Alhaji Dahiru Umar has asked the media to stop portraying all Fulani people as criminals because of the activities of a few.
He said the regular portrayal of killer herdsmen as ‘Fulani’ by a section of Nigerian media was tacitly suggesting that all Fulani people are criminals.
“The frequent use of the term Fulani by the media to describe killer herdsmen is not only a stereotype but it defies responsible journalism.
“Of course, there are bad eggs among Fulani. Look, a criminal is a criminal irrespective of his tribe, but this negative profiling of our people, even before thorough investigation, is new to the principles of journalism,” he said.
“The truth is ranching is the best alternative to grazing, but it has to be gradual, not this fire brigade approach of forcing people to ranch millions of cows within six months or thereabout.
“Intensive and continuous sensitisation should have been done. In the 1980’s, I remember, our people rejected fertilizer when it was introduced but accepted it after massive awareness campaign” he said.
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