Fani-Kayode blast Miyetti Allah over calls on Obasanjo’s arrest

Doosuur Iwambe, Abuja

Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has cautioned Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore over its call for the arrest of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Fani-Kayode said Miyetti Allah’s statement was reckless, irresponsible and dangerous for the nation as there was nothing wrong with Obasanjo drawing attention to insecurity in the land which could lead the nation into division.

Miyetti Allah had on Monday called on the Muhammadu Buhari-led government to as a matter of urgency, arrest Obasanjo for accusing Fulani herdsmen of being the root cause of insecurity in Nigeria.

In a letter on Monday, July 15, 2019, Obasanjo asked Buhari to take decisive action against the rising incidents of kidnapping, banditry, and killings perpetrated by Fulani herdsmen.

Reacting to Obasanjo’s claim, the national secretary of Miyetti Allah, Alhassan Saleh, told journalists that Fulanis should not be blamed for the rate of insecurity in the country.

“The fact that there is insecurity, I don’t think the Fulani are responsible for it. The narrative that we are responsible for the insecurity is even the problem we have with the Nigerian state,” he said.

“When any crime happens, even before there is an investigation, people rush to the press and start accusing Fulani herdsmen.

Herdsmen are supposed to be carrying herds of cows but if somebody is a criminal or an armed robber, he should be treated as such,” Saleh said.

But Fani-Kayode, in a statement on Tuesday, dared Buhari to arrest Obasanjo.

He described the call for the former President’s arrest as “reckless, irresponsible, dangerous and unacceptable.”

Fani-Kayode said, “I dare Buhari to go ahead and arrest Obasanjo and do your bidding. That is when you will know that even a madman has relatives. You are sitting on a time-bomb and playing with fire.”

The former minister stated that Obasanjo was attempting to save Nigeria from another civil war, adding that those who opposed the ex-President’s counsel failed to appreciate the fact that in the event of such a war, they would suffer more than anyone else.