In a nation struggling to contain a whirlwind of insecurity, ethnic suspicion, and a fragile sense of national identity, the rise of voices like Kaltume Jitami must be treated with the urgency and seriousness they deserve. Her tirades across social media platforms, calling for a delusional idea of Hausa supremacy, are not merely the reckless musings of an ill-informed mind. They are a direct threat to Nigeria’s fragile peace and security.
Her rhetoric, which has been broadcasted widely on TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, and WhatsApp, has drawn thousands of views and engagements, especially from vulnerable, ill-educated and frustrated youth. She presents herself as a cultural defender, but her real mission is evident: to ignite ethnic hatred, glorify tribal exclusivism, and fracture a nation already balancing on a tightrope.
This is why the DSS, the Office of the National Security Advisor, the Nigeria Police Force and other intelligence services must treat Kaltume as a domestic threat actor that is no less dangerous than insurgents who pick up arms. Words have always been precursors to violence. Genocides, civil wars, and ethnic cleansings do not begin on the battlefield. They begin with microphones, misinformation, and messianic delusions like this.
It is abundantly clear that Kaltume possesses no grounding in the history or anthropology of the Hausa people. She is not a sociologist, historian, or political scientist. She is, in every sense, a stark illiterate who lacks any intellectual or moral credibility to speak on the complex identity of the Hausa. Her shallow propaganda packages distorted myths as facts and mixes political provocation with a dangerous kind of populist demagoguery.
This woman’s confusion about the distinctions between Hausa, Fulani, and Arab Islamic cultures is evident in her misguided claims. For instance, she suggests to innocent followers that “gafara” is a Hausa substitute for “salama alaikum” yet “gafara” itself is derived from Arabic and is already integrated into Hausa through Islamic influence. The Hausa language in fact derives most of its vocabulary from Arabic and Islamic traditions rather than any other cultures. This misunderstanding or willful ignorance exposes her intellectual indolence and calls into question the validity of her broader rhetoric.
The Hausas are not a monolithic group. Historically, they are a diverse ethnic cluster shaped by centuries of intermarriage, trade, Islamization, wars, and migration. The very idea of a pure Hausa race that is devoid of Fulani, Kanuri, Arab, Jukun, Tuareg, Bura and even Yoruba influence, is not only intellectually dishonest but a laughably unhistorical. Hausa identity has always been an evolving, layered social identity rather than a rigid ethnic block.
We do not have to look far to understand the dangers of Kaltume Jitami’s ideology. The 1994 Rwandan Genocide was not spontaneous. It was meticulously engineered by tribal supremacists who saturated the airwaves with the kind of hateful rhetoric this woman now spreads. The Interahamwe militia, under the cloak of Hutu nationalism, butchered nearly a million Tutsis and moderate Hutus in just 100 days. This was fueled by nothing more than propaganda, misinformation, and a manufactured enemy.
The Balkans, too, bear painful witness to what happens when ethnic supremacists are allowed to shape national discourse. In Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, nationalist propaganda led to ethnic cleansing, the mass rape of women, and genocide under the guise of “ethnic protection.”
Even in the closed society of North Korea, the ideology of racial superiority underpins a brutal regime that punishes mere thought crimes. It all starts with one premise: “Our group is superior, and others are to blame for our problems.” This woman fits this mold with frightening precision.
Nigeria is a country already groaning under the weight of internal contradiction from terrorism in the Northeast, banditry in the Northwest, secessionist agitations in the Southeast and Southwest, and farmer-herder clashes across the North Central. Ethnic identity or regional sentiments have been misused as a weapons for power negotiation in our political system. To now add an unregulated, toxic tribal supremacist into this already combustible environment is akin to throwing a stick of dynamite into a dry forest.
What makes Kaltume’s propaganda especially dangerous is her focus on the largest single ethno-linguistic group in West Africa, with millions of people spread across Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, and other parts of the Sahel. To incite a demographic group of this size and spread against the Fulani that has already earned the loath of Nigerians for their kidnapping and banditry in the northwest is not just a domestic threat. It has a regional destabilization risk.
Imagine if even a small fraction of the Hausa population were radicalized into believing this false narrative and swing into action against Fulani. What follows is predictable: retaliatory attacks from them, and eventually, serious violence that will spread like wildfire.
Yes, Nigeria is a democracy. Yes, our constitution upholds the right to free expression. But freedom of speech is not freedom to incite violence, hatred, or division. No nation, no matter how liberal, permits calls to ethnic supremacy and veiled threats of domination. The United States, which enshrines free speech in its First Amendment, still criminalizes hate speech when it endangers public safety or promotes violence.
Kaltume’s speech is not merely offensive, it is criminally inciting. The NCC and other regulatory agencies must act swiftly to deplatform her across all digital outlets. Her accounts should be flagged, reported, and permanently removed for violating community standards.
If this woman is allowed to continue unhindered, it sends a chilling message: that Kaltume is somehow seen as better than Nnamdi Kanu or Sunday Igboho, despite pursuing similar agendas. Both men were met with strong government action. This is not a matter for passive response. The President should order her arrest, just as former President Buhari did in the cases of Kanu and Igboho.
Kaltume’s ideology is not simply a threat to the Fulani but one on the very soul of Nigeria. Allowing her to propagate ethnic supremacy unchecked will embolden other tribal chauvinists to follow suit, and this will push our nation further down a path of irreversible fragmentation.
Therefore, this is a moment that demands executive clarity and moral courage. The DSS must act immediately to arrest her and initiate a thorough investigation into the origins, funding, and networks behind her propaganda. If she is found guilty of incitement, she should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
Nigeria must not arrest or silence legitimate cultural advocates, social critics, or intellectuals who act responsibly. However, the DSS must, without apology or hesitation, take firm action against those who weaponize ethnicity to threaten national cohesion.
Ethnic chauvinists like Kaltume must not be allowed to poison our national conversation. I call on all peace-loving Hausa-Fulani, whose history, social progress, and political maturity have long rejected such rhetoric, to continue ignoring her as a lion ignores the noise of a monkey in a tree. But let us not sleepwalk into genocide. Let us not wait for another bloodbath before we act. The time to confront this woman is now. The DSS must move decisively, boldly, lawfully, and without compromise.
