Yoruba Elders Kick Against S/West Govs’ Agreements With Miyetti Allah

The Yoruba Council of Elders has said the South-West governors did not come up with concrete actions on how to stop herdsmen atrocities against their people during the recent meeting they held with the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria in Akure.

The governors had held an emergency meeting with MACBAN at the expiration of the seven-day ultimatum given to unregistered herdsmen to vacate the government forest reserves in the state.

The YCE scribe, Dr Kunle Olajide, said the communique issued at the end of the meeting did not show that concrete  actions were taken   to end the crisis.

Olajide also said the silence of the Federal Government and the Presidency on the killings, kidnappings and rape allegedly being committed by Fulani herdsmen against other ethnic groups was giving many Nigerians an impression that the government was indifferent to these atrocities. 

Olajide, who said this in a statement on Friday said the South-West had no free forest that herdsmen could occupy. He said all the forests in the region were either government forest reserves or owned by families.

According to Olajide, the meeting held by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum with Miyetti Allah leaders fell short of expectation because it was  one sided.

The YCE scribe said  it was wrong that Yoruba people who were the victims of the herdsmen’s atrocities and Yoruba leaders were not invited to the meeting, saying the victims were supposed to have been invited to narrate their ordeals and plights.

The statement read, “We observed that nothing was said in the communique condemning Miyetti Allah for continually threatening other Nigerians  that the country belongs to them.   

“The ominous silence of the Federal Government especially the Presidency to the persistent complaints about the activities these criminal herders is very frustrating to Nigerians and it  creates the impression that the Federal Government is indifferent to murderous act threatening the unity of the country. 

“There is no free forest  in the South-West to accommodate criminals. Our forests are either forest reserves owned by the governments and regulated by laws or they are owned by families.”

Recall that in the communique issued at the end of the meeting, it was agreed that night grazing should be banned henceforth

” Under age herding is inimical to security and hence be banned, occupation of state forest reserves illegally is condemned

“MACBAN also suffers insecurity and kidnapping and thus desire peaceful
coexistence. MACBAN is ready for any peaceful move by the states to engender security.

” Fake news is another issue that makes our security worse than solving it. There must be an enduring framework with MACBAN in a way that will help address security issues.

“That free range grazing must be stopped to avoid conflicts between the farmers and the herders. Strengthening an alternative security arrangements and make them complementary to the mainstream security agencies in Nigeria.

” MACBAN should embrace and be committed to modern breeding process by creating grazing reserves and practice ranching to prevent cattle roaming about,” it added.