Aftermath Of Falae’s Kidnap: Fulani Leaders Vow To Register All Herdsmen In South West

Henceforth, all Fulani herdsmen operating in the South West will have to be registered for proper accountability of their actions. This was the outcome of a meeting held by Fulani leaders in the South West of Nigeria where they resolved to embark on a compulsory registration for all Fulani herdsmen and their animals across the six states in the geo-political zone.

The resolution was arrived at after the emergency meeting, at the Sasa Palace of the Sardauna Yamma and chairman of the Sarkin Hausawas in the 17 Southern States, Alhaji Haruna Maiyasin, who also presided over the deliberations.

The meeting was held by the Fulani leaders barely two weeks after some alleged Fulani herdsmen purportedly kidnapped former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Olu Falae, in his farm in Ondo State.

According to Fulani leaders, the compulsory registration was initiated with a view to ensuring effective monitoring of the activities of the herdsmen by their host communities, adding that the exercise would also help the security operatives to prevent against unwholesome behaviours.

Maiyasin, the Sarkin Sasa of Ibadanland, however, appealed to the host communities, state and local governments in the South West for cooperation so that the proposed registration exercise would be a success. The meeting, he said, also mandated Fulani parents to monitor their children and wards and ensure that they do not engage in anti-social behaviours or consumption of hard drugs.

The Fulani leaders, however, commended the security operatives on the arrest and prosecution of the abductors of Chief Olu Falae. They advocated severe punishment for any of the suspects found guilty by the court, adding that the punishment would serve as a deterrent to others.

But the Fulani community said the outburst by the Pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, that the Yoruba would secede based on various allegations against Fulani herdsmen, “was least expected of whoever professes to be national leaders, as this could heat up the polity and also create bad blood in the land.

“We should take into cognizance the fact that centuries of co-habitation between the Fulani and Yoruba in the South West had blossomed into inter-marriages between the two ethnic groups, hence leaders from both sides should always preach peace and not discord.”

The Fulani leaders also enjoined Afenifere, Movement for the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Arewa Consultative Forum and leaders of the various ethnic groups in the country to be cautious in their utterances and always make patriotic pronouncements that would unite the country, instead of those capable of setting the nation ablaze.