One of the umbrella bodies of herdsmen in Nigeria, the
Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, says herders won’t support any southern candidate
who is against open grazing should he or she run for president in 2023.
Spokesman for the group, Saleh Alhassan, spoke on Tuesday
while featuring on PUNCH Online interview programme.
Recall that
the 17 Southern Governors, citing the security challenges allegedly posed by
the activities of herders in their states, had kicked against open grazing and
signed laws banning such to effect.
Most southern governors, including those of Lagos, Ondo, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Abia, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Enugu, and just recently, Delta and Ogun states, have signed the anti-open grazing bill into law.
The Miyetti Allah group, while reacting to the passage of
the law in the southern states, described it as ‘satanic’ and ‘politically
motivated,’ adding that it would sue the governors over the law.
Alhassan also alleged that the move by the southern
governors was to negotiate the 2023 Presidency with their 19 northern
colleagues who have kicked against power shift to the South.
As the 2023 general elections draw nearer, there have been
intense political posturing, permutations and fireworks. The 17 Southern
Governors had met twice in the year and demanded power shift to their region
while the 19 Northern Governors also met last week, opposing such move and
noting that the candidate with the highest votes will emerge as President in
the next general elections.
However, speaking on the PUNCH Online programme
on Tuesday, the Miyetti Allah spokesman said his group won’t support southern
governors or any southern candidate who is against open grazing and who also
oppose the collection of Value Added Tax by the Federal Inland Revenue Service.
Asked whether his group would back a northern candidate after
the expiration of the eight-year regime of the President, Major General
Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), Alhassan said, “Our concern is not where the
President comes from but certainly we know those that we cannot support; those
that want to destroy our means of livelihood, we would campaign against them.
“We are not worried
where the President comes from but we need a competent nationalistic person to
take over from Buhari. We don’t need people with sectional sentiments; people
that think they can make exclusive economic policies, people that think their
zones should have more preference, they want to control the VAT, destroy our
traditional livelihood.
“The governors can say anything but ultimately, the votes
determine who becomes the President.
“If you say you are producing (Ondo State Governor and
Chairman of the Southern Governors’ Forum, Rotimi) Akeredolu as a southern
candidate, we would never support him because he is championing the destruction
of our rural economy. People like that, we would never support them. We won’t
support someone hobnobbing with Biafrans.”
Miyetti Allah hails FG for supporting herders’ planned
suit against Southern govs
Furthermore, the Miyetti Allah group said there was nothing
wrong with the Federal Government backing up its intention to challenge the
anti-open grazing laws signed into law by the southern governors.
The PUNCH had reported that the Federal
Government on Sunday threw its weight behind moves by herdsmen to sue southern
governors over the anti-open grazing bill they recently signed into law.
Umar Gwandu, the Special Assistant on Media to the
Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar
Malami, had said, “The rights trampled upon are individual rights of Nigerians
as constitutionally guaranteed.
“The Nigerians whose rights are violated reserve the right
to approach the court for the protection of such rights within the context of
freedom of movement among others. It will be viewed with that consideration in
mind.”
Reacting on Tuesday, Alhassan said, “There is nothing that
is not supported by the government, especially agriculture, billions are being
given to smallholder farmers in the rice value chain, in maize. So, there is
nothing wrong in them (FG) supporting us.”
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