Samuel Ortom, governor of Benue state, and Bala Mohammed,
his Bauchi counterpart, have reconciled after tackling one another regarding
the bearing of arms by herders.
The duo embraced on Tuesday after a meeting initiated by the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which held in Port Harcourt, the Rivers state
capital.
The two governors have been in the news as they disagreed
over the use of AK-47 rifles by herders.
On February 12, Mohammed said the herders carry AK-47 rifles
because they need to protect themselves after the society and the government
has “failed” to protect them.
“Because the Fulani man is practising the tradition of
pastoralism, he has been exposed to the vagaries of the forest — cattle
rustlers who carry guns, kill him and take away his commonwealth, which is the
cows,” he had said.
“He has no option than to carry AK-47 because the society
and the government are not protecting him. What is his fault? It’s the fault of
the government and the people. You don’t criminalise all of them, because in
every tribe there are criminals.”
He had also accused Ortom of fuelling the criminalisation of
the Fulani tribe, after which the Benue governor fired back at him, saying such
utterances are capable of leading Nigeria to anarchy.
The hot exchanges between the duo continued even up till
last week when the Benue governor accused Mohammed of being part of a group
“terrorising this country”.
“Anyone who is not willing to respect the laws of our land
should go and meet Bala Mohammed, and there you can carry AK-47, and you’ll not
be apprehended,” Ortom had also said.
This prompted the PDP to intervene in a bid to reconcile the
two governors.
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