Yemisi Izuora
The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, in Lagos has pledged to support any peace plan that will help to bring about peaceful coexistence of all ethnic nationalities in Lagos state.
The group expressed their displeasure about total condemnation of Fulani Herdsmen by other tribes in the country following incessant killing by unknown Herdsmen.
Speaking on behalf of the Association in Lagos during a “Peace Building and Conflict Resolution” Summit, organised by the Journalists For Democratic Rights, JODER, secretary of the Association, Maikudi Usman who spoke on behalf of the chairman Alhaji Abdullahi Lelege, said the Association on its part has begun to issue identification cards to its members to enable them help trace intruders.
“Our Chairman has resided in Lagos for the past 51 years, myself I was born and bread here. So we are Lagosians. We started our cattle business in Apapa and later relocated to the Abattoir in Agege where we do our legitimate business”, Maikudi said.
According to him, an average Fulani man is peaceful and industrious and value his cow to terrorism. “We are peaceful people and we operate under a constitution. If in Lagos a Fulani man slaps another person we depose him and he will stay away from Lagos for two years before coming back. If we are violent the people of Lagos will not allow us to stay this long doing our lawful business”, he said.
Maikudi said that those who carry out the killings are not known to them and they migrate from other places and do not even associate with legitimate business cattle breeders. “We have organised our selves that today we help governments in the north to locate rustled cattle. Recently a truck load of cattle stolen in Benue and Zamfara found their way to Lagos. We called on the governors what we have identified them and they were returned to their owners”
“What we lack here is education, we don’t have educated people among us who can speak for us and help us tell Nigerians the truth. We are not killers, we hate terrorism and we cannot associate with terrorists. We are legitimate business cattle dealers and we are committed to supporting any move by Lagos state to rid the state of infiltrators”, Maikudi said.
The chairman who is also financial secretary at the National Miyetti Allah Association Lelega who spoke in Hausa and interpreted by Maikudi disowned rampaging killer Herdsmen, calling them unpatriotic people who do not have legitimate means of livelihood.
Speaking earlier, convener of the summit and executive secretary of JODER Wale Adeoye observed that before now the clear signals of instability was restricted to the north east where killings and violent confrontations continue unstoppable between Boko Haram and the Nigerian state, but since 1999 when military gave way to civilian government there have been obvious threats to the democratic process.
Adeoye said now arms are everywhere making violent clashes possible and Nigeria today is home to 350 million illegal weapons representing 70 per cent of illicit weapons in the entire West Africa.