Igbo socio-cultural group, Izumunna Cultural Association, has said the ultimate objective of the marauding Fulani herdsmen is to ‘appropriate lands in the South-East’.
The group said the recent attacks is in tandem with the ongoing deliberations on the National Grazing Reserves Commission at the National Assembly.
Hence, the group declared on Friday, that the people of South-East may be forced to defend themselves against incessant attacks by Fulani herdsmen if the Federal Government fails to nip the menace in the bud.
In a statement signed by its President, Dr. Ugo Ihekuna and Secretary, Elvis Chukwu, the group expressed dismay at the ‘level of brigandage and carnage being unleashed on the people of South-East by Fulani herdsmen.’
“These actions, coming at a time the National Assembly has begun deliberations on the National Grazing Reserves Commission, is apparently one of the grand designs to alienate and appropriate lands in the South-East.”
“The strategy is to use Fulani herdsmen to coerce local farmers to relinquish part of their farmland for grazing of their livestock as panacea for peace.”
“The scenario, as being played out in the legislature, is to use the instrument of constitutional amendment to carve out large parts of land in the Middle Belt and Southern Nigeria and hand them over to Fulani herdsmen.”
“With time, the Fulani will demand the establishment of their chiefdom as they are doing in Kachia in Kaduna State where grazing reserve was carved out for them by the government of Northern Nigeria in the early 1960s.”
Leave a reply