Saleh Alhassan, the national secretary of Miyetti Allah
Kautal Hore, says herders are being marginalised under President Muhammadu
Buhari.
In an interview with PUNCH, Alhassan said contrary to public perception that herders are being
protected by the presidency, they are worse off under Buhari.
He said Nigerians would be getting it wrong if they think
putting pressure on herdsmen is a means of getting back at Buhari, who is .
“The mistake people make is that they think when they put
pressure on herders they are getting at President (Muhammadu) Buhari. Buhari
has no relationship with the herders. That is the truth. When people say he is
our grand patron, was Jonathan from the South-South not our grand patron?”
Alhassan said.
“If the President is a Fulani, it doesn’t in any way affect
the life of a herder. In fact, they are worse off under Buhari. What are they
benefitting? They don’t access any government facility or social amenity, yet
they are responsible for the bulk of animal protein we produce in this country.
I think it’s deliberate for people to think otherwise.
“Buhari has not done anything for us other than creating
enemies for us. Herders are being chased around. Let us look at the larger
picture and not allow enemies penetrate us. If Buhari loves the herders, he
would have created the grazing reserves for them.”
Alhassan said Miyetti Allah is calling for restructuring because they do not have
access to resources.
“We are even bidding for restructuring of the country; let
every part go, so we can say this is where we are. As it is now, there is no
form of marginalisation we are not seeing in this country,” he said.
“Everywhere we are being marginalised. You think we will
accept Nigeria where we don’t have access to land to feed our animals and you
think there will be peace?
“Quite fundamentally. If we leave today now and if there is
no oil revenue, won’t they pay attention to animal rearing? If we restructure
the country and the South-West region says they won’t accept cattle unless they
are brought to the market or supermarket, it’s okay by us.”
Alhassan said one of the ways through which there can be
peace in the country is for Nigerians to accommodate herders.
“We don’t support crime. So, I’m not saying there are no
Fulani that are criminals, there are, like other tribes, but don’t destroy
their profession. It’s not good for the country. If everything busts, it’s to
the advantage of the herders because we are not even enjoying the federation,”
he said.
“Government needs to be careful, and the real issue at stake
is basically that of land resource management. These herders don’t have land
and they do their business on land resource and we have a lot of land in this
country. What we are saying is that the government should create an alternative
for them.
“We must accommodate the herders in Nigeria, whichever
arrangement, because that is the sustainable way to peace. Create a sustainable
land use policy where you accommodate people that have a need for the land.
Create grazing land for these people and create laws that would govern them. If
we don’t solve this problem, we will be complicating it.”
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