Bello Bodejo, the national president of Miyetti Allah Kautal
Hore, says nobody can chase herdsmen away from the forest reserves in Ondo
state.
On Monday, Rotimi Akeredolu, governor of Ondo, ordered
herders to vacate the forest reserves over rising insecurity in the state.
Akeredolu had said “bad elements” have turned the forest
reserves into hideouts for keeping victims of kidnapping, negotiating ransom
and carrying out other criminal activities.
The governor’s directive sparked mixed reactions, with Garba
Shehu, presidential spokesman, saying Akeredolu cannot unilaterally oust
thousands of herders “who have lived all their lives in the state”.
The Northern Elders Forum also asked the herders in the
state to disregard Akeredolu’s order.
In an interview with The Sun Newspaper, Bodejo said the
herders will not obey Akeredolu’s directive because he has no right to issue
such orders, as the Fulanis have been in the area for over 250 years.
He said the herders do not need anybody’s permission to use
a forest for grazing so far as it provides the nutrients needed by their
cattle.
“The Ondo state governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, doesn’t have any
right to give such ultimatum to our people. People, including Fulani, voted for
him to be the governor; so he should be the governor of everybody in the
state,” he said.
“Fulani have been in the forests he is talking about even
before he was born; they have been there for over 250 years. After staying
there for a long time and their cow dung turns the place fertile, people would
begin to come there to farm and to settle and from then, they begin to make
claims that our cattle were destroying their farms.
“We are suing the governor and seeking injunction
restraining him and others from carrying out his threat. But even at that,
nobody, no power can send the herdsmen out of Ondo state.
“No herdsman will obey the governor. The herdsmen will not
step an inch out of Ondo forests; they are going nowhere. We won’t obey the
governor; it is only the constitution of Nigeria that we obey.
“All the lands in this country belong to the Fulani, but we
don’t have any business to do with land if it doesn’t have areas for grazing.
If the land doesn’t have cow food, we won’t have any business with it.
“What we consider are the areas that have cow food. If the
place is good for grazing, we don’t need anybody’s permission to go there.
“Fulani can settle in any bush or forest they want the
moment they have cows. Any person who thinks he owns any forest should be taken
to psychiatric hospital. Nobody owns any forest; forests are for Nigerians.”
Bodejo said the governor just needed an excuse to drive out
the Fulanis from the state since the criminals are not from the ethnic group.
He alleged that Akeredolu’s “ulterior motive” could be for
his 2023 political ambition.
“People are using propaganda to spoil Fulani name, and
desperate politicians are in the forefront,” he said.
“The Ondo state governor has a secret agenda for asking our
people to leave his state, not the reasons he stated. It is possible that
Akeredolu is fighting a political battle. It may be 2023 election, and that is
why he is playing up this Fulani herdsmen issue.”
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