Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), on Sunday picked holes in the threat by some Yoruba elders to banish Fulani herdsmen from the South-West following a recent kidnap of a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Olu Falae, in a suburb of Akure, the Ondo State capital.
He described the directive of the Yoruba elders as diversionary and escapist solution.
Falana said in a statement on Sunday, “This is not the time to resort to diversionary or escapist solutions to manmade problems. The ruling class should be compelled to address the challenges of establishing livestock, grazing reserves, ranching and modernisation of pastoralist or nomadic livelihood in line with the aforesaid recommendations.”
Falae was released four days after his kidnap upon payment of a ransom by his family to the kidnappers, who the ex-SGF was sure were Fulani herdsmen.
Barely two weeks after he was released, the herdsmen again led their cattle into his farm, destroying his crops.
Falana argued that the recent kidnap of Falae only added “a new dimension to the kidnap saga in the region” as he tried to situate the criminality in the same context of the October 2010 kidnap of a traditional ruler and a college provost in Ekiti State and the abduction of the wife of Osun State Speaker in Osogbo about the same time.
He recalled that the wife of Osun State Speaker was later found by a vigilance group in Ogun State and that shortly after that, the then Chairman of Ejigbo Local Government Area of Lagos, was kidnapped and was only released upon th payment of N15m ransom.
He said, “Instead of calling on the security agencies to enforce the law by arresting and prosecuting the group, some Yoruba leaders threatened that the South-West region would secede from Nigeria if Fulani nomads were not banned from entering the region!
“It is unfortunate that the senior citizens, who issued the threat, did not address the legal implications of their demand. It ought to be pointed out that every Nigerian has a constitutional right not be expelled from any part of the country.”
Falana said the threat against the Fulani herdsmen in the South-West would not solve the problem until far-reaching measures, such as proactive intervention by the police as well as establishment of modern livestock production by state governments, were adopted.
He added, “It is on record that not less than 10,000 heads of cattle are consumed in the South-West daily. Majority of the heads of cattle are brought in malnourished, having been made to walk hundreds of kilometres from the northern part of the country.
“Instead of issuing threats, the Yoruba leaders ought to have mobilised the South-West state governors to set up ranches and abattoirs for the production and distribution of meat in the region.”
He said Falae was part of the 2014 National Conference where it was recommended that long term cattle routes and grazing reserves be phased out to lay emphasis on ranching and that states which have large livestock populations should “endeavor to maintain grazing reserves.”
He added, “For instance, through a PPP arrangement a modern abattoir, the largest in Africa, was built in Ibadan, Oyo State in 2011.
“But due to some inexplicable reasons the state government has refused to allow the abattoir to function.
“The Ekiti state government once had a ranch. It was established by the Adekunle Ajasin government in the second republic. But it has since collapsed due to lack of maintenance.”
He called on the police to “move speedily to dislodge the bandits, who have seized Chief Falae’s farm”.
Falana stated, “The Yoruba leaders should consult with the South-West state governors with a view to addressing the increasing wave of insecurity of life and property in the region.
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