The pan-Northern organisation, the Arewa Consultative Forum, on Wednesday lashed out at the Southern and Middle Belt Forum leaders, saying they should stop criminalizing the Fulani.
The ACF, at a press conference in Kaduna, said the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the pan-Yoruba group, Afenifere, the Pan-Niger Delta Forum and the Middle Belt Forum should rise above “such pettiness.”
The pan-northern group, at the end of a meeting of its National Working Committee, also attacked former President Olusegun Obasanjo over his open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari on the state of the nation.
The National Publicity Secretary of the Forum, Alhaji Muhammad Ibrahim-Biu, who addressed the press conference, expressed grave concern over a statement credited to the former President, whom he said, alleged that there was a plan to Fulanise the country.
Berating the southern and Middle Belt leaders, Ibrahiu-Biu stated, “The narration that every criminal , armed robber and kidnapper is now a Fulani herdsman because a Fulani man is President, has to stop. Criminals must be regarded as criminals without giving them any form of ethnic or religious coloration.
“The ACF, therefore, calls on PANDEF, Afenifere, Ohaneze, Middle Belt Forum and other similar groups to rise above such pettiness. We must realise that insurgency, kidnapping, banditry and Boko Haram are our common enemies. We must join hands in finding a lasting solution to the menace.”
The ACF chieftain noted with sadness how Nigerians, especially southerners had succeeded in branding suspected criminals in the country as “Fulani herdsmen.”
He said, “The forum notes with sadness how the negative stereotype associated with the issue of ‘Fulani herdsmen is gradually degenerating into a national crisis.
“We find the assertion that every crime committed in, especially the southern part of the country, as being committed by Fulani herdsmen, irresponsible and deliberately aimed at achieving some certain diabolical objectives.
“The narration that every criminal, armed robber and kidnapper is a Fulani herdsman because a Fulani man is at helm of affairs is a dangerous precedent which has to stop. Criminals must be regarded as criminals without giving them any ethnic, religious or regional coloration.
“We must realize that insurgency, banditry, kidnapping and armed robbery are our common enemies. We must join hands in finding a lasting solution to the menace.”
Let Zebra News help your business/brand reach a wider audience. Advertise with us today! Contact Our Marketing Team; Tel: 08062622328, 07083662767. Email: zebranewsng@gmail.com
