The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, the umbrella body for cattle breeders in the country, has described the recent quit notice issued on its members in Benue State as a joke, useless and uncalled for.
The General Secretary of the organisation, Alhaji Baba Ngelzarma, said that the development was part of the attempts by miscreants and troublemakers to sow tension and confusion with the sole aim of looting.
The coalition of Middle Belt youths, under the aegis of the Middle Belt Renaissance Forum, had asked herdsmen to vacate the region before October 1, 2017.
While reacting to the matter, Ngelzarma said, “The Fulani society is a productive one in the country that contributes to the general protein need of the people by providing milk, meat and chicken livestock.
“Therefore, they are not parasites. They are productive and contribute to the overall Gross Domestic Product of the country.
“Our members should be law-abiding, but not obey the quit notice because as far as we are concerned, it is useless.”
Also, the Adamawa State chapter of the association said that it was opposed to any call asking Fulani herdsmen to leave any part of Nigeria, maintaining that they had inalienable rights as citizens.
The Chairman of MACBAN in the state, Alhaji Jaoji Isa, said, “The call is rather misplaced. No single group can ask another to leave its land because we are all Nigerians. We all have rights to live anywhere.
“So this call is very wrong and we urge the Federal Government to do something about this discrimination against Fulani herdsmen by various groups.”
