Igangan massacre: Yoruba elders, groups blast Buhari

By OLUSEYE OJO, Ibadan and LUKMAN OLABIYI, Lagos

The Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE), Soludero Hunters Association, and the apex Yoruba self-determination group, Ilana Omo Oodua (IOO) have blasted President Muhammadu Buhari for keeping silent on the Igangan massacre during his visit to Lagos State on Thursday.

Gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen had last Saturday night stormed Igangan, a community in Ibarapa zone of Oyo State and massacred more than 10 persons in cold blood, though there was a resistance from the villagers.

In separate exclusive interviews with Saturday Sun, they also faulted President Muhammadu Buhari on his stance on the ban placed by Southern Governors’ Forum on open grazing in all the states in the Southern region of Nigeria.

President Buhari was in Lagos to commission some projects on Thursday, during which he vowed to restore grazing routes from the Northern to the Southern part of the country.

Secretary-General of YCE, Dr. Kunle Olajide, told Saturday Sun: “The two projects that President Buhari came for in Lagos on Thursday were worth it. They are desirable. But it appears he’s grossly insensitive to the problems of this country. Coming to Lagos, he should have made comments on the Igangan massacre. He should have at least emphathise with the South West.

“Then, he spoke about grazing routes from the North to the South. In this 21st Century, grazing route is archaic. The time Mr. President spoke about, the population of Nigeria was about 50 million. Now, the population of Nigeria is about 211million. So, the population has grown and urbanisation is another reality that we must face.”

The National President, Soludero Hunters Association, Oba Nureni Ajijolaanabi, also said: “The Soludero Hunters are taking care of Igangan and its environs. By God’s grace, such massacre would not happen again. The gunmen that stormed Igangan last Saturday night and killed many people are human beings like us. President Buhari should have made comments on the Igangan massacre, especially when he was in Lagos on Thursday.

Again, if he could not personally visit Igangan, he should have sent a delegation to visit Igangan on his behalf. But he has not done that. I don’t think that is good enough.

“On the grazing routes from the North to the South, we would not accept it. But it should be known that we are not fighting Fulani herdsmen. But we are fighting those among them carrying AK-47.”

In the same vein, the Ilana Omo Oodua, under the leadership of the Emeritus Professor Banji Akintoye, said the fact that President Buhari did not make any comment on the Igangan massacre has confirmed the allegation that he is president for the North and not the entire country.

The IOO that spoke through its Communication Manager, Mr. Maxwell Adeleye, noted: “We at Ilana Omo Oodua want to say expressly that the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Federal Republic of Nigeria, a sovereign nation, has been accused of being the president of the North and not Nigeria, by individuals and groups.

“When Fulani men threatened war, what did the presidency say? Mr. President even abused our governors in the South West. He said two governors from South West came to meet him over atrocities of Fulani herdsmen and the need for state police. Mr. President said he told them that they were elected to protect their people and they should go and do their jobs, whereas they are mere ceremonial chief security officers. This is an affirmation that President Buhari is president of the North.

“Also, Mr. President wants to use the gazette on the grazing route to override the governors, especially in Yorubaland.  But the fact still remains that the Land Use Act vests the power on land in the governors, and not the president.

“Now, we implore our governors to ensure enactment of a law that would ban open grazing. We know that Ekiti and Oyo State have enacted the laws. The other governors should emulate them. The law must also establish an anti-open grazing marshal. The grazing route should be quashed through laws that would be made by Houses of Assembly and the passed bills should be expressly signed into law by the governors.”

Agbekoya Farmers Society has blasted President Muhammadu Buhari for not reacting to the recent killings and arson unleashed by suspected bandits on Igangan community in Oyo State.

A rights activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Kunle Adegoke also knocked the president for keeping mute on he matter.

Adegoke, in a separate interview, said: “It was expected that the President would commiserate with the victims of violence in different parts of Nigeria, Igangan inclusive. I suspect it is an oversight that the President, while in the South Western part of the country, failed to refer to and commiserate with the victims of the unnecessary violence that is swallowing up the whole of Oke-Ogun. (Saturday SUN)