President of the Fulani socio-cultural association known as Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Alhaji Bello Abdullahi Bodejo, has dismissed the allegations of labelling Fulani as criminals in the country as most untrue.
Rather, he called it an instigation by some politicians and enemies of the Fulani to blackmail the tribe and cause unnecessary confusion and disaffection.
Abdullahi Bodejo said this in Bauchi on Sunday while interacting with reporters saying that act of kidnapping and armed robbery shown in videos via social are all drama to portray the Fulani black.
He said: “You as journalists, have you ever investigated who and who they arraigned in court after the drama if any, did the court convict them , I challenged you the pressmen to tell me any tribe that doesn’t have people with questionable character, are they not arrested by security agencies, did you ever heard security describing them as so, so, so tribe? Why are they doing it to the Fulani? Even in the drama you didn’t see the picture of the actor asking them questions, it’s only a black mail.”
He further said that even the farmers and herders’ fracas is politicised and recalled that the misunderstandings between the two groups are agelong issue which has the traditional ways of resolving them.
“But unlike before that these feuds happen and resolve immediately. Politicians now use it as ways of causing disaffections between Fulani race and other tribes,” he said.
He said that part of the blackmail is that many times “You will see someone taken pictures from accident scenes and before you know, post it on social media claiming Fulani herdsmen are responsible for the killings, it’s unfortunate”
Abdullahi Bodejo said that kinsmen herders did not bear any arms in any form except carrying the traditional sticks they are known for.
On the issue of Rugga, the Miyetti Allah leader also faulted Northern governments at all levels for being insensitive to the plights of Fulani herdsmen in the country saying, “The Nigerian government has been insensitive to the plights of Fulani herdsmen across the country despite contributing immensely to the nation’s economy through their herding businesses”
“Let the Federal Government bring back the grazing reserves across the country. We have national and international cattle routes across the country that have been taken away by modern roads. These are the rights of Fulani as citizens. I agreed that cattle rearing is a personal business but government must look for ways of easing business for these herders,” he added .
He opined further that, “If government can disburse billions of naira as loans to petty traders across the country which are personal businesses, then they (governments) should also look at what they can do to ease Fulani herders in their cattle rearing business, it is a business that government at all levels must support them to do at ease.”
Abdullahi Bodejo said that Fulani are educated, they are leaders in Nigeria, majority of the Northern Governors, Ministers and Emirs are sons and daughters of Fulani and they need to protect them and provide them with required essential social services in their settlements that will help them to ease their sufferings and live happily.
He, however, commended the Jigawa State Government for doing more to assist the Fulani and challenged all Northern Governors to implement grazing reserves or you call it Ruga in their states.