The Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, has ordered herdsmen, under
the aegis of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria,
to expose criminals amongst them.
The monarch said this while regretting that Fulani herdsmen were
being generally painted as criminals, which he maintained they were not.
He advised Nigerians to avoid ethnic profiling, maintaining that not all herdsmen were criminals.
He said “Nigerians should avoid ethnic profiling whenever a crime was committed, criminals have no tribal marks.
“MACBAN should liaise with the governors of Niger, Kogi, Nasarawa and
Kano states who have indicated interest to allocate grazing reserves,
with a view to developing them.”
The ex governor stated this in a statement on Sunday in Minna, during a national executive council meeting of MACBAN.
The meeting was also attended by the Lamido of Adamawa, Muhammadu
Barkindo Musdafa, Prof. Ango Abdullahi, Dr. Aliyu Tilde and other
stakeholders.
In his remarks, the Zonal Chairman of the National Executive
Committee, MACBAN, Alhaji Gidado Siddiki, noted that, “conflict between
herdsmen and farmers has a long history; the solution has been to engage
all stakeholders to find an amicable solution to the conflict.”
He hailed the approaches of governors Willie Obiano and Ifeanyi
Ugwuanyi of Anambra and Enugu states respectively, towards ending the
farmers/herdsmen crisis.
“We commend Obiano and Ugwuanyi who have been able to effectively
stem the recurring clashes between farmers and herders at a time their
other peers and the Federal Government are at a loss on how to handle
the clashes,” he said.