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Philip Nwosu
The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Most Reverend Adewale Martins has called on the government to listen to the cries of Nigerians.
He said the establishment of Fulani settlement in states, in the name of RUGA would create fear and suspicion among the people of the state.
He urged the Federal government to take the fear of the people of Nigeria into consideration and think out a way of settling the problems between farmers and herders, especially in the consideration that such crises had claimed many lives in the past.
He spoke to Daily Sun shortly after administering the sacrament of confirmation on over 500 Catholic faithful at the St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Kirikiri Town.
“Before now, it had been settlement for herdsmen and suddenly we’re hearing RUGA; it’s a very strange name to me, it just like finding another word for what people had rejected, which obviously means that the Federal Government needs to listen to what the people are saying. The experience in the hands of the so-called herdsmen in so many place are not pleasant, and so naturally, if you want to come and settle them there, it’s bound to bring up fear and suspicion. Therefore, it’s important that Federal Government listen and think out another option for what they are talking about such that the way people are thinking, they can be given assurance that nobody is trying to take their land.”
The Archbishop supported recent comment by former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, that there was an agenda to “fulanise” Nigeria by the present government, explaining that, “people are worried and concerned; the experience of the Fulani herdsmen that we had in the last five years had not been pleasant at all, and if nothing had been done to checkmate their activities, anybody can have a feeling that there is an agenda. And indeed, it gives one a very strong feeling that there is an agenda to steer the country towards that direction, an agenda to dominate others, which our government needs to take seriously.”
