Declare Fulani herdsmen as terrorist just like IPOB, our 54 communities completely sacked in Barkin, Riyom Berom Youths tells Buhari.

By Pam Moses

National Body of Berom Youth Moulders Association (BYM) has calls on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately declare the Fulani herdsmen as terrorist just like IPOB which has not launched attack anywhere, but was tagged as terrorist group by the Federal Government.

National President of the BYM Rw. Choji Dalyop Chuwang in a Press Conference in Jos yesterday disclose that 54 communities in Barkin and Riyom Local Government were completely sacked and their inhabitants displaced.

“We state in clear and unambiguous terms that the Federal Government under President Buhari should declare killer herdsmen as terrorist just like IPOB which has not even launched attack anywhere but has been tagged a terrorist group by the Federal Government”.

Chuwang tasks the Federal Government to demonstrate Leadership in the interest of justice by reclaiming their ancestral lands that have been forcefully taken over by the use of sophisticated weapons of war by herdsmen.

The full text below:

PRESS CONFERENCE ADDRESSED BY THE PRESIDENT, BEROM YOUTH MOULDERS-ASSOCIATION (BYM) RWAS CHOJI DALYOP CHUWANG
ON THURSDAY 1ST FEBRUARY 2018

The events unfolding in our Country, Nigeria, have compelled us to address you members of the press.

The insecurity and further threats to the fragile security, exhibited through the numerous unprovoked attacks on innocent defenseless citizens by the herdsmen has become a real matter for concern not only to us as law abiding citizens but to all lovers of peace the world over and also the United Nations.

The declaration by the President Buhari led government to establish cattle colonies in all the 36 states of the federation is viewed with a lot of skepticism and suspicion. This is due to the wicked activities of the herdsmen in every state they desire to establish their rule.

We are concerned and worried that the government whose main duty is to provide security to its citizens and provide good governance (1999 constitution section 14(2)) is the same government that knowing fully well the very horrendous and dastardly activities of these herdsmen is trying to settle them among hitherto peaceful communities.

Gentlemen of the press, several questions are begging for answers in this “tragic movie” in this our nation state. In May 2016, President Buhari told us that the killer herdsmen are from Libya. One week later, the Minister for Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed told us that the killer herdsmen are not Nigerians. On January 24th 2017, the Chairman of the Northern Governors’ Forum said the killer herdsmen are foreigners from Senegal and Mali. The Governor of Kaduna State Mallam Nasir El; Rufai, even stated that he had gone to dialogue with the killer herdsmen outside Nigeria and paid them, we believe from the Commonwealth of Nigeria and Kaduna State, to stop them from coming to kill Nigerian citizens. And just recently, the Presidency said it is the Islamic State that is killing Nigerians in the name of herdsmen.
If all these above statements are true, why does the Buhari Government still want to give these same herdsmen, Nigerian land as cattle colonies? There is a strong disconnect between these statements and the quest for cattle colonies. You don’t give colonies to invading foreigners, rather you send the army after them as you did IPOB. Unless if the government has abdicated its responsibilities as stated in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria quoted above.

We believe this is a sensitive matter that the Federal Government should handle with tact and all seriousness. The rearing of cattle is a private and personal business which should be left in the hands of relevant stakeholders. We may wish to know if it is quoted in any stock exchange market in Nigeria or anywhere to warrant so much government interest.

For us as citizens of Plateau State and especially the Northern Senatorial zone, we wish to state in unequivocal terms that we do not have land for cattle colonies. The Governor of Plateau State Barr. Simon Bako Lalong had also stated during an interview with Journalists in Aso Rock Villa, Abuja that he has land that had been voluntarily donated to him by some communities for cattle ranching or colonies. We are very optimistic that he was being frank and since no community has willingly donated land in the Northern zone, we wish to caution that our already overstretched land should not be considered for these business meant to settle foreigners as stated by Federal authorities.

Our zone is also chocked up by urbanization and developments, while Tin mining has already devastated large portions of the land. We would rather plead that government should demonstrate justice by reclaiming our large portions of the already diminishing lands that had been forcefully occupied by some of the killer herdsmen. This is evident in Barkin Ladi and Riyom LGA. This we can affirm because the current herdsmen in those areas are not the ones that had lived among us previously. Our people have been traumatized, several killed and property destroyed to make them flee their ancestral homes which are now being occupied by the same “terrorists” like herdsmen.
It is on record that 54 communities such as Dankum (renamed as Mahanga), Fass (renamed as Tafawa), Janda, Hywa, Rotchun, Rakweng, Shong I and II, Diyan Hei, Pwabeduk, Sharu, Dashugu, Tagabos, Shonong, Maseh, Kampwas, She, Kak, Dajak,Rarin, Kufang, Rantis, Jong, Zim, Lukfine, Lobiring, Angio, Kachin, among many were completely sacked and their inhabitants displaced in Riyom and Barkin Ladi LGA. It is also confirmed that 93 communities have experienced one form of attack or the other across Barkin Ladi, Riyom, Jos South and Jos North LGAs.

The terrorist activities of the Fulani herdsmen are not limited to Nigeria and the network is spread across the whole of West Africa. Unless Government rises, they will perpetrate their acts of genocide on the autochthonous’ ethnic nationalities of the Middle Belt before descending on the South East, South South and even South West. This can be attested to by the numerous litmus test attacks, they have carried out in these regions.

We may recall the events of last weekend in Ghana, when Prof. Sheikh Osman Bari addressed a World Press Conference on behalf of the Fulani herdsmen in Ghana. In his conclusion, he said the petition has been copied the Sultan of Sokoto, President Buhari, the Lamido of Adamawa and other Fulani leaders in Mali and Senegal. This has further heightened our suspicion that the colonies being craved for are a strategy towards completing the Uthman Danfodio Jihad of 1804.

The Federal Government has also not played its role transparently to elicit our confidence. The utterance of the Minister of Defence that the herdsmen are indigenes and citizens of any state they decide to settle in raises more disturbing questions.

The weakening of military formations in the middle belt and establishment of new military formations in the North East and North West points to some hidden plans by government, and makes the middle belt more vulnerable.

We therefore state in clear and unambiguous terms that the Federal Government should:
a) Demonstrate leadership in the interest of justice by reclaiming our ancestral lands that have been forcefully taken over by the use of sophisticated weapons of war by herdsmen.
b) Allow every citizen to run their private and personal business/financial transaction by themselves and not to be supportive of one group and not the other.
c) Note that the land we have has the same value and worth to us as the cattle of the herdsmen both local and foreign. Therefore taking over our lands for colonies will not only mean destroying us to enable the herdsmen to live, but also infamously legitimizing forceful occupation of our ancestral heritage by the herders.
d) Declare the killer herdsmen as terrorist just like IPOB which has not even launched attack anywhere but has been tagged a terrist group by the Government.

We also want to appeal to men and women of the press to kindly stop under reporting or denial of reports of the various attacks on our people, especially the recent attacks in Riyom, Barkin Ladi, Bassa and Bokkos LGAs which had not received any publicity. The press needs to investigate and adequately report such attacks so that the world get to know and also to attract the required attention..

It is also necessary that bodies like the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Labour, Civil Society Organization and all people of good will, need to rise to the occasion under the present circumstances.

Conclusion
We sincerely wish to commiserate with our brothers in Benue State, Taraba, Adamawa, Southern Kaduna, Ebonyi, Enugu and of recent Nasarawa State who have suffered similar grievous attacks by these violent, well-armed mercenaries who go by the name of herdsmen. We also commiserate with the people of Bassa, Bokkos and other communities that have come under the sword of these enemies of humanity in this 21st Century.

Rw. Choji Dalyop Chuwang
National President BYM

count | 338

Declare Fulani herdsmen as terrorists just like IPOB, our 54 communities completely sacked in Barkin, Riyom Berom Youths tells Buhari