civilizational strategist based his reorganization of Fulbe’s knowledge/power. What Ardo did here so remarkably well is what Michel Foucalt taught as the historical reorganization of finer-grained knowledge through “discursive” forums towards new forms of power devoted to “moral violence” and a “more continuous and pervasive control” of people. Ardo’s reorganization of knowledge/power is an ideology disguised as “template” and “initiative” as an exclusive ideology coupled with Fulbe- Afro-Islamic Civilization (AIC) for modern continuity, particularly, to covet other people’s land “to sustain Fulbe political, economic, educational and scientific ascendancy in” (using his words) Nigeria. And the realm of brute violence is left to another department; the radicalized pastoral Fulbe. Basically, as a civilizational strategist, he coupled Fulberic-AIC with an ideology that he thinks is appropriate. Based on these; reorganization of Fulbe’s knowledge/power, this article has five themes; three civilizational themes dedicated to the renaissance of Fulberic-AIC; and two ideological themes focused on a modern ideology towards the continuity of that civilization in modernity.

The first is the renaissance of “Fulani code of conduct” in time and space which is the heart of the Fulberic AIC. Pulaku means “Fulani code of conduct”- an integral Fulbe ethnic/ethical value system. Pulaku, which is not easily translatable to English, (according to https://pulaakublog.wordpress.com/) promotes the “ideal Fulani as one who has stoic sobriety, reserve, and strong emotional ties to cattle. At the same time, the model Fulani is gentle in demeanor. His carriage conveys a proud reserve, almost a disdain toward non-Fulani. It is said that no one knows what a Fulani is thinking. The true Fulani is physically as well as psychologically distant from other people, especially non-Fulani. Moreover, he is enjoined from displays of strong emotions. His demeanor is taciturn, loathing the boisterousness of others. Wealth is not to be vulgarly displayed but carefully and quietly tended.” Important to this code are the following; neaaaaku (dignity/self-respect), munyal (tolerance/perseverance), ngorgu (manliness/bravery), semteende (reticent/shamefulness) and enaam (kindness/affection).

These are the breathing finer-grained knowledge which Dr. Ardo reorganized historically based on current political and economic realities towards new forms of a morally violent power to “control” the people who identify with Fulberic AIC. To activate neaaaaku, he speaks of the “distinct Fulbe/Islamic political entities …” like 1511 Futa Toro, 1725 Futa Jallon, 1804 Sokoto Caliphate, 1818 Massina and 1850 Tokolor Empire which occupied “roughly parts of the present-day Senegal, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Central African Republic;” and the 3 key elements “statecraft, agriculture and animal husbandry” which gives them political power and economic “self-reliance.” To activate munyal, he stated that “Many wars, battles and conquests were fought, sometimes victorious, sometimes vanquished, but at all times the Fulbe have been on the move.” Also, on munyal, he stated that their political and economic edge makes possible “alliance” with “one group or the other, always seeking to retain the initiatives.” To activate ngorgu, he stated “from the earliest period” the history of West Africa “is essentially the history of power struggle between the Fulbe and non-Fulbe peoples for the control of the affairs of the region.” He begins the article with a ngorgu exceptionalism that since “antiquity” Fulbe are “the only people” settled all over West Africa with “influential position in the life and politics.” Along this line he states that “the Fulbe, under the fervor of Islamic revolutions” established the “distinct Fulbe/Islamic political entities …” (above stated). And in all “the Fulbe government took control of all the lands in the territory for settlements, farming and grazing.”

The second civilizational theme is the strategic identification of the two types Fulbe; the settled Fulbe and pastoral Fulbe. Whilst “the nomadic pagan or nominal Muslim pastoralists” contribute “to their settled kins’ war efforts,” well-being, “militarily and financially;” the settled “Fulbe government secure “grazing lands for their pastoralist kins” without “educating or Islamizing them.” “Both groups are also bonded by Pulaku, the Fulbe code of conduct.” (Thus, the Fulbe also accommodates Freedom of Religion and Beliefs (FoRB) among the “nomadic pastoral cattle herdsmen”). These are the actual “strategic advantages” that make possible the 3 key elements of “statecraft, agriculture and animal husbandry” which are used to negotiate political power and economic self-reliance with quest for “survival, power, and occupancy” and “survival instinct”. These advantages gave the Fulbe “strong bargaining platform in society, as we see them go into one alliance or other, with one group or the other, but always seeking to retain the initiatives.” However, these Fulbe’s “strategic advantages” are often resisted by non-Fulani peoples, which is why the Pulaku Code must be re-organized for power with a deceptive enaam, in the clothes of “natural justice/law.”

The third civilizational theme is reactivating the age-old practice of disabling of resistance against the Fulbe which according to him “should be at the centre of any developmental debate on the Fulbe.” Most importantly, on semteende and enaam, Ardo activated with the utility of disabling resistance against the Fulbe by camouflaging civilizational expansionism and imperialism, that is Fulanization and Islamization, as the resolution of solving the farmer/herders crisis.  This, disabling of resistance against the Fulbe through the Kafkaesque exploitation of “natural justice/law” pretentions could be said to be the summary of Ardo’s interventions, as evident in several of his articles. The purpose is to congeal the minds of the perceived resistance, as shown in Part 5.

In the fourth ideological theme, he acknowledges the complicity of the pastoral Fulbe in security threat in banditry, kidnapping and farmers/herders clashes. He admits that “banditry and jihadist movements that have lately been causing debilitating effects on Fulbe standing in society.”  Dr. Ardo noted that the “environmental, demographic, economic and political” factors have “made open transhumance grazing” impossible, the herdsmen who are not accustomed to sedentary life have become “security threat in banditry, kidnapping, etc., venting their frustration and anger on society.” According to him, pastoralists “must” be “settled” and “ranched” through legislative ban of “open grazing and facilitate for the establishment of wide range of animal feeds industries and water treatment plants to develop animal-related industrial bases.” According to him, this “has enormous benefits for the herdsmen, the communities and the states.” And of course, this is to end the “aged-old source of perennial conflicts between farmers and herders.”

The fifth ideological theme is the daring call for a “template (or templates)” towards the continuity of the Fulberic-AIC in modernity as the “counter-response” of the Fulbe elites to the non-Fulani resistance to the Fulbe’s “strategic” advantages” (of two types of Fulbe). And along this line he posited the goal and methodology on how “Fulbe elites can then concentrate in building, or rather resuscitating, their political base.” The goal is based on the acknowledgement that the Fulbe still do have these “strategic advantages” in Nigeria if “skillfully cultivated” which “can be used to sustain Fulbe political, economic, educational and scientific ascendancy in the sub-region, end banditry and jihadist movements that have lately been causing debilitating effects on Fulbe standing in society and put the Fulbe on the track of sustainable development throughout the subcontinent.” This “template (or templates)” is towards the provision of ranches for the pastoralists to solve these security threats, thereby fulfil the civilizational obligation of the settled Fulbe to the pastoral Fulbe; and “settling not just the herdsmen’s security threat, but also other contending political, economic, educational, scientific and structural issues affecting their people in the region.”

Pulaku Initiative; Ardo’s Template (or Templates)?

Ardo’s re-organization of knowledge in his March 10, 2024 Understanding the Fulbe factor in West African Affairs was to simply re-activate the un-successful President Mohammadu Buhari’s RUGA proposal with new “template (or templates).” Meanwhile, the “Pulaku Initiative was unveiled by President Bola Tinubu administration on February 13, 2024 as a large-scale resettlement programme to address the root cause of incessant farmers-herders conflict in various flashpoints nationwide. This is to initially focus on 7 states (Sokoto, Kebbi, Benue, Katsina, Zamfara, Niger and Kaduna). This March 10 article was immediately followed by President Tinubu launching of the “Pulaku Innitiative” in Minna, Niger State on March 11, 2024. Here Tinubu stated that “the Governors must provide the land, provide us the land, I as the president, I am committed to giving you in 2-3 weeks’ time, a comprehensive programme that would solve this problem.”

Now let us fast-forward to the present, between which several Nigerians have been killed, kidnapped and displaced by the Fulani herders. President Tinubu had on Dec. 10, 2025, given directive to the National Economic Council (NEC) and Vice President Kashim Shettima (who chairs NEC) to develop a roadmap for ranching, livestock investment, and agricultural diversification as a lasting solution to insecurity; terrorism, farmer-herder conflicts, and banditry. In the next NEC meeting on Dec. 18, 2025, a Livestock Development Committee was inaugurated, “chaired by Kebbi State Governor, Nasir Idris, with representatives from all six geopolitical zones, to fast-track nationwide ranching and livestock production reforms.” Regardless of the presidency’s concerted efforts, insecurity has gotten worse.

The Disconcerting Questions

On Feb. 9^th 2026, NEC conference, Tinubu restated his commitment, promising the “Seven zones of mechanization” and calling insecurity “economic hindrances.” His remarks came against the backdrop of deadly bandit attacks across multiple states, particularly the Feb. 3 massacre in Woro and Nuku communities of Kaiama Local Government Area, Kwara State, where at least according to Red Cross 162 residents (90% of the victims were Muslims, while 5% were Christians) were killed, 38 people abducted and 50 people hospitalized after 10-11 hours of violence by over 100 jihadits. Their crime is that they refused to renounce the Nigerian government and its Constitution for the adoption of un-modified Sharia Law. The Islamicists killed the community head’s 2 children (medical students), abducted his wife and three children looted shops, burned down several homes and a Church with Christians worshiping inside. They killed 8 vigilantes and burnt them. The community leader had earlier received a letter from Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’adati wal-Jihad (JAS) /Boko Haram in Jan. 8. Woro and Nuku are located south of Kainji National Park which in recent years became the base for bandits, according to Nnamdi Obasi “of several extremist groups including a major Boko Haram faction; the Mahmuda, Ansaru and Lakurawa groups; and the Sahel-based Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, or JNIM – which recently announced it was operating in the area.”

On the “same day, bandits killed at least 21 people in Doma communities in Faskari Local Government Area of Katsina State, following the collapse of a community-driven peace arrangement.”

The questions remain – are the incessant mayhem caused by the radical members of AIC (by Boko Haram, ISWAP and bandits … etc.) coordinated efforts to “oppose” and “make more difficult” the “attainment” of both restructuring and good governance or are they karmic repetition of the April 14, 2014 Chibok kidnap of 276 students in Borno State by Boko Haram to discredit Tinubu’s administration?

In any case, Ardo’s article of March 10, 2024 Understanding the Fulbe factor in West African Affairs, comparable not only to Trump’s Nov. 2025 National Security Strategy but as well as Xi Jinping’s 2023 Global Civilizational Initiative (GCI) and Vladimir Putin’s 2023 Foreign Policy Concept. Ardo coupled civilizationalism and ideology together just as Xi and Putin. Did and Trump would a year after. Unfortunately, this cannot be appreciated, until it is understood.