Following the growing insecurity in the country evidenced by banditry and kidnappings in the Southwest region, former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, has called on Yoruba leaders to defend themselves against attack from the Fulani herdsmen.
Fani-Kayode who stated this in Akure, Ondo state capital, during a visit to the leader of Afenifere, Chief Reuben Fasoranti over the death of his daughter, Mrs Funke Olakunri, stressed the need for the people of the region to personally defend themselves saying the federal government had failed to address the insecurity headlong.
He said “our people are being killed every day in every state of the South West. We now live under the threat of Fulani herdsmen. This is too bad. No region or tribe is superior to the other in Nigeria. We are all equal and we should be treated equally”
He urged the Federal Government to be alive to its responsibility by proffering solution to the insecurity in the country, saying “something strong and drastic should be done to curtail insecurity in the country.
“We are beyond the era of rhetoric now. We must do something to secure the lives of our people and the entire Yoruba nation must be secured irrespective of our political affiliation.
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“We as leaders will continue to encourage our people to allow peace reign in the South West and the country at large. The anger is high but we will continue to preach peace to the people. We want peace, unity and love in Nigeria but not at the expense of killing our people. We are restraining our people from violence but we should not be pushed to the wall.
“We want peace and unity in Nigeria, but we don’t want peace at the expense of the lives of innocent people. Therefore, the government must rise to the occasion and fight insecurity in the interest of peace and the continuous existence of our nation. We are fed up with killings in South-Western Nigeria. We must be able to protect our people if the government that is saddled with the responsibility to protect us fails to protect us,” he added.
The former minister commended the position of the South-West governors on their stand against nomadism in the region, but expressed worry on the courage to present their position to President Muhammadu Buhari.
“I was at the residence of Pa Fasoranti when the Governors of the South West told him their position against nomadism in the South West.
“But, the hands of these governors are tied. I doubt if they will have the courage to say that to President Buhari, because throughout their meeting in Akure, they did not mention Fulani herdsmen as the ones terrorising our people,” he said.
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