The Chairman of the Northern Elders Forum, Paul Unongo, has
accused former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of being the chief
financier and most influential member of the Miyetti Allah Cattle
Breeders Association of Nigeria, the apex body of Fulani herdsmen
in Nigeria.
He, therefore, called on Atiku, who is a prince of the Tiv
Court, to caution the herdsmen, who have been slaughtering hundreds
of people in the country.
Unongo said this during an interview with one of our
correspondents on Friday.
The NEF Chairman said, “I am aware that the most powerful person
in Miyetti Allah is Alhaji Atiku Abubakar,who wants to be the next
president. If they are fighting for power and Atiku wants to create
problems for Buhari, I don’t know. There are so many
possibilities.
“The most powerful person who finances the Miyetti Allah is
Abubakar Atiku and he is a prince of the Tiv Court. The Tiv gave
him a traditional title, meaning ‘the biggest shade of the Tiv
people’.
“This implies that the Tiv people should be able to run to Atiku
who will protect them.
This is the man who heads Miyetti Allah and is the greatest
financier of this organisation.
He has more cattle than anybody in Miyetti Allah.
“It is an establishment of the big people, a very rich group of
Nigerians and they pack small boys to take their cattle all over
the place and then buy all these arms to give herdsmen to go and
kill people, and the government is doing nothing!”
When asked if he was sure that Atiku was the most influential
member of the Miyetti Allah, Unongo said the former Vice President
told him personally that he was an influential member of the
association.
He added, “I know, I got my facts partially from him regarding
Miyetti Allah when I used to talk to him.”
When our correspondent asked Unongo if he had met with the
former Vice President recently over the issue, the NEF boss said it
was very difficult to see him.
He said, “Have you tried to see a ‘big man’ before? I don’t like
to wait at people’s doors. If you’re in government, yes, but when
you’re not in government, it shouldn’t be so hard to see you.
Atiku is my younger brother and he should come to me.
“Anytime you go to his place, the people around him think you
are there to collect money that they are sharing. So, I decided
that I would not disgrace the NEF. I am not belittling him, but he
is no longer in power and I deserve some respect.”
Unongo also berated the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal
Government for treating the Fulani herdsmen crisis with kid
gloves.
He said he had been warning the President for nearly three years
about the crisis but that the President’s “insensitive” advisers
had been deceiving him into thinking the matter was a small
one.
The NEF chairman said that many of the President’s aides had
been preventing him from seeing the President and telling him the
truth about the issue.
Unongo, who is both Tiv and Fulani, said, “The President is not
happy about what is happening, but his insensitive advisers have
deceived him into thinking this is not a serious issue, which they
keep saying they can handle, but it has now festered to a level
where it is difficult to take care of.”
The NEF chairman said it was unfortunate that despite the
several threats made by the Fulani herdsmen after the antiopen
grazing law came into effect, the government failed to take
action.
He said, “Miyetti Allah threatened and said upon the
implementation of the law, they would attack in January violently
and force the withdrawal of the law. I don’t understand. It didn’t
make sense at the time, but it means that perhaps the Miyetti Allah
wanted to prove to the people and the government of Benue State
that when they make a promise, they keep to it.”
Benue and Ekiti states had both enacted anti-open grazing laws
to check the activities of herdsmen, while Ondo, Cross River,
Ebonyi and Akwa Ibom states have also moved to have anti-open
grazing laws to check the activities of the nomadic
pastoralists.
However, the former Vice President said that although he is a
Fulani, he was not a member of the Miyetti Allah.
Atiku stated this in his reaction to the allegations levelled
against him by Unongo.
Speaking through his media aide, Mr. Paul Ibe, in Abuja on
Friday, the former Vice President also said it was wrong to
describe him as the chief financier of the Miyetti Allah.
He said, “It is very disheartening that in this period of
intense grief in Benue State, Chief Paul Unongo would choose to
level these desperately sad and false allegations against Atiku
Abubakar, whom he erroneously described as the chief financier of
MACBAN.
“Yes, Waziri Atiku Abubakar is a Fulani and is proud to be one
as he has never hidden that fact. However, the Waziri is a
thoroughly detribalized Nigerian who would never favour one ethnic
group over another.
“Last year, during the massive flood in Benue State, which
affected over 100,000 families, Waziri Atiku Abubakar, who holds
the Tiv traditional title of Zege Mule U Tiv, donated cash to the
Benue State Government for the care of the victims.
“This is befitting for a man whose Tiv traditional title means
‘the biggest shade of the Tiv people’.
“It is strange that Chief Paul Unongo chose to neglect that act
of love and care from the Waziri Adamawa to the people of Benue.
Not only did the Zege Mule U Tiv make a financial donation, he also
called on the Federal Government to do more to assist the
flood-ravaged communities.
“Let it be known that though Waziri Adamawa is Fulani, he is not
a member of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria
nor has he ever been a member. He has also never discussed about
that group with Chief Paul Unongo.
“Furthermore, His Excellency, Atiku Abubakar, enjoins that a
thorough investigation be made into the killings in Benue, and that
anyone found culpable be made to bear the full weight of the
law.
“Having said that, it has not escaped our notice that Chief Paul
Unongo is the Chairman, Governing Board of Nigerian Educational
Research and Development Council, a position he was appointed to in
April of last year.
“Understandably, Chief Unongo would be very grateful to those
who gave him such a position and may feel it is his duty to attack
and sully those in their bad books.
“If that is the case, it would be a very sad day when a supposed
elder chooses to make mileage of the sufferings of the people of
Benue State, who have had to endure the impunity of these killings
for far too long.
“Waziri Atiku Abubakar prays for the souls of the departed and
as a traditional title holder of Tiv land, he assures the entire
people of Benue (including the Idoma and Igede) that he would do
everything in his power to bring justice, relief and compensation
their way; so help him God.”
Culled: Punch
The Chairman of the Northern Elders Forum, Paul Unongo, has
accused former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of being the chief
financier and most influential member of the Miyetti Allah Cattle
Breeders Association of Nigeria, the apex body of Fulani herdsmen
in Nigeria.
He, therefore, called on Atiku, who is a prince of the Tiv
Court, to caution the herdsmen, who have been slaughtering hundreds
of people in the country.
Unongo said this during an interview with one of our
correspondents on Friday.
The NEF Chairman said, “I am aware that the most powerful person
in Miyetti Allah is Alhaji Atiku Abubakar,who wants to be the next
president. If they are fighting for power and Atiku wants to create
problems for Buhari, I don’t know. There are so many
possibilities.
“The most powerful person who finances the Miyetti Allah is
Abubakar Atiku and he is a prince of the Tiv Court. The Tiv gave
him a traditional title, meaning ‘the biggest shade of the Tiv
people’.
“This implies that the Tiv people should be able to run to Atiku
who will protect them.
This is the man who heads Miyetti Allah and is the greatest
financier of this organisation.
He has more cattle than anybody in Miyetti Allah.
“It is an establishment of the big people, a very rich group of
Nigerians and they pack small boys to take their cattle all over
the place and then buy all these arms to give herdsmen to go and
kill people, and the government is doing nothing!”
When asked if he was sure that Atiku was the most influential
member of the Miyetti Allah, Unongo said the former Vice President
told him personally that he was an influential member of the
association.
He added, “I know, I got my facts partially from him regarding
Miyetti Allah when I used to talk to him.”
When our correspondent asked Unongo if he had met with the
former Vice President recently over the issue, the NEF boss said it
was very difficult to see him.
He said, “Have you tried to see a ‘big man’ before? I don’t like
to wait at people’s doors. If you’re in government, yes, but when
you’re not in government, it shouldn’t be so hard to see you.
Atiku is my younger brother and he should come to me.
“Anytime you go to his place, the people around him think you
are there to collect money that they are sharing. So, I decided
that I would not disgrace the NEF. I am not belittling him, but he
is no longer in power and I deserve some respect.”
Unongo also berated the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal
Government for treating the Fulani herdsmen crisis with kid
gloves.
He said he had been warning the President for nearly three years
about the crisis but that the President’s “insensitive” advisers
had been deceiving him into thinking the matter was a small
one.
The NEF chairman said that many of the President’s aides had
been preventing him from seeing the President and telling him the
truth about the issue.
Unongo, who is both Tiv and Fulani, said, “The President is not
happy about what is happening, but his insensitive advisers have
deceived him into thinking this is not a serious issue, which they
keep saying they can handle, but it has now festered to a level
where it is difficult to take care of.”
The NEF chairman said it was unfortunate that despite the
several threats made by the Fulani herdsmen after the antiopen
grazing law came into effect, the government failed to take
action.
He said, “Miyetti Allah threatened and said upon the
implementation of the law, they would attack in January violently
and force the withdrawal of the law. I don’t understand. It didn’t
make sense at the time, but it means that perhaps the Miyetti Allah
wanted to prove to the people and the government of Benue State
that when they make a promise, they keep to it.”
Benue and Ekiti states had both enacted anti-open grazing laws
to check the activities of herdsmen, while Ondo, Cross River,
Ebonyi and Akwa Ibom states have also moved to have anti-open
grazing laws to check the activities of the nomadic
pastoralists.
However, the former Vice President said that although he is a
Fulani, he was not a member of the Miyetti Allah.
Atiku stated this in his reaction to the allegations levelled
against him by Unongo.
Speaking through his media aide, Mr. Paul Ibe, in Abuja on
Friday, the former Vice President also said it was wrong to
describe him as the chief financier of the Miyetti Allah.
He said, “It is very disheartening that in this period of
intense grief in Benue State, Chief Paul Unongo would choose to
level these desperately sad and false allegations against Atiku
Abubakar, whom he erroneously described as the chief financier of
MACBAN.
“Yes, Waziri Atiku Abubakar is a Fulani and is proud to be one
as he has never hidden that fact. However, the Waziri is a
thoroughly detribalized Nigerian who would never favour one ethnic
group over another.
“Last year, during the massive flood in Benue State, which
affected over 100,000 families, Waziri Atiku Abubakar, who holds
the Tiv traditional title of Zege Mule U Tiv, donated cash to the
Benue State Government for the care of the victims.
“This is befitting for a man whose Tiv traditional title means
‘the biggest shade of the Tiv people’.
“It is strange that Chief Paul Unongo chose to neglect that act
of love and care from the Waziri Adamawa to the people of Benue.
Not only did the Zege Mule U Tiv make a financial donation, he also
called on the Federal Government to do more to assist the
flood-ravaged communities.
“Let it be known that though Waziri Adamawa is Fulani, he is not
a member of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria
nor has he ever been a member. He has also never discussed about
that group with Chief Paul Unongo.
“Furthermore, His Excellency, Atiku Abubakar, enjoins that a
thorough investigation be made into the killings in Benue, and that
anyone found culpable be made to bear the full weight of the
law.
“Having said that, it has not escaped our notice that Chief Paul
Unongo is the Chairman, Governing Board of Nigerian Educational
Research and Development Council, a position he was appointed to in
April of last year.
“Understandably, Chief Unongo would be very grateful to those
who gave him such a position and may feel it is his duty to attack
and sully those in their bad books.
“If that is the case, it would be a very sad day when a supposed
elder chooses to make mileage of the sufferings of the people of
Benue State, who have had to endure the impunity of these killings
for far too long.
“Waziri Atiku Abubakar prays for the souls of the departed and
as a traditional title holder of Tiv land, he assures the entire
people of Benue (including the Idoma and Igede) that he would do
everything in his power to bring justice, relief and compensation
their way; so help him God.”
Culled: Punch
Read more https://www.nairalaw.com/atiku-is-miyetti-allahs-chief-financier-says-unongo-nef-chairman/