The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria has given reasons why Fulani herdsmen attack and kill people of their host communities.
MACBAN gave the reasons when it visited the Defence Headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday.
It said chief of the reasons was self defence.
MACBAN gave the reasons when it visited the Defence Headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday.
It said chief of the reasons was self defence.
The leader of the delegation to the Defence Headquarters, Senator Dagiri Alkali, said the Fulani moved into new territories in the country because they had been forced out of their territories in the North.
Alkali said the Boko Haram insurgency accounted for the the larger part of the movement of the herdsmen from their territory in the North.
So also did he allege that cattle rustlers also forced the herdsmen away from their homeland.
He said the cattle rustlers stole millions of cows from the breeders.
He said states such as Katsina, Zamfara, Kebbi, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Plateau, Benue and parts of Kogi accounted for the stealing of millions of cows from the herdsmen.
Alkali said: “When the reserves and forest were gazetted and reserved for cattle breeders, this incident was not there.
“But the increase in population has now wiped out the entire grazing reserves in this country.
“Four hundred and something of them all wiped out.
“And you have a population of about 20 million cows.
“Where do you keep them?
“And every one of us likes to eat meat.
“This is a venture that over 20 million people are engaged in.
“And nobody cares to know what the causes of this problem are.
“Presently, you know the case of Boko Haram.
“They attacked and decapitated the population of Fulani in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe and some parts of Taraba.
“The cattle rustlers have displaced the Fulani in Katsina, Zamfara, Kebbi, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Plateau and Benue and in some parts of Kogi.
“Millions of cattle have been taken from these herdsmen.
“So when somebody says a Fulani man killed somebody, I wonder why?
“How?
“It’s only a poor man that fights.
“But you, as the military people, you know self-defence is an art.
“In the military, if you are attacked, you have to defend yourself.
“You have been squeezed.
“You have to find a way to survive.”
The Director of Administration at the Defence Headquarters, Major General Fatai Ali, who represented the Chief of Defence Staff, General Gabriel Olonisakin, said a committee had been set up to interact with the stakeholders on the issue.
Ali warned those involved in violence to stop forthwith as the Federal Government would subject them to the full weight of the law.
He said: “The recent herdsmen and local community clashes in many parts of Nigeria are sources of serious concern.
“Many lives have been lost.
“The President has directed security agencies and indeed the military to handle the situation and ensure that no more lives are lost.
“I want to assure you that the military, in conjunction with other security agencies, is doing everything possible to maintain peace and security in Nigeria in line with the directive of the Commander-in-Chief.
“I want to also assure you that whoever is involved in this killing will be brought to book and tried in line with the law of the land.
“We are calling on all other parties, who are interested in peace, to sheathe their swords and ensure that they do not cause unnecessary casualties or deaths.
“Otherwise, the Federal Government of Nigeria will bring the full weight of the force and law on them.”
Culled from the Eagle Online
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