The Miyetti Allah, a Fulani socio-cultural organisation, has tackled the Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, and former President Olusegun Obasanjo, over their recent comments on insecurity.
It said it was wrong for the two men to blame Fulanis for the state in which the country has found itself.
While the Nobel laureate had decried attacks associated with herdsmen, Obasanjo, on Monday sent an open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari on the matter.
But in an interview with ‘The Punch’, the National Secretary of the Miyetti Allah, Alhassan Saleh, said, “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.
“Which national dialogue? We have a National Assembly. Whatever they have, they should send it to the National Assembly. What is the function of the National Assembly? People lost power and don’t want to agree that in a democracy, you may be in power and another time, you won’t be in power.
“If we have confidence in those we elected, I think whatever issue they have, they can channel it to the National Assembly. They want another talk shop probably to come and reposition themselves and their cronies into another jamboree.
“Where is the Goodluck Jonathan conference report? Where are the other conferences’ reports? They are just pushing an agenda; in fact, they are desperate and very diabolical in their attempt to cause a crisis in this country. My worry is that the government is not decisive in dealing with characters of that nature.”
