profile/3955FB_IMG_16103234496236449.jpg

Ikenna44

(ICYMI) Akeredolu's Order : Ondo Tackles Presidency , Villa Defends Herbsmen

Olalekan Adetayo and Peter Dada The Presidency on Tuesday waded into the controversy generated by the directive of the Ondo State Governor , Rotimi Akeredolu , asking herdsmen to leave the state government forest reserves. Apart from ejecting the herdsmen , Governor Rotimi Akeredolu also banned under - aged grazing, night grazing, movement of cattle within the cities and highways . He also gave the herdsmen seven days ultimatum to comply with the order. However, the Secretary General of the Miyeti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria , Usman Baba- Ngelzerma , had reacted that the association had not been formally informed . But in a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity , Garba Shehu , the President called for restraint on the side of the state government and the Fulani communities. In the statement titled, ‘In tackling crime, Ondo State Government will not act outside the constitution,’ the Presidency also called on both sides to continue their dialogue. [ READ ALSO] Cut down in their prime : The plight of Nigeria ’ s injured footballers The statement reads partly , “Governor Rotimi Akeredolu , a seasoned lawyer, Senior Advocate of Nigeria and indeed , a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, has fought crime in his state with passion and commitment, greater sensitivity and compassion for the four years he has run its affairs and, in our view, will be the least expected to unilaterally oust thousands of herders who have lived all their lives in the state on account of the infiltration of the forests by criminals . “If this were to be the case , rights groups will be right in expressing worries that the action could set off a chain of events which the makers of our constitution foresaw and tried to guard against. “We want to make it clear that kidnapping, banditry and rustling are crimes, no matter the motive or who is involved. But , to define crime from the nameplates , as a number of commentators have erroneously done- which group they belong to , the language they speak, their geographical location or their faith is atavistic and cruel . “We need to delink terrorism and crimes from ethnicity , geographical origins and religion—to isolate the criminals who use this interchange of arguments to hinder law enforcement efforts as the only way to deal effectively with them. YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Mixed reactions trail Okorocha’ s call for new political alliance “The President, who swore to defend the constitution has spoken against the Indigenous People of Biafra in asking citizens of Northern origin to leave ; he did not spare the group based in Sokoto , ‘Muslim Solidarity Forum ,’ which asked the Bishop of Sokoto to leave and is prepared to do all that the law permits to protect citizens all over the country in their choice of where they wished to reside and are treated as equal citizens . ” Nobody asks herdsmen to leave – Ondo In a swift reaction , the Ondo State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Donald Ojogo , said the Presidency statement had stated “unambiguously, the position of the Federal Government . “The Ondo State Government did not ask Fulani to leave the state . The governor said herdsmen who are unregistered should leave our forests . The statement from Garba Shehu is brazen display of emotional attachments and it’ s very inimical to the corporate existence of Nigeria . We need clearly defined actions on the part of the Federal Government to decimate the erroneous impression that the inspiration of these criminal elements masquerading as herdsmen is that of power . Our unity is threatened , no doubt. READ ALSO: Tiffany Trump announces engagement to Nigerian - bred fiancé Michael Boulos “It (statement ) states in a breath that the governor fights crime with passion while it is prevaricating on the atrocities. The question is, are the herdsmen who are perpetrating murder, kidnapping and robbery more important than government and even the Federal Government in this case ? Ethnic nationality and activism on the part of anyone hiding under the Presidency or federal government is an ill wind,” the commissioner added. Earlier , Ojogo had declared that there was no going back on its order asking herdsmen to vacate all the forest reserves in the state . Ojogo had said, “The governor ’s directive except they are telling the world that Miyetti Allah is above every law in the land. In the same vein , the Special Adviser to the Governor on Security Matter , Alhaji Jimoh Dojumo , said, “ I want to advise those operating within the forest legally to register with the state government. The truth is that if they (herdsmen) still want to remain in the forest ; let them come and register, we want to know the people occupying our forest . ” Meanwhile, the pan - Yoruba socio- cultural association, Afenifere, faulted the MACBAN ’s statement , saying its members must obey the governor ’s order. The Secretary General of the Afenifere , Bashorun Sehinde Arogbofa , pointed out that the governor’ s order would go a long way in tackling insecurity in the state He said, “The Miyetti Allah should not complain about the order, unless they want to give the impression that they support the criminal activities being carried out by some herdsmen in the state. YOU MAY ALSO LIKE : Two Lagos cultists nabbed during gun battle with police “If they entered into the forest illegally , the government has the right to eject them. It was from the forest that we heard that those that killed the Ifon monarch came from. ” The Olowo of Owoland, Ondo State, Oba Ajibade Ogunoye, also commended Akeredolu for the order. In a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Owo monarch, Mr Sam Adewale, the traditional ruler said, “ As the Chief Security Officer of the state , the governor cannot fold his arms while the citizens are being kidnapped at will by bandits. ”

profile/3955FB_IMG_16103234496236449.jpg

Ikenna44

All Herbsmen Are Not Bandit

SIR: Crime has no ethnic face. When criminality is defined according to ethnic origin or religion, social cohesion is threatened. There are people of criminal inclinations in every group, race, place and religion. In fact, we defeat the fight against insecurity if we lend ourselves to ethnic prejudices. The insecurity devouring Nigeria affects everyone – Igbo, Hausa, Fulani, Yoruba, Idoma, Jukun — and people of different religions. The criminals pillaging the country do not select victims based on ethnicity and religion. The devourers only come to steal, kill and destroy. A few days ago, bandits invaded the home of Professor Aliyu Mohammed at Wusasa in Zaira, Kaduna State. They kidnapped him, killed his young son and shot his brother – not minding his religion or ethnicity. There have been countless cases of attacks on commuters on Abuja-Kaduna road. The victims of these attacks have been Nigerians of all shades and contours. These bandits do not even spare their own kin. Mohammed Adamu, a suspected kidnap kingpin, had to pay N1.5 million ransom to a rival kidnapping gang led by one Buba Babu when he was abducted. Adamu ’’was held and shot in the hand until his gang members paid a ransom of N1.5million only for his release’’. We have to see these pillagers purely for what they are – criminals from Hades born without a soul. The evils of these vultures on citizens in the north could escape ethnic tinctures largely because of the false perception of ‘’na dem dem’’, but in the south they are spurring divisiveness and atavistic prejudices. As a matter of fact, many families are in mourning. Many have lost loved ones to the Mephistophelian enterprise of bandits. So, it is natural for Nigerians to be angry. I recall the killing of a young agro-entrepreneur in Oyo whose life was extinguished by his abductors after his family had paid N1.6 million ransom — such a tragedy. The killing of the daughter of Pa Fasoranti and a first-class traditional ruler in Ondo is still fresh. These are very depressing incidents. Really, Nigerians have a right to defend themselves against certain death. The constitution guarantees this. But what the constitution does not sanction is the profiling of any citizen based on ethnic origin or religion. So, we should not make the problem of banditry an ethnic one. These are criminals who will leisurely kill their own kin for ransom. On Monday, Rotimi Akeredolu, Ondo State governor, ordered all herders to vacate the state’s forests. I construe his action from a point of helplessness. The governor is tired of the killings and abductions in his state. He is the chief security officer of the state but he cannot marshal the police or the army to black out the nightmare in Ondo. He lacks the constitutional power to do so. One of his closest staff has been a victim of these devourers. The wife of his chief of staff was kidnapped in November 2020. A first-class traditional ruler, the Olufon of Ifon was killed by bandits in the state. And there have been jarring cases of kidnapping and murders. So, it is only natural that the governor acts to check the slumping of his state into a kidnappers’ paradise. Also, that states are embarking on parallel security outfits to defend themselves indicts the federal government of failure. The consequence of the Buhari administration’s ineptitude is clearly the resort to self-help by citizens. If the Buhari administration was responsive in tackling security threats across the country there will be no Amotekun or any other divergent regional security outfit. State governors are helpless. What options do they have? Kayode Fayemi, governor of Ekiti State and chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, publicly lamented that governors were ‘’frustrated and tired’’ over the parlous state of security. The Buhari government has failed to secure the country, hence the resort to panic remedies which impede national cohesion by governors. But we must take caution not to tinge the enemy in brushstrokes of ethnicity. Asking all herdsmen who congenitally take to the forest to vacate the forests of Ondo may come off as ethnic targeting. The intentions of the state government may be genuine but we live in a divided and delicately unbalanced country. Nigerians have a right to reside anywhere they want to. Let us not make banditry about ‘’all herdsmen’’ or any ethnic group.