Miyetti Allah to Buhari: Arrest Obasanjo now

The Fulani socio-cultural organisation in Nigeria, Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Monday called on the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government to arrest former President Olusegun Obasanjo for accusing Fulani herdsmen of being the root cause of insecurity in the country. Obasanjo had, in a letter dated July 15, 2019, asked Buhari to take action against the rising cases of kidnapping, banditry, and killings perpetrated by Fulani herdsmen.

But the National Secretary of the group, Alhassan Saleh, in an interview with newsmen, said the Fulani should not be blamed for the rate of insecurity in the country.

“The fact that there is insecurity, I don’t think the Fulani are responsible for it. The narrative that we are responsible for the insecurity is even the problem we have with the Nigerian state.

“When any crime happens, even before there is an investigation, people rush to the press and start accusing Fulani herdsmen. Herdsmen are supposed to be carrying herds of cows but if somebody is a criminal or an armed robber, he should be treated as such.

“But if Obasanjo, in particular, having ruled this country for so many years and with his network of security contacts, both locally and internationally, has information, I think he can volunteer it,” he said.

Saleh advised the Federal Government to take decisive action against all elements and their sponsors causing instability in the country, adding that Obasanjo may want to destabilise the government.

“The earlier they get him (Obasanjo) arrested and dealt with, according to the laws of the land, the better. He doesn’t mean well for the country. We just elected a new government; we have a National Assembly that was just inaugurated. Nobody needs any conference, except they are pushing for something else.

“The unfortunate thing is that intellectuals like Wole Soyinka are also joining the bandwagon of these discredited politicians. But our worry is that they seem to associate every crime that happens now to the Fulani, simply because the President is a Fulani man.

“We are just waiting and watching carefully because we are not demanding too much from the Nigerian state. All we are saying is give us space to graze our animals. That is not difficult,” he added.