Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti
State has declared his support for the call by Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole
Soyinka for an organized resistance against attacks perpetrated by Fulani
herdsmen.
Fayose urged all state governors
affected to ensure the protection of their people through formation of informal
organisations.
In a statement by his
spokersperson, Lere Olayinka, Fayose insisted that Nigeria and its people must
be protected at all cost.
Fayose said he was particularly
happy that notable leaders in the country, especially Soyinka heeded his call
for all men of good conscience to speak up against the wanton killing of
Nigerians by herdsmen, who are acting more like terrorists.
He said Ekiti State will further
strengthen local hunters in the States by formally bringing them together under
Ekiti State Hunters’ Association (EKSA) and equipping them to protect our
people and their sources of livelihood.
Governor Fayose, who said that
the herdsmen menace has become a major security and economic threat in the
country, added that it was clear that the federal government was not ready to
do anything to stop killings of Nigerians and invasion of people’s farms by
herdsmen.
The governor maintained that
those approaching the herdsmen’s menace with ethnic and religious sentiments
were not helping the country, saying; “What Nigeria is witnessing now is pure
criminality. It is terrorism in the name of cattle rearing and anyone defending
the killing of fellow Nigerians and destruction of farmlands is an enemy of
this country.
He said, “The comfort our leaders
enjoy from their office is momentary. But the suffering of the people may be
permanent if the leaders continue to look away as if nothing is happening just
because they are enjoying the comfort of their office.
“If our people have decided to
embrace farming, how do we reconcile a situation where their farms are either
being destroyed by cows or cruelly set ablaze by supposed herdsmen?
“Today, in many parts of the
country, people are even afraid to go to their farm for fear of being killed by
supposed herdsmen. How do we promote agriculture under this kind of situation?
“Therefore, I salute the courage
of Prof Soyinka for speaking out, though late, but it is better late than
never.
“Those armed herdsmen are nothing
but another form of Boko Haram insurgents and they must be treated as such.”
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