We’re ready to receive returning herdsmen, some Northern governors say

SOME Northern state governments have said they are ready to welcome back home herdsmen relocating to the North following tensions init south caused by activities of criminal herdsmen.

In specific, Gombe, Adamawa, Benue and Zamfara state governments, in separate statements, have given such a hint.

The move was in reaction to the Northern Elders Forum’s advice to Northern governors “to prepare to receive law-abiding Fulani herders who may be “compelled to relocate to the North.”

The directive was contained in a statement issued by the NEF’s Director, Publicity and Advocacy, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, on Friday.

Reacting to the advice, the Director General, Press Affairs, Gombe State Government House, Ismaila Misilli, said the state was ready to accommodate its citizens upon their decision to return home.

Misilli said, “Anybody that is from our state and has gone anywhere to look for greener pasture and now, for his own reason, decides to come back home, we must receive him. He is our person, son or daughter, probably. You must receive them.”

Similarly, the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, on Friday, said the state was ready to accommodate any of the fleeing Fulani herdsmen from the southern part of the country on the condition that returning herdsmen who decide to stay in the state must obey the law of the state.

The governor, who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, Terver Akase, noted that the state had no problem with anyone who engaged in legitimate business and adhered to the law of the state.

He said, “As long as they (Fulani herdsmen) are ready to ranch their cattle and obey the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law of the state, Benue State will have no problem with them.”

Also, the Adamawa State government said it was willing to resettle herders returning from the South.

The Director General, Media and Communications, Adamawa State Government House, Solomon Kumangar, on Friday, said the state, which is one of the participating states under the National Livestock Transformation Plan, would be able to accommodate the Fulani herders within a specified time, if that was the decision of the Northern Governors Forum.

Kumangar said, “Adamawa has already keyed into the National livestock Transformation Plan. Recall it was launched in the state in 2019 by the Vice President at Gongoshi reserve. This is also to settle farmers and herders within a specified period.

“If it is the decision of the northern governors to absorb herders who are returning from the southern part, the Adamawa State Government will act in accordance with that decision.”

Similarly, Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State expressed readiness to welcome the Fulani herders.

According to Punch newspaper, Matawalle, who spoke through his media aide, Zailani Bappa, condemned any form of discrimination against a people for crimes committed by a few, saying, “This is a complete injustice.”

He maintained that not all Fulanis were criminals, adding that, in every tribe, there were good and bad eggs.

The governor said, “My administration wants to assure Nigerians that Zamfara State will never undermine the Constitution of Nigeria by denying any Nigerian or group of Nigerians free access to the state and free association with its citizens.

But despite the governments’ readiness to welcome relocating herdsmen back home most of the herders have insisted that they are not leaving the South claiming they are law-abiding citizens and the constitution forbids anyone to flush out fellow citizens from anywhere they chose to live in Tue country

Reacting to the NEF’s suggestion and some Northern governors’ willingness to welcome herdsmen back home,  the South-East Chairman, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Gidado Siddiki, said his members had nowhere else to go as they were comfortable doing their trade in the region.

He said apart from complaints by herders in only two states in the geopolitical zone, generally, the people and state governments in the region were hospitable to them.

Saddiki enjoined his members to be tolerant during these times.

He said, “In Ebonyi and Abia states, some of our people said they were going back to the North because of the challenges they were facing.

“But generally, they want to stay here and do their business. So if you see them going to the North, it’s not like they want to go to the North, but because they are having challenges. These are trying times.”

Saddiki said they had developed relationships with their host communities and that whenever cows destroyed crops on a farm, they usually compensated the farmer.

He said, “It’s not only in the South that there is a crisis. We have to tolerate and overcome any challenge that we face. We have a very cordial relationship with the people and leaders of the South-East. They are very hospitable because they provide a conducive environment for us to do our trade.

“Anywhere a farm is destroyed, leaders of Miyetti Allah and the community leaders will go and assess the damage, and the farmer will be paid adequate compensation on the farm that was destroyed.

“And if a cow is killed or stolen, the owner of the cow is paid the value of his cow. The south-easterners are very hospitable and we are generally comfortable doing our business here.”

The Sarkin Hausa and Vice-President General of the Akwa Ibom State Council for Islamic Affairs, Alhaji Hassan Sadauki, said such decisions might create more frictions.

“This will definitely create more frictions. To me, it’s not the best,” he said, however, adding that any herder feeling unsafe in a particular area should relocate to stay alive.

‌