The Chairman of the Northern
Elders Forum, Paul Unongo, has accused former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of
being the chief financier and most influential member of the Miyetti Allah
Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, the apex body of Fulani herdsmen in
Nigeria, Punchng reports.
He, therefore, called on Atiku,
who is a prince of the Tiv Court, to caution the herdsmen, who have been
slaughtering hundreds of people in the country.
On friday, Unongo said, “I am
aware that the most powerful person in Miyetti Allah is Alhaji Atiku
Abubakar,who wants to be the next president. If they are fighting for power and
Atiku wants to create problems for Buhari, I don’t know.
There are so many possibilities.
The most powerful person who finances the Miyetti Allah is Abubakar Atiku and
he is a prince of the Tiv Court. The Tiv gave him a traditional title, meaning
‘the biggest shade of the Tiv people’.
This implies that the Tiv people
should be able to run to Atiku who will protect them. This is the man who heads
Miyetti Allah and is the greatest financier of this organisation. .
He has more cattle than anybody
in Miyetti Allah. It is an establishment of the big people, a very rich group
of Nigerians and they pack small boys to take their cattle all over the place
and then buy all these arms to give herdsmen to go and kill people, and the government
is doing nothing!”
When asked if he was sure that
Atiku was the most influential member of the Miyetti Allah, Unongo said the
former Vice President told him personally that he was an influential member of
the association. .
In reacting to the elders claim, Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, debunked the allegation that he is the chief financier of Miyetti Allah
Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN).
The association is the national
body of Fulani herdsmen.
Paul Ibe, Atiku’s spokesman, in a
statement on Friday, described the allegation against Abubakar, who holds Tiv
traditional title of Zege Mule U Tiv, as sad and false.
Ibe said it was disheartening
that in this period of intense grief in Benue State, Chief Paul Unongo would
choose to level false allegations on the person of Abubakar.
Unongo was the former Chairman,
Governing Board of Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council
(NERDC).
Ibe said while Abubakar was proud
to be Fulani, he is a thoroughly detribalized Nigerian that would never favour
one ethnic group over another.
He recalled that in 2017 during
the massive flood in Benue which affected over 100,000 families, Abubakar,
donated cash to the Benue Government for the care of the victims.
He said, “This is fitting for a
man whose Tiv traditional title means ‘the biggest shade of the Tiv people’.
“It is strange that Chief Paul
Unongo chose to neglect that act of love and care from the Waziri Adamawa to
the people of Benue.
“Not only did the Zege Mule U Tiv
make a financial donation, he also called on the Federal Government to do more
to assist the flood ravaged communities.
“Let it be known that though
Waziri Adamawa is a Fulani, he is not a member of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders
Association of Nigeria nor has he ever been a member.
“He has also never discussed
about that group with Chief Paul Unongo.
“Furthermore, Abubakar enjoins
that a thorough investigation be made into the killings in Benue, and that
anyone found culpable be made to bear the full weight of the law.”
Ibe added that it would be a very
sad day when a supposed elder chooses to make mileage of the sufferings of the
people of Benue State who have had to endure the impunity of these killings for
far too long.
Abubakar, according to Ibe,
prayed for the souls of the departed.
“As a traditional title holder of
Tiv land, Abubakar, assures the entire people of Benue (including the Idoma and
Igede) that he would do everything in his power to bring justice, relief and
compensation their way”, he added.
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