Don’t be quick to condemn southern leaders –MACBAN

From Geoffrey Anyanwu, Enugu and Fred Ezeh, Abuja 

The Chairman, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), South East Zone, Alhaji Gidado Siddiki, has called for caution among the Northern leaders over their condemnation of the ban on open grazing by southern political leaders.

He said rather than be quick in condemning the southern leaders, the northern political leaders should come together and constructively engage them for the good of all.

Many a northern leader, including President Muhammadu Buhari, had condemned the action of the southern governors, with the president describing the ban as illegal.

But Siddiki, in a statement, yesterday, said: “I sincerely do not think anybody or group should be quick in rising to condemn the political heads of the South in this decision. I rather think that the political leaders of the North, particularly those of them who are of Fulani stock or who understands the dynamic of livestock rearing, should put heads together and constructively engaged their colleagues in the south for the good of all.

“The growing suggestions for improved and more modern mode of livestock keeping could be well taken, but a middle course needs be quickly negotiated as an interim position to avoid such abrupt stop that the governor’s seem to be demanding now, the need for the middle course I advocate, is not farfetched. It will douse tension and the heightening tension across the North and South and give sufficient room for gradual adjustment that would be beneficial to the generality of Nigerians.”

Meanwhile, Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) has advocated safe evacuation of herdsmen and their cattle assets from southern Nigeria back to north to avoid unnecessary attacks and display of hatred. 

CNG spokesman, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, in a statement released in Abuja, yesterday, noted that only 10 percent of the Fulani herdsmen live and conduct their business in the entire South.

He said: “With the incessant show of animosity against the pastoral communities by the people of the South and their leaders, it has become a matter of urgent necessity for the federal government to take steps to evacuate the remaining 10 percent of herders currently in the south back to north. 

“With the onset of the fresh systematic vilification of the herdsmen at official level, it is important to evacuate them, peacefully, since apparently their security is not being guaranteed in their host communities in the southern part of the country.”