Don’t Blame Buhari For Herdsmen Crisis, Says Usman Yusuf, Ex- NHIS Boss

President Muhammadu Buhari should not be blamed for the ethnic crisis plaguing some parts of the country Country, according to former Executive Secretary, Nigeria Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Professor Usman Yusuf.

Rather, Yusuf noted that political, religious and community leaders should take the blame for failing to take responsibilities in their various domain to resolve the crisis and unite the people.

He said this while responding to questions on ethnic crisis and national security following the violence between Fulani herdsmen and their Yoruba hosts in the South-west of the country.

Yusuf had featured on the Morning Show Programme of Arise Television, monitored by THE WHISTLER on Monday, where he emphasized on the need for Nigerians to be self-responsible and avoid shifting blames.

He said he had been one of the strongest critics of the Buhari administration, but believed it would be wrong to blame Buhari for what he described as an “insurrection” against the Fulani in the south west and the southeast parts of the country.

“This is essentially an insurrection. EndSars was nothing but an insurrection. They had gotten away with murder. Nothing has happened to anyone. So if you allow that to happen it will not be surprising to have an Igboho defying the governor, who is the chief security officer of the state. The governor told him clearly, do not do what you want to do, but he did. He defied the governor, assembled hundreds of people, went into that place and burnt the house of the Fulani leader.

“So what’s going to happen next? Government needs to do what is right. If there is a crime, as they clearly were during EndSars and this Igboho guy, culprits need to bear the full brunt of the law. Our country must be governed by the law. When you allow lawlessness, you have anarchy.

“For anyone to question President Buhari’s patriotism its ah- I am a great critic of this president-But he served this country well. So questioning his patriotism? These guys don’t know what they are saying,” he said.

Yusuf condemned the actions of Sunday Igboho , the Yoruba activist who issued eviction notice to Fulani herdsmen in some Oyo communities as well as the ultimatum issued by the Ondo Government to herdsmen to exist its forest reserve.

He described the directive by the Ondo Government as “Irresponsible”,saying “ No governor has the right to evict people. If there is conflict, it should be resolved”.

He explained that Ondo would have no cause to evict herdsmen if its forests was governed by Forest Rangers.

“Our foresst all over the country are ungoverned; no nation will call itself secured if they don’t have control of their forest, highways, waterways, air space and that is why we have challenges along our Kaduna- Abuja highway, the crisis in Niger- Delta and banditry in our forests.

“See what happened in Oyo, the fact that the South-West will allow this kind of man to dictate the narrative of this time and polity, says a lot. Politicians need to be very careful; they are there to govern responsibly,” he said.

Yusuf stated further that it is the responsibility of every leader to ensure the safety of its citizens, adding that the country had failed due to bad leadership.

He condemned the issue of ethnic profiling and criminalizing the Fulani group despite being an integral part of the polity.

“When you start profiling and picking ethnic minorities and blaming them for your failure then there’s going to be trouble. Every Nigerian have the right to live anywhere and the communities must protect them,” he said.

He called for peace across the country, saying “Nobody gets to the presidency through threats or violence. We sit down and talk and earthly cleansing is a no-no. Every Nigerian has the right to live peacefully and legally”.

The former NHIS boss further emphasized the need to teach history in schools so that the younger generation of Nigerians would better understand how to channel their grievances.

Recall that this website had reported the conflict in Igangan town of Oyo State following the eviction notice given to herdsmen in the area. The herdsmen were accused of harbouring criminal elements who rape,kidnap and maim innocent people.

Governor Rotimi Akeredolu had also issued a 7-day ultimatum to herdsmen living in the state’s forest reserves to vacate or risk arrest following reports that bandits and kidnappers were hiding in the forest.