Following the ban on open grazing of cattle by the 17 Southern Governors, the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) has urged the Federal Government to take immediate steps in evacuating all herdsmen currently in the Southern region back to the North.
This was said in a statement by CNG’s Spokesperson, Abdulazeez Suleiman, saying the evacuation is imperative “with the incessant show of animosity against the pastoral communities by the people of the South and their leaders, it has become a matter of urgent necessity for the federal government of Nigeria to take steps to evacuate the remaining ten per cent of herders currently in the South back home.
“With the onset of the fresh systematic vilification of the herdsmen at the official level, it is important to evacuate them peacefully since apparently their security could not be guaranteed in their host communities in the southern part of the country.”
A study has shown that with all the overhyped hatred for the pastoral communities by the South and their leaders, only ten per cent of herders live in the entire South which can conveniently be accommodated in the North,” Suleiman said.
He noted that the group has informed Northern Governors to make preparations to begin receiving Fulani communities and their livestock as well as providing sufficient grazing land for both herders and farmers.
He said, “We call on President Muhammadu Buhari and state governors to act now to protect law-abiding members of Fulani communities from a falling trap set by the aggressive policy of the southern governors who apparently believe that Fulani has no rights in Nigeria.