As suspected Fulani herdsmen kill at will, prominent Yoruba leaders on Thursday called on all governors and opinion leaders in the South-West to defend the geopolitical zone from invaders.
Speaking at the peace parley organised by a pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group, Yoruba Koya Movement, Senator Femi Okurounmu said the ongoing killings in Nigeria were allegedly planned by the Fulani elite to capture the country by all means.
He said, “The leader of the Fulani in Nigeria, Sir Ahmadu Bello said in 1960 shortly after independence that this ‘new nation called Nigeria shall be an extension of the estate of our great grandfather, Othman Danfodio, we must ruthlessly prevent a change of government.
“We must use the people of the Middle Belt as willing tools and the people of the South as conquered territory and never let them rule over us, never let them control their own future.’ So, tell me, what can be more explicit than that? The killings are going unchecked because (President Muhammadu) Buhari has keyed into the Fulani agenda.”
Okurounmu also alleged that some governors were scared to stop the insecurity being perpetrated by the Fulani herdsmen in their domains because they did not want to offend Buhari.
Also, another elder statesman, Prof. Banji Akintoye, challenged the Yoruba nation to speak with one voice against the incessant Fulani herdsmen’s attacks.
He said, “The South-East is now one against the Fulani oligarchy, so also is the Niger/Delta. Yoruba land must therefore unite, else there would be fire on the mountain.
“That Yoruba people are accommodating should not be taken for granted.”
[We welcome all tribes but they should all be law-abiding; they should not come to destroy our properties. Fulani herdsmen need to be stopped and driven away since they are always causing havoc. They cannot be allowed to destroy farmlands in Yoruba land except they want to rear their cattle peacefully.”
He also called on the South-West governors and their counterparts in Kwara, Kogi and Edo states to set aside party interest and join hands together to protect Yoruba land for history and posterity.
In his remarks, the convener of the parley Otunba Deji Osibogun said unless all Yoruba people unite to defend themselves, one day, they would sleep and wake up to see all their lands captured by the herdsmen.
Share your thoughts