Farmers vs Herdsmen: Series II Revealed: Fulani herdsmen not AK-47 wielding members-Sarkin Fulani

.Insists gunmen killing people are disguised terrorists

.Miyetti Allah not a terrorist organisation, says Sultan

A cross section of Fulani herdsmen located in several local government areas of Niger State including those at Zungeru, Beji, Bida Sabo Angwa in Boso LGA, Tunga Malam in Paiko, Angwa Umadi village in Shiroro Local government area, have denied herdsmen who were wielding AK-47 riffles, saying they bore other motives other than cattle rearing, calling on governments at all levels to immediately arrest and prosecute such people when sighted and caught.

This is even as the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar II, on Thursday, faulted those calling the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association a terrorist group, saying the group is not cut out for such a dangerous appellation.

Alhaji Ahmadu Dami, Sarkin Fulani at Beji town, who spoke on behalf of the herdsmen, told The Daily Times in an exclusive interview that genuine herdsmen carry only machetes for self-defence especially against dangerous animals and snakes, not for attacking anybody.

He urged the Federal Government to further investigate the background of the herdsmen wielding sophisticated weapons and their sponsors.

He further suggested that those carrying guns could be sponsored by Boko Haram terrorists and escapees who were on revenge mission.

According to him, Nigerians should rather than casting aspersions and promoting ethnic bigotry, devote their energy on getting to the roots and finding solution to the present national predicament.

On the proposal by the Federal Government to establish cattle colonies, the Fulani leader maintained their preference for cattle ranches instead, saying that the development will give them direct control over their investments rather than colonies that ensures wider arrangement that may distance their involvement.

He said: “Government should build ranches for us, provide security, hospital and modern facilities to confine us in a decent location. They should also build schools and housing for us’’.

Speaking on behalf of farmers, Mr. Gideon, a Gbagi and a popular farmer in Boso Local Government Area, commended the efforts of security agencies for the prevailing peace in the area since July last year, and advised government to assist farmers by providing farming equipment, fertilisers and improved security for farms.

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The Daily Times recalls that violence between Fulani herdsmen and farmers has remained one of Nigeria’s most persistent security problems and has left thousands of people dead in recent decades.

The clashes are often said to have been driven by a range of factors from environmental to political even though at the core is the problem of land scarcity, Climate change and the desertification of Nigeria’s North which often forces the nomadic cattle herdsmen farther south to feed and sell their cattle, thereby encroaching on the territory of sedentary farmers.

In a related development, Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar II, on Thursday, berated those calling the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association a terrorist group, saying the group is not an organisation for such dangerous outfit.

The Sultan stated this while speaking at the General Assembly of Interfaith Dialogue Forum for Peace (IDFP) in Abuja.

According to him, there is no war going on in Nigeria between Christians and Muslims. He ,however, decried the increasing spate of killings, saying that, these “Killings have gone too far. You cannot fight for God.”

He explained that those calling Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association a terrorist organisation can as well “call the Afenifere, or any group a terrorist organization.

He said, “MACBA was founded 32 years ago, which I am a patron. I represent Muslims in Nigeria. I am the leader of the Fulanis in this part of the world. I don’t fear saying that. There are many groups of cattle breeders in Nigeria apart from the MACBA.

“We have refused to agree that all Fulanis are bad. Minority of the Fulanis are bad, that doesn’t mean all Fulanis are bad.”

He pointed out that the crisis in Benue State like most places in the country “is economic problem.

He said, “So when they fight, it leads to loss of lives. The government should wake up to its responsibility. We cannot live together when we don’t trust each other. We must extend love to one another”.

He described the Interfaith Dialogue Forum for Peace as an opportunity for both religions to speak the truth about the killings in the land and proffer solution to the crisis.

He said: “As par the injunctions of our two major religions, we are taught to always say the truth. Challenges should make us better and we must always stick to the truth. Every single life is sacred. We cannot be taken people’s lives in this country and think it is right. We are not talking of numbers, every single life counts.

“The killings must be stopped by everybody. This is not the time to apportion blame, the only thing we can do for the young ones is to stop the killings completely; apportioning blames won’t bring back the lost lives.”

“Those who kill people in the name of fighting for God are ignorant. Don’t fight for God. I feel so bad when people say they are fighting for God.

“We can never achieve anything when we fight individually, but when we unite, we can overcome the challenges confronting us. We cannot solve these problems until we tell ourselves the truth.

“Miyyetti Allah does not have control over any Fulani man. I am a patron of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, but the association does not support crime in any form. Any Fulani who carries weapon and kill people should be dealt with as criminal according to the law. Ethnic and religious inclination will not solve the problem, they will rather aggravate it.

“Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association was created 32 years ago, it is not right calling for its proscription or ascribing it as terrorist group.

“We refuse to agree that all the Fulanis are bad people. The bad ones must be dealt with. The incessant killings in some parts of the country is not a religious problem, it is not an ethnic problem, but an economic crisis, and it is a fight for survival.

Next: Fulani Herdsmen Vs Farmers: New threat to economic stability

“Unless the government rise to the occasion and deal with the issue headlong, the perpetrators will continue to kill innocent lives. We must watch our words and must be careful with what we say as religious leaders.”

He said that on several occasions, he has been to Benue State all in an effort to bring lasting peace between people and the Fulani in the state. However, he lamented that all the recommendations made at the previous meeting held years back were not implemented by the past government in Benue State. 

Speaking on behalf of the President, Christian Association of Nigerian (CAN),, Bishop Stephen Mamza, said President Muhammadu Buhari has failed in securing the lives of Nigerians, wondering why everybody has kept quiet.

“The problem is from religious and traditional rulers who keep quiet in times like this. We all know that the government has failed yet no one is speaking,” he added.

Augustine Okezie, Minna and Mathew Dadiya, Abuja