The Ogun state chapter of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) has dissociated itself from the recent kidnapping incidents in the state.
The association is insisting that its members are peace loving people.
The kidnapping incidents in the state generated sharp reactions from members of the public with many attributing the criminal acts to suspected Fulani herdsmen.
But the chairman of the association in the state, Alhaji Abdulmumini Ibraheem in a exclusive interview with Blueprint in Abeokuta, the state capital said everyone should be involved in the fight against armed robbery, kidnapping and other criminal activities instead of tagging a particular tribe as criminals.
Ibraheem who speaks Yoruba language fluently, insisted that tagging the Fulani tribe as armed robbers and kidnappers is a deliberate ploy by some people to destabilise the country.
He said, “The issue of Fulani herdsmen has been politicised. You will notice that the trouble started in the past four years when President Muhammadu Buhari became the President of the country. People everywhere started attributing all manners of criminal activities to Fulani tribe. I don’t know what the people behind this are trying to achieve, but I know the issue has been politicised.
“Some people behind this started spreading pictures of some Fulani herdsmen carrying AK-47 Riffles on the internet. These are not pictures of Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria but the ones from the Chad Republic.”
“I’m not saying there are no kidnappers among the Fulani, but if the government and people think that it is only Fulani people that are kidnapping we won’t find lasting solution to kidnapping.”
“All of us should fight against kidnapping as a crime and stop tagging a particular tribe as kidnappers. There is no tribe that is not involved in kidnapping.”
“Not all Fulani are criminals as many people often accuse us. Other tribes are also involved in one form of criminal activity or the other. Why then are they labelling Fulani as criminals?”
