The Sarkin Fulani of Lagos, Alhaji Mohammed Bambado, has informed Afenifere that it is against the Nigerian constitution to restrict Fulani herdsmen from the South-West.
Pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organization, Afenifere had demanded for the banning of Fulani herdsmen from Yorubaland over the kidnap of former presidential candidate, Olu Falae.
However, Bambado reminded Afenifere that expelling Fulani indigenes from the South-West was also against the African Union charter.
He said, “Need we remind our brothers (Afenifere) of the African Union and ECOWAS charters that give people and animals, particularly, livestock free movement within and across international borders of West African states. Such calls and actions are in direct breach of a number of international treaties and obligations regarding the free movement of persons and animals.
“Banning the movement of cattle from one part of Nigeria to another also violates the constitution of Nigeria on the freedom of movement of people and livestock. It also amounts to ethnic profiling of the nomadic Fulani.”
“We have appealed to the Federal Government and state governments in the South-West to help create grazing reserves. It is done in many advanced countries. When these things don’t exist, the herdsmen have to encroach for survival. Even before oil, we were doing this.
“God forbids that we will be importing all our cattle from overseas like our cars. This cattle rearing creates jobs for thousands if not millions of people. There is ranching in advanced countries but we can’t be ranchers because we can’t afford it.”
