Afenifere group angry over Fulani cattle breeders' outburst

Members of the Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) have shown displeasure over the terror threats by the

In a recent report by SaharaReporters, the ARG accused the MACBAN of making threats following the implementation of the Ekiti State’s anti-grazing law.

ARG's publicity secretary, Kunle Famoriyo aid the cattle breeders’ recent outburst against the Anti-Grazing Law in Ekiti State is “an assault on Yoruba people and will be treated as a terror threat until an apology is tendered.”

“The new law, being first of its kind, may not be perfect and its enforcement may not be smooth initially. The responsibility lies on major stakeholders to organize sensitization workshops for its members so that the new law can achieve its objective of stemming crises arising from herdsmen-farmers relations.” AGR said in its statement.

Continuing, ARG said: “MACBAN has so far shunned this democratic approach and preferred to use intimidation and warring tactics and languages. But the right of governors, as the chief security officer of their respective state, to make laws consistent with the culture and rights of their people cannot be wished away by intimidation or threat.

“We recall that in 2013, the Hisbah Police in Kano reportedly destroyed more than 20,000 crates of beer bottles. Despite the freedom of movement and trade guaranteed by the Constitution, what mattered then was that Kano does not want beer within its jurisdiction – even though it hypocritically shares from the VAT generated from sales of alcohol in other states.

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“Why should governors of northern states have the free will to protect their people and religious disposition, while their southern counterparts are subjected to intimidation? Nigeria is not a slave camp of any ethnic nationality, and MACBAN’s statement is therefore considered an assault on Yoruba people and will be treated as a terror threat until an apology is tendered,” the statement concluded.

MACBAN’s spokesman, Othman Ngelzarma, was recently reported as saying the enforcement of Ekiti State’s Anti-Grazing Law could “develop into an unquenchable inferno…capable of creating uncontrollable scenarios whose ramification may go well beyond Ekiti State.”