A Fulani leader and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party, Senator Dr Walid Jibrin, has disagreed with the statement made by the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore that all of Nigeria’s lands belong to the Fulani.
The PDP BoT Chairman said he is against any popular motion that Fulani are the owners of the Nigerian territories, as being peddled by some Fulani leaders.
Jibrin disclosed this in a statement he personally signed and made available to SaharaReporters, on Tuesday, while calling on the Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, to, however, reverse the notice to quit issued to herdsmen.
Senator Jibrin, however, called on Nigerians, especially the people of Ondo and Oyo states as well as the Fulani communities in the places, to embrace dialogue and reconciliation in solving their disagreements.
The PDP chieftain erroneously thought Akeredolu had ordered Fulani herdsmen to leave Ondo but the seven-day ultimatum given by the governor in a statement regarding the issue said herdsmen should leave the forest reserves in the state, which he noted that some people masquerading as herders had been using to commit crimes.
He said, “I am calling on all Nigerians, especially the Ondo and Oyo states’ governors, all security outfits in the affected states and the Fulani to adopt the necessary reconciliation tactics and rely on effective dialogue in solving all misunderstandings going on among the states and the Fulani living in the states.
“Yorubas, Igbos, Ijaws and the Fulanis must live peacefully forever. I do not support anyone who says that all lands in Nigeria belong to the Fulani. All lands belong to every state.
“I support governors trying to solve these problems between Fulani herdsmen and farmers in every state. The order given to Fulani residing in Ondo to evacuate from the state immediately should be reversed and allow the elders and governors forum to handle this matter peacefully and amicably.
“As a prominent Fulani leader myself and responsible elder statesman, I am making all efforts to invite all Fulani associations to come together for a truce that will solve this matter without any fight or war.
“We have been living peacefully in Nigeria since after the Biafran War. May I congratulate all our state governors for their efforts in handling the Fulani herdsmen issues, hoping that the problems will soon come to pass.”
The Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore had on Sunday declared that all lands in the country belonged to the Fulani and only the Fulani herdsmen could tackle the problem of banditry ravaging the country.
The National President, Bello Abdullahi Bodejo, had stated this in reaction to the seven-day ultimatum issued by the Ondo State Governor.
On Monday, the South-West governors, however, met and rescinded the decision, saying open grazing and underage grazing have now been banned in the region.