One of the umbrella bodies of herdsmen in Nigeria, Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, said on Wednesday that herders are facing many challenges from hostile host communities, including vigilante groups and other criminal elements who rustle cows in the country.
This came as popular Islamic scholar, Ahmad Gumi, insisted on Wednesday that bandits be granted amnesty.
According to him, the bandits will not let go of their arms if they are not assured of their safety and rehabilitation.
Spokesman of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Saleh Hassan, who stated this, said some displaced herders in the country who were dispossessed of their cows, have ended up becoming bandits terrorising Nigerians, especially through kidnapping.
Hassan said it is unfair to label every herder a criminal, adding that it is sad that herders had been singled out for victimisation.
He said the herders-cum-bandits were fighting an economic fight of survival and not an ideological fight.
According to him, states banning open grazing and chasing out herders from their domains are unknowingly creating crisis for themselves.
States, including Benue, Ekiti and Ondo, among others, have enacted laws against open grazing to stave off constant clashes between herders and farmers.
He also said some bandits were herders who became radicalised after they lost cattle as a result of the ban placed by some governors on open grazing.
Alhassan said: “Let him ( Ganduje) put in place the infrastructure. Kano is a semi-arid state. What has he provided even to the herders in Kano? Kano is a heavily cultivated area during the dry season. So, what alternative have you provided for the herders? It is not about cheap idle political talks. These are real issues.
“Like, I have the capacity to absorb 10,000 herders. This is what I have provided for them. This is where they will water their animals. This is where they will get their feeds. You don’t just come and say they should move to Kano. If they move to Kano, are they going to be in his government house? It is not stuffing dollars. I’m sorry to say that.
“The crisis of bandits in the north-west is because of some of the activities of the governors in the past. They put pressure on the herders. They lose their cattle. They have no business. Now, they have joined bandits. They are not spirits. They have reasons why they emerged as bandits. If you destroy grazing, you are going to create another problem. They destroyed their economy. They have no cattle and they got radicalised.
“Our members are peaceful herders. We have bandits; we have criminal elements in the forest. They are not necessarily herders. It is the responsibility of the security forces to identify the criminals, isolate them and deal with them according to the laws of the land. There are herders dwelling in the forest, doing their peaceful economic activities, which is cattle rearing.”
(Vanguard)
