Miyetti Allah leader: Attack on Kaduna train bad, but nobody talks about Fulani being killed in the forest

National President of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Alhaji Abdullahi Bello Bodejo has said the votes of his Fulani kinsmen would be for only Southern presidential candidates that are ready to do the bidding of the Fulani.

In an interview, the leader of the Fulani socio-cultural group said President Buhari is not to blame for the attack on the Kaduna-bound train, insisting that everyone should be concerned with security. He urged Nigerians to also express outrage at what he called the genocide being perpetrated against Fulani herders by the Hausa in the guise of securing lands in Taraba State.

It is part of the problem the country is having. Security is not only to be left with the police or military; it is for everybody. We all are supposed to be involved by giving information to the security agencies. In Kaduna, I have a report that bandits rustled over 10, 000 cows and killed the herders. Fulani in the bushes are almost decimated, as they are the number one victims of banditry attacks. You are not seeing this in the media because journalists would not want to go to the forest to see things for themselves.

From survivors’ accounts, the attackers were young Fulani people?

If they said so, how many people have been arrested? I can’t say it’s Fulani or not. If they were Fulani, how many of them have they arrested? If they were Fulani or they were from other tribes, they are also killing Fulani in the bushes. If they were Fulani, they would not have been killing fellow Fulani in the bushes and forests.

What do you expect Buhari to do?       

He should encourage the military and the police to put in more efforts even though they are trying. I call on the Federal Government to provide security for the Fulani herdsmen before they are completely wiped out; they are at the receiving end of this insecurity.

Some people are calling on Buhari to resign, saying he has failed in his duty to protect the citizens. Do you agree with them?

They are trying to bring politics into this security matter. Why should he resign? To resign and go where? He can’t resign. Anybody who says he should resign shouldn’t be taken seriously. If he is failing, tell him to wake up and change strategy on how to deal with these bandits. My problem is that when the military wants to finish these bandits, the innocent herdsmen in the bushes and forests would also be killed.

In spite of efforts by the security agencies, killings, kidnappings and other crimes have persisted everywhere. Why can’t there be an end to these challenges?

Nobody is happy or should be happy over the insecurity situation in the country, especially the killings, kidnappings and destructions going on everywhere. However, nobody is talking about the way the Fulani herders are being killed in Taraba State, where people in military or police uniforms go inside the bushes and begin to arrest and kill these herdsmen. You can’t say whether they are soldiers or policemen. We are trying to report this to the security agencies. Herdsmen are the greatest victims of these killings going on especially in the North and we are not happy because it is affecting them as they ply their trade in the bush.

When did this arrest and killing of herdsmen by men in uniform in Taraba start?

Remember, not quite long, a military aircraft threw bombs where Fulani herders were grazing their cows and killed so many of the cows and some herdsmen. The reports we are receiving from these herdsmen are that some people dressed in military attire come to the bush and arrest them or kill them. We don’t think it is the Nigeria Army, because when they arrest people, they hand them over to the police. But for these unknown uniformed men, the moment they take any herdsman, that is the end. He would never be seen again. We are putting up a petition to the Defence Headquarters to tell them what is happening in Taraba State.

We don’t know where these people killing our people are coming from because as they are in the bush, it is hard for them to know where these uniformed men were coming from. Even when they see some of them on the road, they would arrest them. Any of them they arrest can never return. They are now scared. Their leaders are coming to tell us.

I have emphasised before, these bandits operate from the forests and bushes, and the same place that Fulani herdsmen ply their trade, and when they come to deal with the bandits, they equally extend it to the herders. It is difficult to differentiate between the two groups. There is why we advise whenever there is going to be a military operation to decimate the bandits, Fulani leaders should join them so that the innocent herdsmen are not killed alongside the herdsmen. When they are bombing the bandits, they also bomb the herdsmen as well, which is not right. If you investigate, you find out that those uniformed men are neither the army nor the policemen. This orgy of killings is affecting our people    

But many people have alleged that the herders were actually the ones killing and sacking communities…

People holding that position are propagandists because they have access to social media platforms. If something is happening to herdsmen inside bushes in Taraba, how would you know? Are you a journalist? Even if you were, is it not in Jalingo you would stay and start making calls? For the herdsmen, instead of coming outside the bush, they are now going deeper inside.

The report we are receiving from Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna and Niger states is that some people in the name of vigilantes are just slaughtering Fulani herdsmen as bandits.

Who are these vigilantes? Are they not Fulani?

They’re not Fulani, because it is very difficult for a Fulani man to kill a fellow Fulani. They are Hausa. I repeat, no Fulani will kill another Fulani. If there is one Fulani among them, he would not support the others to go and kill his brother. Before, Kaduna and Zamfara states governors have called for the ban of these vigilance groups because they are responsible of these killings in the North. Youths would gather and say they want to secure their lands and start killing these Fulani herdsmen in the name of securing their lands. I don’t think the constitution permits even the police or the army to kill any person when he is arrested.

The Hausa in these states are committing genocide against Fulani herdsmen there. From the messaging they are sending to me, what is happening to them there is very scary in the name of securing their lands.

Kano State governor is conducting census of the herdsmen in Kano, what is it for?

We discussed with the committee counting the herdsmen. As a governor, you have power to do anything within your state, but counting the herders is not the solution to your problem. I’m here now, after counting my family members, including uncles and brothers and tomorrow we migrate to Taraba State with our cows. How would you know? He should go and count the traders, spare parts dealers, those selling fruits, kola nuts and shoe shiners, Mai Tea and others, not Fulani herders who hardly stay in one place. They migrate to meet their brothers here and there, and you cannot separate them. The governor needs advice; he is a Fulani. How many years has he left these people inside the bush without helping them? They are drinking water from the same source with their cows. They don’t have borehole, they don’t have anything. You say you want to look for solution for banditry.

The Fulani herdsmen are the number one victims of these bandits. You are the executive governor , you have the power to give them water; you have the power to settle them in a place and make the place a little bit comfortable for them. Give an executive order for the parents to send their children to school. Those who have cows, teach him modern animal husbandry, but you can’t do that. So, any governor who couldn’t do those things has failed the Fulani in whatever he is doing. This doesn’t take him anything to implement if he is sincere and determined.

In some places, the herdsmen were there before some of these governors were born. Take, for instance, Fulani herdsmen were rearing their cows long before the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, was conceived. Go and check what is happening with them. Today they are displaced and driven from a particular place without compensation.  It has been like that since. They didn’t go to meet the FCT, instead it was FCT that went to meet them where they were doing their business of cattle rearing. They have been there and because their cow dung had fertilised the place, then the Gwari people and others started farming on the land.

Go and see how our people are suffering; no FCT minister has deemed it fit to allocate a place to them. Nobody valued the Fulani herdsmen in this country. Why are you counting the herdsmen? You didn’t count their children and send them to school. I respect Ganduje because he is a Fulani brother, but counting them is not the solution. Okay, you know their number. And so what? It remains one year to leave office, you want to do a head count of them, to do what?

People allege that the herdsmen take the law into their own hands because President Buhari is Fulani. Some say you guys will become powerless when this administration leaves office next year.  What do you say to this?

They are always saying this. They thought that Buhari being a pure Fulani would value his people more than others, but it has not been so. He has been supporting crop farming through Anchor Borrowers Scheme and in other ways. People around Buhari, especially the former Agriculture Minister, started giving Fulani different names – RUGA, Cattle Colony, tomorrow this and tomorrow that, which attracted hatred for the Fulani. Even though Buhari has not done anything for our people, those fighting him accuse him of supporting us. We have been hoping that he would remember to do something for us, but our waiting seems to have been in vain. He is busy addressing the problems of other people, while abandoning his own people. The people making that comment should be asked if Buhari can give a grazing reserve. Is it not governors who can give grazing reserves? If the governors want to solve the problem, let them create grazing reserves for the Fulani. There are over 700 grazing reserves; some are gazetted, while other are not. They should implement these reserves and put little amenities like borehole and let the Fulani move there and continue their lives.

Some governors collected some money that they want to go in to ranching, but none of them has done anything. These people that are saying that it is Buhari who is supporting us, after he leaves power, let them come and swallow all the Fulani, which is the only thing remaining. They don’t allow Buhari to rest; they don’t allow us to rest; when we are saying that Buhari hasn’t done anything to us. Ok, they want Buhari to kill us before they would have rest of mind.

Some say if a Southerner becomes president, there might be more punishment for herders who commit crimes..

They are talking about politics. I’m not a politician even when pressure is being mounted on me to go and contest for governorship or Senate in my state. Anybody who doesn’t have a good mind for this country, God can never allow him to win even primary election, not to talk of winning the general election. This time around, we are prepared and we have directed all the herdsmen and their families to register and obtain their PVCs in all the states they live, especially in the North. For any person who comes from South-East, South-West or South-South who wants our votes, we are going to scrutinize him to know if he belongs to those who say Fulani would not stay in his place, whether he is the person who will protect only the farmers, while leaving the Fulani. Farmers and herders exist side by side; they are together. What is surprising me in this country is that even the mai shai, (the person who makes tea for people) in Kano is valued and given support, but nobody cares about the person who has 100 cows, but it is to do a head count of them the government is interested in. Something is wrong somewhere. Even in the North, especially in the Central, there are some people who don’t want the Fulani, maybe, they can team with the South to hate us. If you hate Fulani, you hate your God. If you know you hate Fulani before, don’t go and waste your money in the election because you can’t win. It is now that you will know that we have value in this country; we will vote you out. You can see the massive votes we are going to turn out in 2023. We have mobilised and our people are getting their voters cards.

Are you saying that your people, the Fulani, will vote only the person who will do your bidding?        

Yes. That is what I have been emphasising. Before we vote for you, we want to know your plans or programmes for the Fulani herdsmen. Are you among those Fulani haters or you support their business activities? If you want, you can come and seek our advice or you ignore us, it is at your own peril, as we shall meet in the field on the election day.   (Saturday Sun)