OHANAEZE TO MIYETTI ALLAH: We do not need ‘Fulani herdsmen’ to protect Igboland

The Youth wing of Ohanaeze Ndigbo has called on the leadership of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) to bury the idea of assisting the South East in the area of security by establishing a Fulani Youth Vigilante group in the zone.

The call was made by the national leader of Ohanaeze Youth, Arthur Uchenna Obiorah, when he spoke to newsmen in Awka, the Anambra State capital on Friday.

National chairman of MACBAN, Mohammadu Kirowa, had made the security plot known through the group’s national secretary, Alhaji Baba Ngelzarma, who represented him at the security stakeholders meeting organised by the South East Chambers of Commerce, Mine and Agriculture (SECCIMA) in collaboration with South East Governors Forum in Enugu on Thursday.

But Obiorah, who frowned at the development said, “We distance ourselves with the proposition advanced by the national chairman of MACBAN Alhaji Mohammadu Kirowa represented by its national secretary Alhaji Baba Ngelzarma at the security stakeholders meeting organized by the South East Chambers of Commerce, Mine and Agriculture (SECCIMA) in collaboration with South East Governors Forum held in Enugu.

“We are youths and have able body men and women to carry out the security task of our states. We do not need the assistance of Fulani herdsmen or anyone to protect us here in Igbo land.

“Ndigbo are known to be strong and industrious in all we do and I don’t see the need for our leaders to entertain the Fulani requests, proposing to protect us in our ancestral land, we in Ohanaeze Ndigbo youths say no and it will not happen here in Igbo land.

“We also resolved in our meeting that we are looking forward to having a roundtable talks with them so that our region will remain peaceful.”

Obiorah also reacted to recent caution by foreign and commonwealth office of the UK that its citizens should not visit 21 states in Nigeria, including two South East states, over possible terror attacks.

READ ALSO: Miyetti Allah wants to set up vigilante group in South East, as governors give conditions

Describing the report as malicious and an attempt to scare investors from patronising the eastern states, he said the zone remained the most peaceful territory in Nigeria.

He said, “The report is not only targeted at denying us of our hospitality but a ploy to shift investments and our participation in the proposed Free Trade Zone slated to commence at the Akanu Ibiam International airport.”

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