Prof. Ango Abdullahi, a chieftain of the Northern Elders Forum, says
Fulani herdsmen are the most hard-working Nigerians though accused as
being responsible for insecurity in Nigeria.
Speaking on Wednesday with journalists in Bauchi, he said, “They have
now become an object of politics, for every bad thing that happens in
the country, now it is Fulani herdsmen. They have forgotten that the
Fulani herdsmen get nothing from the government.
“The Fulani herdsman was better off when the British were here. The
British created track roads for Fulani herdsmen created veterinary
clinics for them, created cattle markets and so on for them having
realized that they contributed significantly to Nigeria’s economy
particularly in the agricultural sector and livestock production.
“Look at subsidies that are going to our farmers, you go and check if
you will find out what subsidy goes to the herdsmen, nothing. You are
having subsidy for electricity, you are having subsidy for water, you
are having subsidy for roads, yet the Fulani herdsman has no subsidy
whatsoever and he is the most hard-working Nigerian today but he is
now being maligned as the cause of insecurity.
“His animals had been stolen and sold in the city, so when you
deprived him of his animals what do you want him to do? He will be
hostile.
“We should revive all the abandoned cattle routes from Niger
downwards. There are 600 neglected grazing reserves in northern
Nigeria alone. What you need to do is to rehabilitate them. I think
this is the little you can do for the herdsmen.”
SR
