Islamic Cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, on Wednesday, June 1, has called for the establishment of Ministry of Nomadic Affairs to address the grievances of bandits and herders terrorizing the country.
Gumi made the call at Pastoralists and Fulbe Security Conference in Abuja with the theme “Exploring the contemporary security challenges facing pastoralists and Fulbe in Nigeria”.
The event was jointly organized by Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) and Northern Consensus Movement (NCM).
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Gumi, in a chat with newsmen, said that the Fulani herders and other aggrieved groups should be accorded the same treatment given to the Niger Delta militants.
He stated that;
Government should focus more attention on these people because they always say that they are aggrieved.
What I expect from the government is nothing less than what it did, when the Niger Delta youth were vandalizing the economy.
These people are also disturbing the Nigerian agriculture which is the backbone of national economy.
I think the government needs to be more proactive they need attention; the least they need is the Ministry of Nomadic Affairs that will look into their affairs.
In his own address, National President of MACBAN, Alhaji Husseini Bosso, noted that it was no longer news that kidnappings and armed banditry had become the order of the day in many communities in the country.
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Bosso, however, said that contrary to the general belief that pastoralists were behind this crime, they also were victims of this misdemeanor.
He opined;
What is baffling is that crimes perpetuated against pastoralists have no traction in the media. Our members have been the highest victims of criminality.
MACBAN Chairmen in Kogi, Niger, Nasarawa States and five other local government chairmen including Gwagwalada Area Council were all recently abducted and killed.
This buttress the fact that we are not spared from the atrocities of the kidnappings and banditry in our communities.
He said from 2015 to date many pastoralists were murdered and over two million persons were displaced and impoverished, while over four million livestock were either rustled, killed, or outrightly confiscated by state governments.
