Chairman of the Fulani Miyetti Allah Amalgamated Associations in Bauchi, Alhaji Sadiq Ibrahim Ahmad, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to disregard calls by Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom for the federal government to declare Fulani herdsmen as terrorists.
Ahmad in an interview with Leadership in Bauchi said, there was nothing reasonable in Governor Ortom’s vituperations against Fulani herdsmen, saying the governor is the one that has the resemblance of a terrorist based on his actions and utterances in Benue State.
Governor Samuel Ortom had last Thursday asked President Buhari to declare the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) as a terrorist organization. Ortom in a statement signed by his chief press secretary, Nathanial Ikyur hours after the federal government gazetted an order designating bandits as terrorists, alleged that MACBAN has vowed to ‘cause havoc’ in Benue.
Ahmad who doubles as Bauchi State chairman of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) however blamed some Fulani leaders and youths who sometimes precipitate problems for the group.
He blamed poor leadership and poor representation of nomads from the national level down to states and local chapters for the leadership crisis. He called on the leaders of MACBAN to put the members in their hearts for positive outputs.
“Some national leaders of the association also play negative roles through clandestine activities that tends to jeopardize members, especially in a situation where a member is being deprived of his cattle and other means of livelihood by the bandits,” he said.
Ibrahim stressed the need for the national body to review its activities through retreats where members could be kept abreast about the dos and don’ts of the organisation.
He implored the Fulani leaders to live up to their responsibilities with a view to moving the association forward.
He called on the people and government officials to stop addressing the Fulani negatively in order to tarnish the history and image of nomads in the country and the world at large.
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