Herdsmen Crisis: ‘Yoruba Will Lose More If War Is Declared Against Fulani’-Monarch

The Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrosheed Akanbi, has cautioned the Yoruba not to declare war against Fulani.

The monarch said Yoruba people would lose more if they should declare war against the Fulani, who are pastoralist and always on the move with their assets.

Oluwo, who said this in a statement on Friday, said that many Fulani people would lose nothing in case of war because they could easily move their assets unlike Yoruba people who have massive investments in the North.

The monarch also cautioned the Fulani herders to respect human dignity as he equally appealed to Yorubas to consider the lives and properties of their brothers and sisters in the northern part of the country.

“The lingering Yoruba-Fulani saga is a fragile issue that demands a witty, technical approach. No doubt, the activities such as killing, kidnapping, raping perpetrated by the bad eggs among the Fulani are condemnable. As a people, we must understand who to fight.

” I see Fulani as a section of the Hausas. And most Fulani are not stationed in their origin. They have relocated and settled. Their most valued item is cows. Most of their properties are movable. Is this who we want to declare war against?

“Declaring war against the Fulani will be derogatorily translated to war against the Hausa. Fulanis are just a section of the Hausa. What will be the fate of billions of investments and properties of the Yoruba in the northern States? If their cows could be moved, how will our innocent sons and daughters in the northern states move their investments and properties? I see Yoruba losing more should there be war.

“I’m appealing to all and sundry to dignify human lives and toe the path of honour in sustaining a peaceful co-existence. War is an enemy of humanity. What war can do, peace can do better,” he added.