Fulani pastoralists have faced genocide for 25 years – Miyetti Allah Secretary

The National Secretary of the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore Fulani socio cultural association, Engr. Saleh Alhassan, said on Thursday, December 4, that the only situation resembling genocide in Nigeria is what he described as decades of violence against Fulani pastoralists. Speaking on Channels Televisions Sunrise Daily, he argued that pastoral communities have faced sustained killings, displacement and criminalisation across several states for more than 25 years. If we must be honest in this country, if there is anything close to genocide in Nigeria, its genocide against the Fulani pastoralists in the last 25 years across the country, from Plateau to Benue to Zamfara to Kebbi State. Pastoralists have been deliberately targeted, killed, displaced, and some state governors even enacted laws that criminalised pastoralism, he said. Alhassan said current media narratives misrepresent the reality of the conflict and insisted that Fulani communities have repeatedly come under attack. As an organisation that has been campaigning for peace, we are in support of all government efforts to ensure sustainable peace across the country, he said. He criticised what he called genocide town criers, accusing them of seeking international attention and foreign aid. He referenced a bishop who took reports of violence in Benue to the United States. What he is looking for is foreign aid. He failed to contextualise the actual conflict, he said, questioning why domestic institutions such as the National Human Rights Commission and the Senate were being bypassed. He noted that the Senate had invited organisations to submit memoranda on resolving the farmer herder crisis but said Miyetti Allah had not been called to discuss its submission. Alhassan also alleged that attacks on pastoralists had intensified following recent comments by former US President Donald Trump. In the last three weeks, pastoralists have been devastated in Kebbi State. They have been attacked in Niger State, in Benue State. It is the locals who attacked the citizens. Pastoralists were destroyed and not a single word from the security agencies, not even the media, he said. He listed multiple recent cases in which he said herders were attacked without response. We have attacks on pastoralists in Kebbi State no action was taken. Attacks on pastoralists in Niger State; no action was taken. Attack on pastoralists in Benue State, Ohimini Local Government, precisely, for crimes they have not committed, he said. He argued that pastoralists were frequently blamed without evidence. If there are conflicts in Benue, you accuse the pastoralist. After investigation, you will discover that even the locals are responsible for it, he said. Alhassan called for a comprehensive security strategy that identifies all perpetrators of violence but maintained that portraying herders as widespread aggressors is inaccurate. Yes, we can have some of the herders involved in the conflict, but the way the conflict is being viewed as if the pastoralists are out there to kill and destroy people, that is not the truth. That is not the narrative, he said. His remarks come amid heightened insecurity across several northern states, where banditry, kidnapping and farmer herder clashes continue to disrupt daily life and economic activity. More than three hundred and fifty people have been abducted in recent weeks, with at least seven killed. Major incidents include mass kidnappings at schools in Kebbi and Niger, the abduction of thirty eight worshippers from a church in Kwara and an attack on a church in Kogi that led to the kidnapping of a pastor and his wife. A bride to be and her bridesmaids were also seized in Sokoto, while a traditional ruler in Kwara and six others narrowly escaped captivity after bandits allegedly demanded one hundred and fifty million naira for his release.The post Fulani pastoralists have faced genocide for 25 years Miyetti Allah Secretary appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.