Afenifere Ready To Help Fulani Herdsmen On Building Ranches

Pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere said it was open to discussions with the Fulani leaders on ways to ensure harmonious co-existence in the South West.

The Association of Fulani Chiefs of South West Nigeria and Miyeti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) have faulted the proposed ban on cattle rearers by the Afenifere group, saying it is in violation of the 1999 Constitution which protects free movement of people and livestock.

However, the group’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr Yinka Odumakin said: “We acknowledge the appreciation of the wrongs the herdsmen have done to their hosts and the promise to find solution to the problem. We, however, reject their quoting international treaties to justify the right of cows to graze freely as if they are citizens who have gumption to know how to distinguish between grass and crops that the owners of the land sweated for. Are there treaties that say they should rob, kidnap and r*pe women?

“We are ready to talk with them on how to do ranches and ensure harmonious co-existence but we have had enough of normadic activities that have led to these clashes over the years. If they insisted that nomadic grazing is the way of life for the Fulani, which is now putting our own people in harm’s way, the north has the biggest land mass in Nigeria which should serve them well,” Odumakin said.