Herdsmen Crisis: We Aren’t Ready to Relocate to North From Southeast –Miyetti Allah

The leaders of Miyetti Allah in some states in the South-East and South-South geopolitical zones have said they are not ready to leave the regions anytime soon.

The Northern Elders Forum had on Friday called on herdsmen feeling unsafe in the southern region of the country to relocate to the North.

NEF also asked northern governors to prepare to receive herders willing to return to the North.

But the South-East Chairman, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Gidado Siddiki, said his members had nowhere else to go as they were comfortable doing their trade in the region.

He said apart from complaints by herders in only two states in the geopolitical zone, generally, the people and state governments in the region were hospitable to them.

Saddiki enjoined his members to be tolerant during these times.

He said, “In Ebonyi and Abia states, some of our people said they were going back to the North because of the challenges they were facing.

“But generally, they want to stay here and do their business. So if you see them going to the North, it’s not like they want to go to the North, but because they are having challenges. These are trying times.”

Saddiki said they had developed relationships with their host communities and that whenever cows destroyed crops on a farm, they usually compensated the farmer.

He said, “It’s not only in the South that there is a crisis. We have to tolerate and overcome any challenge that we face. We have a very cordial relationship with the people and leaders of the South-East. They are very hospitable because they provide a conducive environment for us to do our trade.

“Anywhere a farm is destroyed, leaders of Miyetti Allah and the community leaders will go and assess the damage, and the farmer will be paid adequate compensation on the farm that was destroyed.
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“And if a cow is killed or stolen, the owner of the cow is paid the value of his cow. The south-easterners are very hospitable and we are generally comfortable doing our business here.”

The Sarkin Hausa and Vice-President General of the Akwa Ibom State Council for Islamic Affairs, Alhaji Hassan Sadauki, said such decisions might create more frictions.

“This will definitely create more frictions. To me, it’s not the best,” he said, however, adding that any herder feeling unsafe in a particular area should relocate to stay alive.

Source