Taraba Gov Tackles Buhari Over Claim Herdsmen Don’t Carry AK-47
Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba State has faulted President Muhammadu Buhari’s statement that Fulani herdsmen don’t carry Ak-47, describing the claim as “absolutely not correct.”
President Buhari had claimed during his recent visit to the United States that the herdsmen in Nigeria “don’t carry anything more than a stick”, exonerating them from ongoing killings in the country.
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The president had said this at the White House after President Donald Trump frowned at the alleged systematic killing of Christians in the country by the herders.
But speaking while receiving an award presented to him by the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) in Abuja, Governor Ishaku said Taraba’s health sector had been gravely affected by activities of the prowling herdsmen.
The governor disagreed with Buhari’s exoneration of the herders, saying: “I mean who kills who? They cannot be imaginary. People are being killed with AK 47 rifles and we have to stand up and do something to stop it.
“The insecurity has certainly put a lots of pressure on our healthcare facilities, much more than we anticipated and we have almost 150,000 displaced persons
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“In the North-east, Taraba State used to be relatively peaceful before now. We are having our own share of the herdsmen problem and that has added a lot of pressure on our health services. Which means we have to do more, we have to employ more doctors, nurses and specialists.”
On his NMA award, Ishaku said, “This award is very elevating, it is an award that will spur us to do more. You know we are on our first term, and this is my third year in office.
“We are reconstructing or rehabilitating three hospitals in the three senatorial zones of the state and we are putting some of the local government unit in shape. Most importantly, we are equipping them as much as we can with modern equipment.
“So I’m surprised that the NMA has noticed so quickly what we are doing in just three years. We thank God and we will do more to keep our people healthy. Health is wealth,” he said.
