By Martin Paul, Abuja

Northern Youths Council of Nigeria (NYCN) has expressed worries over the recent attacks on northerners in Sasha market of Akinyele Local Government Area in Oyo state.

The Youths in a statement in Abuja said  the action was the beginning of an agenda being perpetrated to expel northerners from the region.

The group then  called on all herdsmen to leave sll Forest Reserves in the south west immediately.

“The attention of the Northern Youths Council of Nigeria has been drawn to the ongoing Carnage against Northerners, particularly in Sasha Market of Akinyele Local Government, Oyo State, South West Nigeria wherein so many were either killed or injured, business premises and vehicles burnt by Yoruba hoodlums.

“We wish to condemn such an attack in the strongest terms possible and call on security agents to arrest the perpetrators so as to serve as deterrent to would be hoodlums.”

 “The eviction orders by Ondo Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, violate the provisions of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,1999 as amended, which guarantees freedom of movement to all citizens and rights to own movable and unmovable properties in any part of the country.

“We believe strongly that the inability of the government at all levels to tame the lawless wings of Sunday Igboho and his co-travellers has led to the emergence of his variants, hence, the renewed attacks on settled business people and many others that can’t speak Yoruba at Sasha Market,” the statement explained.

The youths called on the federal government to declare Sunday Igboho’s group a terrorist organisation, alleging that  he was not different from Boko Haram.

Avoid Ethnic Champions for Peace- Lukman 

But, the Director General of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF) Salihu Lukman advised Nigerians to distance themselves from ethnic agitation champions for peace to reign.

He also challenged political leaders to wake up to their responsibilities and provide leadership on matters that had taken over national discourse for unity in recent times.

Lukman, a chieftain of the ruling – All Progressives Congress (APC), was reacting in a statement in Abuja yesterday over last week crisis in Shasha area of Ibadan, Oyo State between a Hausa tomato sellers and a Yoruba woman, which led to death of one person and destruction of property.

“While it is important that all law-abiding citizens dissociate themselves from all the campaigns of ethnic hatred going on in the country, we must caution our political leaders to wake up to the responsibility of providing political leadership on a matter that has taken over every political debate. As it is today, it is impossible to debate any issue in Nigeria without the attempt to interpret it along ethnic and religious lines.

” We need to appeal to our political leaders to take all the steps required to move our nation forward, away from these politics of ethnic hatred. The only way our children and Nigerians can be maximally and confidently competitive in every sphere in our contemporary knowledge driven world is when events in our country are inspiring citizens beyond the clamour for ethnic hatred.

“Instead of hating each other, can our leaders take steps to begin to push us to love each other? The need to guarantee justice at all times, irrespective of who is affected is about the only route for peaceful co-existence in the country.

“Once that is compromised, the foundation of our democracy will be eroded. The burden facing our political leaders is to begin to take every necessary step to move our people and our nation from all parts of the country towards ensuring fairness in every part of the country.

“The basis of fairness must be such that to love ourselves, we must love others. Once we can’t guarantee fairness, we should delete the word love in our vocabulary.

“Therefore, we must demand that our political leaders should show love to themselves by ensuring fair conduct of all citizens as a basis for citizens’ love to leaders and the nation.”

The APC chieftain expressed fears the level of intolerance may get worse as we move towards 2023 general elections.

He complained that the level of intolerance in the country on account of ethnic background is beyond imagination.

“Before Sasha, there were many reportedly alleged cases of communal violence across the country. Till today, there is hardly any reported position or proposal taken by any of our national organisations.

“All we have is clamour by ethnic bullies and warlords mobilising support against ethnic groups they considered as their enemies.

“Even leaders of national organisations have become not more than ethnic bullies and warlords. Once leader takes a position based on ethnic sentiments without the humility to consider positions of other members who are part of organisations he/she is leading, such a leader is nothing more ethnic bully or warlord.

“The few cases of deliberations in the chambers of the National Assembly, for instance, were even more worrisome as members just adopt positions based on ethnic consideration, may be expectedly so.

“We could justify this with the argument that this is largely because there was no initiative to guide the position of members by their parties. This is not just a problem of one party. All the parties are guilty.

“Certainly, because APC is the governing party it has to take more responsibility. We must appeal to our leaders to rise up to the challenge of developing proactive responses to the problems of insecurity being compounded by ethnic hatred in the country.

“Our parties must wake up to take all the necessary steps to take decisions, which should guide the response of every leader and member. This is not just a partisan matter.”

Fulani Leaders Refute Returnees Figure

Meanwhile, some Fulani leaders at Ladduga grazing reserve in Kachia Local Government Area of Kaduna state, with other stakeholders, have ssid that only 107 against 4,000 herders returned from Oyo state.

 A leader of the Fulanis at Ladduga, Malam Ardo Goge, told some Peace builders and Journalists, who visited four of the new settlements of the Fulanis from Oyo state, due to the quit notice given to them that only 107 of them relocated with their children, women and the  elderly.

Goge explained that the returnees were initially from the community before they left for the South, saying: “They left the area eight years ago to the South in order to feed their animals and now they are back.”

According to him, the returnees were peace loving herders, with a good record of promoting peaceful co-existence, even before they left Ladduga community to the South, saying that no herder would arrive Ladduga without the knowledge of the community leaders.

He challenged journalists and NGOs to prove that over 4000 herders had arrived Ladduga as earlier published in the media, saying that the media should always cross check their facts before posting their news, to avoid unnecessary suspicions.

“These herders were our own people and we have been living with them in peace and harmony for many years, before they migrated to the south, and now they are back due to threat of attack.

“They are not foreigners, they are Kaduna state indigenes, it is the crisis that brought them back. “we have given them place to stay and we have cleared the bush for them to build new homes with their families, ‘

”But they lack many things like social amenities, clothes, foods as they came into the state without their normal cows and other animals we are used to seeing them with”.

 A former Permanent secretary of the Kaduna state peace commission, who is also a resident of the community, said he had been part of the fact finding mission to Ladduga community.

 Momale said that since the report that over 4000 Fulani herdsmen arrived Ladduga community, he had spent a whole day in the forest with some Fulani Leaders moving round to ascertain the number of those Fulanis that relocated from the south west.

“From the facts and figures, we only received the report of only 107 Fulani migrants from the South, who were originally Fulanis from the area that came back home” he said. He stated that some of the Fulani herdsmen complained of lack of shelter, food and warming cloths against the hamattan. Ibrahim Abdullahi, one of the returnees, reiterated their needs to include food and shelter, as their children were sleeping in open spaces and the ”weather is really cold”. He called on Non-Governmental organizations (NGOs), Civil society organizations, NEMA, SEMA, The Red Cross, Interfaith mediation centre and public-spirited individuals to come to their aid. Abdullahi also appealed to Miyetti Allah and all Fulani organizations to come to their rescue as they were really in need of help.