Stop labeling every herdsmen as Fulani – Northern Senators warn

Senators from the northern part of the country, under the auspices of Northern Senators’ Forum, on Wednesday declared that it is wrong to categorize all herdsmen as Fulani, stressing that the labeling must stop.

This was as they warned against provocative statements that could inflame tempers in the country in view of the massacre of villagers in Nimbo, Uzo-Uwani LGA of Enugu State by herdsmen.

While appreciating the steps so far taken by the Federal Government to contain the problems of herdsmen/farmers clashes, the lawmakers specifically asked community leaders (including governors) “to be careful when making statements on these ugly incidents.”


Chairman of the Forum, Senator Abdullahi Adamu who read the communiqué of the lawmakers said that they, “resolved to continue their complete support for President Muhammadu Buhari in order to bring about even development to all sections of the country.

Adamu said that members of the Forum further resolved to work assiduously to enact laws and amend existing ones when and where necessary in order to promote the interest of Northern Nigeria in particular and Nigeria in general.

He added that they noted specially the steps taken by the government to wipe out incidents of insurgency and are hopeful that in no distant time, “we shall say bye-bye to the problem of insurgency.”

On the tagging of every herdsman as Fulani, the Nasarawa-born lawmaker said, “We have tried to kill the idea that every herdsman is Fulani. I am a farmer but I am not Fulani by birth. It is very very wrong to say that everybody you find with a cow is Fulani.”


He recalled that when Chief Olu Falae was kidnapped, the news went round that the kidnappers were Fulani, noting that when those responsible for kidnapping the elder statesman were eventually arrested, it was discovered that they were not Fulani.

Adamu, who said he saw a lot of Yoruba cattle rearers when he travelled to the western part of the country insisted that cattle rearing is no longer the exclusive preserve of the Fulani.

Speaking further on inflammatory remarks currently being bandied, he noted that some groups in the South East have said that Fulani should leave their part of the country, adding that, “if people from the North say the same thing of people from the south East, we wonder where it will lead the country.”

Subscribe to Our Posts via Email