The Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore says all plots to force Fulani herdsmen out of the South-West geopolitical zone will come to naught.
National Secretary of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Mr Alhassan Saleh stated this in the wake of quit notices issued to herdsmen in some parts of the zone.
Saleh said that the herders’ group would not tolerate any act of aggression leading to the death of a herdsman or his cattle, vowing to avenge such wherever it happens.
However, the Miyetti Allah scribe urged the security forces to fish out any herdsman found to be committing nefarious activities, noting that it was not a sufficient excuse to drive out all herdsmen from any part of the country.
Recall that Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu in January gave a one-week ultimatum for herdsmen to vacate the state’s forest reserves, citing concerns over security.
A Yoruba activist, Sunday Adeyemo aka Sunday Igboho also gave a one-week ultimatum for Fulani people to leave Igangan community, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State.
Reacting, Saleh told Sunday Punch, “Nobody has the right (to evict herdsmen). If you say you are going to evict us, we will resist eviction.
“We have been surviving in harsh environments; if we do not resist, we will be wiped out of the planet. If you kill a herder, don’t go and sleep, we will revisit you, and it’s not because we hate your tribe. People attack herders, and in one way or the other, herders have found a way to retaliate.”
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According to him, calls for foreign herdsmen to be prevented from entering Nigeria will fail.
He explained that many of the so-called foreign herdsmen once settled in Nigeria but moved to neighbouring countries for greener pasture.
“All those who travelled to the Benin Republic and others are coming back home. All those saying they will bar foreign herders from entering Nigeria are just playing to the gallery because if they are aware of the ECOWAS Protocols, they would know they cannot chase them away. That is why the position of the Bauchi State Governor [Bala Mohammed] is the true position. You have no right to evict anybody from any part of the country.
“Our number has increased recently because of the tension in Ghana and Benin republics. The ones in Benin Republic have integrated with the Yoruba in such a way that they speak the language. They were initially living in the South-West, and they are coming back,” the Miyetti Allah scribe stressed.