HERDSMEN: FG’s silence worries Northern elders as youths set to take up arms

The Northern Elders Forum has expressed deep concerns over the failure of the Federal Government in addressing persistent clashes involving herdsmen and farmers across the country.

This is also as the Middle Belt Youth Council (MBYC) has advised communities attacked by herdsmen to carry arms and other weapons to defend themselves.

NEF made its feelings known during the weekend after an extraordinary session with Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom in Markurdi, the state capital this weekend.

The spokesperson of the forum, Mr. Mustapha Wali, after the meeting had told newsmen that the Federal Government has failed in intervening in order to sort out the issue of herdsmen and farmers matters nationwide.

“All you hear are conferences and seminars of academics but the practical applicable and interventionist stage as it is happening now, is what should have been the case.

“Now that Benue has taken the bull by the horn as they say, we have to put a proposition for capital intensive possibilities for this transitional situations where the herdsmen are taught to ranch and to know that there are bitter times during transition and therefore, the Federal Government cannot avoid the responsibility of coming in to assist all the states and harmonise all these problems.

“It is in this respect as the convener (Dr. Paul Unongo) has stated, that we now intend to set-up a special intervention committee for the purposes of intervening in these kinds of situations, the transitional and legal situations to ensure there are no problems that will arise which are fully avoidable”.

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Benue State governor who is canvassing support for the open grazing prohibition and ranches establishment bill 2017, said on the matter, “Our leaders have chosen to keep quiet and it is something that is to me a keg of gun-powder and we need to arise to our responsibilities as leaders to check this problem, the problem of herdsmen and farmers.

“Benue State in particular, was under siege since 2012, 13 local governments were completely displaced out of 23 local governments, including my own local government. While serving as minister, my ancestral home was attacked and destroyed and that day alone, 53 of my people were murdered in cold blood, my farm was razed and destroyed.”

The Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government has constantly been accused of not doing enough to address the persistent clashes between herdsmen and farmers.

Attacks by armed herdsmen who allegedly go about with AK47 have left several Nigerians dead, homes and other properties destroyed most especially in Southern Kaduna, Benue and other parts of the country.

In a related development, President of the MBYC in Southern Bauchi, Emma Zopmal, said that the advice to youths in the affected areas to take up arms was part of a communique signed by its representatives in 15 states, including National Publicity Secretary (Southern Kaduna), Nasiru Jagaban; Iliya Ashokpa (Nasarawa); Vera Akua (Benue); Seth Mangseth (Plateau); Nasiru Abubakar (Gombe); Notsa Khamufo (Taraba); Seun Olawoyi (Kwara); and Brent Kane (Adamawa).

Other signatories were Moses Zakwa (Southern Borno); Attah Idoko (Kogi); John Ibrahim (Southern Kebbi); Babanya Ndagi (Niger); and Godwin Azaki (Federal Capital Territory, Abuja).

Ibrahim told Punch in an interview, that “We support victims under the attacks of Fulani herdsmen to take up arms to defend themselves. You don’t protect yourself in the grave. If someone decides to kill another person, how can the person protect himself?

“The way forward to end the atrocities of Fulani herdsmen is for the communities to be given the right to protect themselves because the first line of defence is the individual who is the target. If he is allowed to defend himself, one would be mindful of attacking the person.

“So, these people that are targets should be given arms to protect themselves. The communities should be given the right to possess arms to protect themselves. If these people are not allowed to protect themselves, it is going to be worse than what we are seeing today”, he said.

 

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