In a rare peace move to douse ongoing tension generated by the herders, farmers’ clashes across the country, the apex Igbo socio- cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has cautioned that the narratives going on in the country that the Fulani herdsmen were not wanted in Southern Nigeria, let alone the South East, is not right.
The group’s publicity secretary, Chief Alex Ogbonna, in a statement made available to the media Thursday, said there was no conflict between the North and South and as such, people should guard against unguarded and inflammatory statements capable of causing disaffection in the country.
He said never was there a time Ndigbo served quit notice on northerners and no one should nurse such belief.
The group’s position came against the backdrop of the quit notice given to Fulani herders in Ondo and Oyo states.
We ‘re not part to it -Ndigbo
Taking a different position, however, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo said it would cherish good neighbourliness with its guests, saying serving quit notice would be counterproductive.
Spokesman of the group, Chief Ogbonna said: “Ohanaeze Ndigbo is concerned about recent developments in Nigeria around the activities of herdsmen of Fulani stock said to be foreigners from outside Nigeria who have caused damage across the land and elicited negative reactions.
“While that is disturbing enough, we are distressed by the tenor of conversations on the subject pushed by persons who should otherwise do better. Many are framing it as a North versus South conflict. This is not correct.
“Ohanaeze Ndigbo calls on the elite of Northern and Southern Nigeria to desist from inflammatory rhetoric and the canvassing of narratives that could stoke conflict and inflame passions. No one would gain from the consequences of such idle chatter but Nigeria will lose big time.”
“Specifically, we assert that no one in the South, not the least the South East, has issued quit orders to all Northerners or will ask Northerners to leave. Ndigbo are nation builders and not destroyers. Rather, what has happened in both the South West, the South-South, South East and the Middle Belt of Nigeria are plaintive cries of citizens and their governments for lawless inhabitants of our forests and lands to stop criminality.
“Surely, no upright and well-meaning citizens will dispute the imperative of having law-abiding citizens who pursue their vocations without doing harm to others.
“We declare that our people demand the observance of due process by all groups. We deplore rash and unlawful retaliatory actions. We condemn even more the activities of herdsmen instigating crises in the land through the invasion of farmlands, vandalism, rape, and murders.
“We call on Northern leaders to enjoin a return to the lawful herdsmen with whom our communities have interacted in various Hausa settlements across the South East over many decades. It is the same call that citizens are making in the South West, South-South and the North-Central.
“Leaders must restrain themselves from sharing the wrong narratives and perspectives. No one is driving Northerners away from the South. Ohanaeze calls on Northern leaders to join in the call against lawlessness and impunity by the few who do not represent the majority,” he said.
Northern govs
Also, the Northern Governors Forum (NGF) has warned that the activities of criminal elements should not be linked to any ethnic grouping, saying such would not bring about peaceful coexistence.
The governors made the position Thursday against the backdrop of the spate of killings and killings that are often believed to have been perpetrated by herders of Fulani extraction.
The Fulani ethnic extraction has come under serious attack, particularly in the South-west and South-east, following heinous crimes by some criminal elements suspected to be Fulani herders.
Taking a position in a statement by its Chairman and Plateau state Governor Simon Lalong, the northern governors said while it is the legitimate right of all Nigerians to reside and work in any part of the country, it should be done without violation of the right of others.
The statement signed by the Director of Press and Public Affairs to the governors, Makut Macham, lauded Ekiti state Governor Kayode Fayemi, who is also the chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum for his prompt intervention in the Ondo crisis.
“While the Northern Governors Forum concedes to the rights of Nigerians to reside wherever they so desire without any molestation or discrimination, it also emphasizes that criminal elements should not be used to tar any particular ethnic group for any crime as that will portend danger to peaceful coexistence and national unity.
“Rather, such criminal elements should be exposed, isolated, and made to face the law of the land without prejudice to their ethnic backgrounds as the motives or criminal actions cannot be said to be the position of their ethnic group,” the governors said.
They called on the “aggrieved” individuals to exercise calm as “Nigeria is going through a lot, and escalating such tensions would definitely not resolve any grievances but rather aggravate the situation to levels that could threaten national security.
“Leaders across political, ethnic, religious and community lines should avoid utterances and actions that further fan the embers of distrust, hate, violence, and retaliation which can easily escalate the situation and cause chaos.
“Relevant government officials, traditional rulers, and opinion moulders must also rise up and speak with one voice by not only condemning crime no matter who is involved, but also sending the right signals to those who want to take the laws into their hands and trample on the Nigerian Constitution by attempting to deny others the rights to live and pursue their legitimate business in whatever place they choose to reside.
“Security agencies must equally be firm and rise up to the occasion by protecting all law-abiding citizens against the threat to their lives and properties irrespective of their ethnic or other affiliations. They should also send a clear and unambiguous message to those threatening the peace that they will act decisively to stop them from plunging the nation into anarchy.
“The Northern Governors Forum further assures Nigerians of all ethnic, religious and political persuasions of their constitutional rights to pursue their legitimate businesses wherever they choose within the region and appeal to the people to resist any attempt to lure them into any act that can threaten the peace and tranquillity of the region and the nation at large.”
Amotekun arrests
Meanwhile, the Commander of the Ondo state Security Network, Amotekun Corps, Mr Adetunji Adeleye, has said no fewer than 37 herders and 5,000 cows were arrested for disobeying the state directive.
Governor Oluwatotimi Akeredolu last month issued directive asking herders to quit the government forest reserves and also banned movement of cattle along the highways and within the cities.
The government also banned night grazing and under-age herders from operating in the state while all herders were also asked to register with the state government to enable them operate legitimately.
Adeleye said the suspects and their herds were arrested in Ala, Ofosu and Oda forest reserves.
While saying that his men were still in the forest to flush out the remaining erring herders, Adeleye said, some of the herdsmen, who could not cope with the terms and conditions of the state government, had met with the corps and had opted to move out of the state peacefully.
He said: “Some of them have opted to leave the state because they couldn’t meet with our terms and conditions. They came through the Chairman of Miyatti Allah in the state. Some opted to go to Osun, Edo and Kogi states.
“So our men escorted them to the boundaries of those states. We have to monitor their movements out of the state so that they would not destroy farms on their way out.
“About 37 herders have been arrested with about 5,000 cows. Majority of the herders have been coming to us through their chairman and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Hausa Matters. We will hand over the culprits to the chairman to lead them out and anybody caught again after this would be arrested and prosecuted.”
The Amotekun boss implored the farmers to always call on the corps whenever cows invaded and destroyed their farms, saying the corps would urgently respond.
“It is always difficult for us to trace the herders after they had destroyed the farms but if we are called upon during the act, we will come, make arrest and ensure that the herders pay for what they destroyed,” Adeleye said.
NSCIA
In all of this, the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) has expressed worry over the security alert issued by the Department of State Services (DSS).
NSCIA urged DSS to arrest and prosecute those threatening violence in Nigeria.
DSS spokesman, Peter Afunanya, had Wednesday raised the alarm over an alleged plot by some persons to incite religious and ethnic violence in the country.
In a follow-up statement, NSCIA, through its spokesman, Ibrahim Aselemi, called on Nigerians to expose criminals and their hideouts.
The statement reads: “We fervently appeal to these faceless yet-to-be-identified persons planning to subvert public peace and order in the country to sheath their swords.
“On our part, we shall continue to advocate for respect for the religious beliefs of all and peaceful religious coexistence in Nigeria. We sincerely believe that we are greater together.
“The Council will like to use this medium to applaud the majority of Nigerians for their tenacity in the defence of the unity and diversity of the country.
“We hereby call on the security apparatus especially the DSS to fish out these enemies of the State and deal with them according to the law. This is because it is only when criminal elements are punished that we can effectively give potency to deterrence.
“We call on Nigerians to help the security apparatus with credible information on criminals and their hideouts. We cannot leave security matters to security agencies alone. If you see something, say something.”
