The spokesman for Livestock Breeders Association of Nigeria (LIBAN), Kaduna State chapter, Hussaini Salisu, has said blaming foreign Fulani herdsmen for the farmer-herder conflict in Nigeria, may provoke Fulani in neighbouring countries to launch attacks on Nigeria.
Salisu, who is a Fulani rice farmer as well as a herder, claimed that the occupations of farmers and cattle rearers alike are being threatened by insecurity, particularly kidnapping and banditry.
In an interview with Sun, he noted that everyone had given the tag of banditry and kidnapping to herdsmen, claiming the herders also need to be protected.
He lamented that Fulani people have also been cheated, citing an example of how all his cows had been rustled and how difficult it had become for him to go to the farm.
Salisu also claimed that Fulani people are the most hated people in Nigeria despite their desire to live in peace with everybody.
”If you continue to talk about Fulani this way, they will not have peace and if they don’t have peace, you cannot have peace yourself,” he said.
Salisu holds the traditional title of Dallatun Laduga in Kachia Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
He said,
”I am the Dallatun of Laduga in Kachia Local Government Area of Kaduna State. I am a rice farmer. My parents live in the bush. We farm and rear cattle. We have farmers and cattle rearers whose occupations are being threatened by insecurity, particularly kidnapping and banditry.
“And the only way out of this insecurity is for the government to be realistic and non-partial in ensuring that peace is restored. Fulani people have been threatened by insecurity and their cows rustled over the years.
“Now, the government is trying to protect the farmers so that they can work on their farms without fear of being kidnapped. But nobody is talking about protecting the Fulani herdsmen who are rearing cows. They need to be protected too.
”We Fulani have been cheated, myself in particular, all my cows have been rustled, and I cannot also go to the farm. And somebody will say there will be peace? I know many people will say Fulani are the bandits, kidnappers, this is how they have been frustrated. If you continue to talk about Fulani this way, they will not have peace and if they don’t have peace, you cannot have peace yourself.”
Speaking on the implications of insecurity on farming in Nigeria, Salisu noted that food scarcity will continue.
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