We’re disappointed in Atiku, Miyetti Allah leadership says

Alhaji Garus Gololo, the coordinator of herdsmen body, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, Benue State chapter, has expressed disappointment in the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar.

Gololo said on Thursday that Atiku has already divided Nigeria when he has not yet been elected president.

The herdsmen leader stated this in response to an earlier statement by a spokesman of Atiku campaign media organisation, Phrank Shaibu, saying that killings by herdsmen would never end  should President Muhammadu Buhari get re-elected.

But Gololo, a leader of herdsmen body in Benue State, argued that Atiku was wrong. He described the statement as inciting, adding that it was not only Fulani herdsmen that had issues with farmers in Nigeria.

“We Fulani herdsmen are not killers and before Buhari came to power, there were crisis between farmers and herders in Benue, Tarawa, Nasarawa, Adamawa and some other states.

“I am disappointed in Atiku because he had already divided Nigeria even when he has not come to power. Buhari has nothing to do with herdsmen, he is a Nigerian and it is the people of Nigeria that voted him into power and l believe they will still vote him again in 2019.

“Nigerians should ask Atiku about the N68.8bn proceeds from NEPA which he sold when he superintended over the privatisation process of the then NEPA.

READ ALSO: INVESTIGATION… Enugu public libraries in ruins despite huge budgetary allocations –Part 2

“People should talk about the power plants or the money he raised from the sale of that public asset. As far as I am concerned, Atiku is not a credible candidate to contest the coming presidential election in Nigeria because he is so sentimental and if they vote him in as president, he would divide Nigeria the more.

“So, for us Fulanis, we are not killers, neither are we criminals nor kidnappers and President Buhari has nothing to do with herdsmen. It is the people of Nigeria who voted Buhari in 2015 and they will still vote him .The crisis between farmers and herdsmen is a common thing everywhere across the world it is not peculiar to Nigeria,” he said.

The apparently angry leader of the herdsmen went further to ask if herdsmen were also responsible for killings when Atiku was a vice president between 1999 and 2007.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now