The Association of Fulani
Chiefs and the Chariman of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association
of Nigeria, Ondo State chapter, Bello Garba, said during a press conference in
Lagos that Chief Olu Falae, was not kidnapped its members,
He said:
“We’ve been relating with
security agencies and we have never had any issue with residents before. The
disagreement with farmers has been ongoing for sometime but we have mediated
and settled it on several occasions.
“Most of the Fulani people
that came into Ondo came in as cattle breeders and you don’t expect them to
just leave their animals and be kidnapping. We have been residing in Ondo State
for more than 100 years and no one has ever accused us of any heinous crime in
Ondo State or caught us with weapons.
“As an Ondo resident, I
condemn this act. Clearly, this is impersonation. We live with our families in
Ondo. How can we engage in such an act? We are pleading with law enforcement
agents to do more investigation and expose the real perpetrators.”
The Sarkin Fulani of
Lagos, Alhaji Mohammed Bambado, said it will not be in the interest of the
Yoruba or Nigerians to denigrate cattle breeders at a time Nigeria was trying
to diversify its economy and make agriculture more attractive.
He said:“Need we remind
our brothers (Afenifere) of the African Union and ECOWAS charters that give
people and animals, particularly, livestock free movement within and across
international borders of West African states. Such calls and actions are in
direct breach of a number of international treaties and obligations regarding
the free movement of persons and animals.
“Banning the movement of
cattle from one part of Nigeria to another also violates the constitution of
Nigeria on the freedom of movement of people and livestock. It also amounts to
ethnic profiling of the nomadic Fulani.”
He, however, called on the
Afenifere that rather than call on the expulsion of Fulani hersdmen from the
south-west, they should all join hands with them to find a lasting solution to
the encroachment problem.
The Sarkin Fulani,
Abeokuta, Alhaji Mohammed Kabir, who is also the Secretary, Association of
Fulani Chiefs in the South-West, said the government needs to create grazing
reserves for herdsmen so that they would stop encroaching on farmlands.
He added:
“We have appealed to the
Federal Government and state governments in the South-West to help create
grazing reserves.
“It is done in many
advanced countries. When these things don’t exist, the herdsmen have to
encroach for survival. Even before oil, we were doing this.
“God forbids that we will
be importing all our cattle from overseas like our cars. This cattle rearing
creates jobs for thousands if not millions of people. There is ranching in
advanced countries but we can’t be ranchers because we can’t afford it.”
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