Macban calls for the establishment of a national truth and reconciliation commission

FULANI herdsmen's body the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (Macban) has called for the setting up of a national truth and reconciliation commission to begin the process of national healing process in rural communities.

Over recent years, armed hoodlums have held Nigeria ransom, with kidnappers, most of them ethnic Fulanis, abducting innocent on a daily basis for huge sums. Armed herdsmen have added to the menace as their livestock destroy farmlands across the country and when farmers complain they attack their communities with automatic weapons.

Macban has regularly come to the defence of these kidnappers and has even urged the Nigerian state not to move against them, saying they had no option as their cattle grazing routes have been destroyed. Civil society groups criticised former President Muhammadu Buhari for failing to move against Macban, saying that being an ethnic Fulani himself who keeps cattle, he is reluctant to move against his kinsmen.

Farmers bodies have accused the Macban leadership of being complicit in these murderous attacks by Fulani herdsmen on rural communities. Sultan of Sokoto Alhaji Muhammed Sa'ad Abubakar III, the leader of Nigeria's Fulani's and president of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, conceded that some Fulani people are involved in banditry and kidnapping, causing insecurity in parts of the country.

With President Buhari now out of office, it appears that Macban are sounding a lot more conciliatory as after their recent annual general meeting in Abuja, they have called for dialogue.  In a communique signed by Macban's national president Alhaji Abdullahi Bodejo, its secretary, Mallam Saleh Alhassan and the deputy president, Mallam Mansur Abdulkarim, the association also called on security agencies to commence the process of detailed documentation of violence against pastoralists, including the collection of exhibits and relevant information to isolate the perpetrators of violence.

Their communique read: "Delegates condemn in totality all forms of violence and support the peace-loving people to embrace the spirit of brotherhood and peaceful and harmonious coexistence in our communities. Delegates totally condemn the continuous profiling of the Fulani race by some media organisations, particularly the social media and urge the press to investigate the veracity of such stories.

"Delegates frown at the continuous extra-judicial killing of Fulani pastoralists by security agencies and call on the National Human Rights Commission to investigate these atrocities and ensure justice is served."

In addition, the group applauded the appointment of Mallam Nuhu Ribadu as the national security adviser. While pledging to support federal government policies and programmes to address the challenges facing the livestock sector, the group appealed for inclusion in the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Tinubu.

Controversially, however, the Macban AGM endorsed the establishment of a group to be known as Miyetti Allah Vigilante nationwide. It us supposed to assist security agencies in curbing criminal activities such as cattle rustling, kidnapping and rural banditry.