Fulani herdsmen moving into Benue returning home — Miyetti Allah

National Coordinator of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders
Association in Benue State, Alhaji Garus Gololo, tells JOHN CHARLES
that Governor Samuel Ortom has not put in place a law that would
address the farmers-herders’ crisis.

Governor Samuel Ortom
recently alleged that a large number of herdsmen were planning to
invade Benue State to cause trouble again. Are your people planning
to attack the state?

It is not true that the Fulani herdsmen are planning to invade
Benue State to attack innocent people of Benue. It is a false alarm
by the governor because there is nothing like that. The allegation
is untrue and unfounded. If there is anybody, who is plotting to
kill in Benue State, it should be Governor Ortom.

The Federal Government and the international communities should
caution the governor and subject him to questioning on why the
killings and fights between the farmers/herdsmen have persisted. He
knows the answer.

But is it true that your men are moving into Benue
State for grazing even when they know there is a law prohibiting
open grazing in the state?

I am not aware of any herdsman or herdsmen attempting to cross
over from any other part of the country to Benue State to unleash
attacks on Benue communities. All those herdsmen with their cows
presently seen in and around Benue communities are just returning
to their homes because they are from Benue State and they have the
right to return to their homes any time.

The law says it is forbidden to graze openly in the
state. Why are your people not ready to respect the
law?

To me, there is nothing so special about the anti-open grazing
law. This is because those who enacted the law did not make any
provision for where to rear livestock; rather, they just want to
subject our members to untold hardship. These people are returning
home because the time has come for them to go back home. Where
would they go again? Where will Ortom tell them to go? The governor
is only using Fulani herdsmen coming into Benue as a campaign
slogan. Let him forget about the Fulani and concentrate on payment
of the backlog of salary arrears.

Ortom should not be particular about the Fulani’s entry into
Benue. He should focus his attention on how to give account of the
Paris Club refund and several bailouts given to the state by the
Federal Government and stop using the Fulani herdsmen as a campaign
topic.

Why do you say the governor has not made any
provision for your members to respect the law?

Ortom did not make provisions for the implementation of the law
because no provision was made to accommodate the herdsmen in the
state. Instead, they only made provisions to chase us away. Let
Ortom show us where the ranch he promised to create is. The
governor should show the Fulani herdsmen where to keep our cows
before we can recognise the law. This is because we are all
Nigerians and also indigenes of Benue State; he can’t just send
people away from their homes.

You also raised the alarm recently that the governor
was plotting to deny your members their voting rights in the 2019
general elections in Benue State. How do you
mean?

I remember l raised such alarm immediately l got the information
that Governor Ortom was allegedly plotting to prevent over 6,860
indigenous Fulani from participating in the 2019 general elections.
I raised this alarm just to draw the attention of the Federal
Government to this development and ask Ortom to drop the plan;
nothing more.

You were quoted to have said that the attacks on
Benue communities by your members were as a result of the alleged
killing by the Tiv people of 1,000 cows belonging to the Fulani
herdsmen. How true is this?

I want to debunk the allegation. It was Governor Ortom who first
made the allegation against me that I said it was after the Tiv
people killed 1,000 cows belonging to the Fulani that the herdsmen
came for a reprisal in January 2018.  It is a white lie from
the pit of hell and should be disregarded by all.

Ortom attempted to assassinate me by sending people, including
members of the livestock guards, to kill me but they didn’t
succeed. I can say categorically that the governor was behind the
January killings in Benue State because he was the one that
recruited the Benue youths and armed them to go after those who
were not in his good books.

Ortom should show how many projects he has embarked upon and
inaugurated since he came on board. He should stop lamenting but
should provide dividends of democracy to the Benue people.

Culled from Punch