September 30, (THEWILL) – The Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore has accused the Northern Governors Forum (NGF) and Emirs of a lackadaisical attitude towards the predicaments of the Fulani in the country.
THEWILL reports that the NGF and traditional rulers in the region had, at the end of a meeting in Kaduna on Tuesday, made statements in reaction to demands made by the Southern Governors Forum, particularly on zoning the 2023 presidency and ongoing controversy on the collection of the Value Added Tax (VAT).
However, the chairman of the Bauchi chapter of the Miyetti Allah Association, Muhammad Hussaini, said the Kaduna meeting failed to take into cognizance the humiliation that herders are subjected to on grazing reserves in the southern parts of the country, especially by powers that are infringing on their rights of movement and association.
Speaking with journalists in Bauchi at the end of the herders meeting to review treatments being meted to their kinsmen in the South, Hussaini said it is disheartening that the governors and emirs, who were representatives, met to discuss issues affecting the region without deliberating on the plight of Fulani herders.
He said Fulani herders, who were searching for greener pasture for their animals, were being humiliated, maimed and even killed outright in the southern parts of the country, while their movements are being restricted in the north, contrary to the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution.
He expressed surprise that the northern governors and emirs could only bother themselves about political issues, such as power shift between the south and the north, to the detriment of the lives of their people or subjects.
Hussaini claimed that more than 1,000 cattle and about 300 herders had been killed in Taraba State, but that the governors did not mention that in the communiqué after their meeting.
“We note, with concern, the inability of the forum’s recent meeting in Kaduna to take into cognisance the humiliation herders are subjected to on grazing reserves in the southern part of the country – especially by the powers that infringe on our rights of movement and association.
“Instead of the Northern governors to show concern on the treatment of herders by the Southern governors, they simply sat and discussed issues of personal vendetta without recourse to the people they governed. For this, we condemn in totality the forum meeting with emirs in attendance.
“For this, we condemn in totality the Northern Governors Forum meeting with Emirs in attendance. They sat to discuss their self-aggrandize motives leveraging on ways and means to enrich themselves to the impairment of the people”, Hussaini said.
He added that the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led federal government was not helping with issues affecting the Fulani, especially nomadic herders, who he said were only preoccupied with looking for greener pastures for their animals
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