Youths of the South-West region of Nigeria have vowed to do everything possible to resist President Bola Tinubu’s mandate for all the state governors to provide land for herdsmen in their states for grazing.
President Tinubu had earlier urged state governors to provide grazing land for herdsmen, stressing that the provision of grazing land for herders would end the violent clashes between farmers and herders and the loss of lives and farm produce.
He also asked the governors to pay wage awards to workers to relieve the substantial population of hunger and hardship.
The Yoruba Nation Southwest Youth Leader, Comrade Oyegunle Oluwamayowa Omotoyole in a statement issued on Wednesday, described Fulani herders as “murderers, rapists and national thieves” who have caused a huge and sad loss of human lives in the Southwest.
Omotoyole said the herders are known for sexual harassment, acquisition of dangerous weapons/arms, reduction in quality of community social relationships, and reduction of social support with high cases of rape.
Vowing that the South-West youths will do everything to resist giving Fulani herders grazing land in the region, Omotoyole said, “We are aware of your recent speech where you said that each state governor in Nigeria should find land for Fulani herdsmen to graze their cattle in their state in order for peace to reign in Nigeria.
“Please permit me to remind you sir, maybe you have quickly forgotten what these herdsmen have done in the Southwest to our farmers in Yoruba land.
“These herdsmen have caused a huge and sad loss of human lives in the Southwest. Added on top of it is sexual harassment, acquisition of dangerous weapons/arms, reduction in quality of community social relationship, reduction of social support with high cases of rape while the economic effect of the menace of Fulani herdsmen are still biting the people.
“Fulani herdsmen are responsible for thousands of deaths in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, South-West, South-East and mostly the terror attacks committed against Christians and traditional community farmers.
“Being the President and Commander-in-Chief of the country, you are fully aware of these atrocities and the complications the Fulani’s new land take-over style of Cow rearing brings.”
He said, “The Fulani herdsmen-farmers have given rise to conflicts that have created food insecurity, food scarcity, distrust, and unemployment.
“If you continue with your plan to force the Fulani on our land, there is the future risk of serious tribal wars with the Fulanis because you now approve their evil deeds giving them a legal reason to carry on in the name of cattle grazing and ‘selling’ the country to them.
“Remember that Yorùbá and Fulani are different people with different cultures, languages and aims.
“There will therefore be serious consequences as these people aim beyond just cattle rearing on our land.
“As you know sir, the Fulanis are scattered all over the Sahel and West Africa! They are therefore working very hard looking for permanent land to gather.”
Omotoyole said, “In Nigeria, they can be found in Adamawa, Gombe, Taraba and Sokoto states and almost everywhere in the Southern territory of the country.
“They have therefore found Nigeria, yourself and other leaders to be penetrable and can be overrun to get the land but the original owners of the separate land amalgamated to form Nigeria think differently.
“The Fulani are a Muslim of a kind and are using the religion to cause division where necessary and deceive other Muslims also where necessary. Mr President sir, I make bold to tell you that their kind of Islam is not the same as yours.
“We the youths of South-West are using this medium to tell Mr President sir, and the Federal Government of Nigeria, that if we find any herdsman on our land in the South-West, we will chase them out.
“We will then ignite a mass protest because we will never accept approved killers, murderers, rapers, organised national thieves on our land to take over our fatherland under any guise.
“Mr President, please advise them to go back to the North because we are aware and can confirm that there are lots of land over there for animal grazing, Mr President.”
Credit: Sahara Reporters
