Allegations against us politically motivated — S-West herdsmen

The South-West leaders of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria have refuted the killing allegation levelled against their members, describing it as politically motivated.

The Chairman of the association ,Muhammed Kabir Labar who led other herdsmen to the dialogue in Abeokuta , yesterday, at the 2016 Annual Business Advocacy Conference/ 1st General Meeting of Ogun State Business Advocacy Group, BAG, said that reported crisis of Fulani herdsmen and farmers was a mere excuse to get rid of herdsmen and their business in Nigeria.

He said as the nomads they are not terrorists as usually reported, adding that reported crisis between herdsmen and farmers was usually politically motivated. He said; “We are peace-loving Nigerians. We are normally called nomads or pasturalists but in Nigeria, we are terrorists, we carry out our business peacefully and make sure that Nigeria sustains this commodity that is under agriculture which will produce for local consumption. “We are going to look at the allegation raised that we carry weapons around, we are all Nigerians and under the Nigerian system of government we know that carrying sophisticated weapons around is prohibited.

Indicting our community that we carry weapons around are all political statements, they only talk about this to kill our business completely and that will not happen.” Meantime, the state governor , Ibikunle Amosun asked every Nigerian, especially Nigerians from Southern extraction, to treat Fulani herdsmen with the respect they deserve , saying peaceful co-existence of all Nigerians irrespective of tribe, is what is required to move the nation forward.

Governor Amosun, represented by his Special Adviser on Trade and Investment, Hafsat Abiola-Costello, spoke against the backdrop of incessant crisis between farmers and Fulani herdsmen requesting Nigerian government and Nigerians to come up with cogent and timely solutions against inter-tribal, inter-religious crises, including Boko Haram insurgency and herdsmen-farmers crisis that impede the progress of Nigeria.