‘I Am Disappointed In Buhari’- Falae
on Monday expressed disappointment over continued silence of President
Muhammadu Buhari on incessant attacks by Fulani herdsmen on farmers in
the country.
Falae’s farm, located at Ilado Community in Akure North Local Government
area of Ondo State, was set ablaze by men suspected to be herders on
Sunday night.
The elder stateman said the arson on his farm was an attempt to kill him.
He said he expected the President to have announced an effective measures
that could control the capacity of the herdsmen from terrorising the people of
the country.
Speaking after the assessment tour of the farm, Falae said, “I have been at
the receiving end for long. Even, after I was kidnapped, they came back and
killed one of my guards and the case remains an unsolved murder case.”
Falae who said the arson was targeted at him, noted that “I believe if they
saw me in person, it is me they would hurt.”
According to him, “To burn Palm trees, amounts to act of malice and hatred
and I believe they have malice against me and they hate me, that is why they
will burn my palm trees, uproot the Palm trees I planted and throw the
seedlings away. That does not help the cattle in anyway”.
The former SGF disclosed that he would join hands with other leaders from the
South West zone, to ensure that “there is no colony in Yorubaland.”
According to the elderstateman, “I have expected him (Buhari) for over two
years to take an initiative and make a national broadcast to his people in
Nigeria assuring us that he will handle the matter by announcing effective
measures that could control the capacity of the herdsmen and assure that
both the herdsmen and us can live together in peace without one side
damaging the other. I am disappointed I’ve not heard this from him.”
Falae stated further that, “If I were President I would have taken the initiative
because this is not a problem that cannot be solve many nations have gone
through this, this mode of cattle rearing is universal but in the last hundred
years most nation’s have solved the problem by adopting ranching.
“Government at all levels, especially the Federal government should be a
government for all of us regardless of how many votes we cast at the election
time, we are all entitled to the protection of the federal government.
“Ranching is cattle farming and a legitimate and very profitable business run
by private business men but they are trying to make my crops to feed their
cattle to subsidise their own business because they are forcing me by invading
my farm in the night to supply free food to their cattle and when they sell the
cattle they don’t give me part of the money.
“This is a system that cannot survive and I expected the government to have
stopped it, we are not saying cattle rearing should be stopped but the cattle
rearers should be assisted to set up or do their business without hurting
anybody. Hurting farmers is not acceptable.
“At first they will come in the night to fetch water and we were tolerant
because they did not touch or destroy anything but we did not allow them to
stay here but later it took a different turn all over Nigeria.
“They will come in the night, eat out maize and I’ve reported to the police over
ten times. Element of the same people kidnapped me, when people said they
were Fulani herdsmen, they could you say they are Fulanis but everybody
knows a Fulani man in Nigeria.
“Every year they set fire to my farm and do you know why, there are two
elements to their actions, first is economic, they burn this farm because the
grass is already dry and cows don’t like that. So they burn the grass and in
two weeks time fresh grass will grow and their cattle will have fresh grass to
eat. In order word they are already treating my farm as if it was their colony.”
Condemning the recent attack, Falae urged government at all levels to take
steps in curbing the activities of the herdsmen, saying “if they don’t take step
to prevent it, it means that government supports what they are doing, they are
not offended by what they are doing.”
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