Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Chief Olu 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.”
