Fulani Youth Leader calls for declaration of State of Emergency in Ondo and for prosecution of Gov. Akeredolu

 By Oliver Kum, January 20, 2021

Sai’du Maikano, National President of Fulani Youths

President Muhammadu Buhari has been urged to impose a State of Emergency on Ondo State, southwest Nigeria. This is the position of the National President of Fulani Youths, Sai’du Maikano while addressing some journalists in Jos on Tuesday.

Recall that the Governor of Ondo and Chairman of the Southwest Governors’ Forum Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu,SAN on Monday gave a 7-day ultimatum to herders to vacate forest reserve in the zone.  The Governor said that his administration will not fold its arms and allow a few individuals turn the State into a haven of dare-devil criminals.

He said that the state security reports and debriefings from victims of kidnap cases pointed in one direction traceable to some bad elements masquerading as herdsmen.

However, in his response, the Fulani youth leader described the Governor’s decision as barbaric and undemocratic. He further expressed dismay that such undemocratic statement was coming from a learned person like Akeredolu. According to him, the decision was capable of inflaming crisis as Fulani can equally give quit notice to all Yorubas living in the North.

Maikano further called on all the Fulani in the Zone to ignore the 7-day ultimatum given to them by the Ondo State Government to leave and continued their legitimate businesses.

“We are baffled by what is happening in Yoruba land, particularly in Ondo state. We are also taken aback by his Excellency’s decision. There is no law in Nigeria that supports the decision of the Governor. That decision is capable of igniting crisis in the country. Imagine the Fulani equally given quit notice to all Yorubas living in the North, definitely, there would be chaos in the country. So, I am calling on the President to impose a state of Emergency on Ondo state and a  military administrator takes over the helm of affairs in the state so that the Ondo governor can be tried. It happened in Plateau State during Dariye when Obasanjo imposed a state of Emergency on the state.  If this is not done, there would be no peace in Nigeria”, he said.

Gov Akeredolu

The Fulani youth leader stated that what was obtainable in Democratic and civilised societies is that government in these societies try as much as possible to identify bad and criminal elements in their societies for prosecution before competent courts of jurisdiction. “We also know that there are good and bad elements in every society. So, it is out of place to just wake up one day and give quit notice to hardworking and law abiding Fulani including their Ardos (traditional rulers) to leave the Southwest, just because you a governor, Maikano said. He called on the Federal Government to intervened in the situation before it gets out of hand.

When African Drum called his attention to fact that there was no where in the ultimatum that suggested the Ondo state government targeted only Fulani, but herdsmen which other ethnic nationalities are also involved in, he said no doubt, the quit notice was targeted at the Fulani because they constituted over 90 percent of herders in the country.

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