Asari Dokubo tells Middle Belters to stop crying like babies and start defending themselves

NIGER Delta Peoples Volunteer Force (NDPVF) founder Alhaji Asari Dokubo has called on the people in the Middle Belt region to stop crying like babies and start protecting themselves against Fulani cattle herdsmen.

Over recent years, Nigeria has been wracked by communal violence as repeated clashes between herdsmen and local farmers, particularly in the Middle Belt, has led to hundreds of deaths. Heavily-armed herdsmen have spread mayhem across rural Nigeria, attacking farming villages, especially in Benue and Plateau states, leading to calls for government action.

President Muhammadu Buhari, himself a Fulani cattle owner, has come under intense criticism for failing to address the matter because he is sympathetic to the herdsmen.  Telling the people of the Middle Belt to read the writing on the wall, Alhaji Dokubo said they should protect themselves against attacks by suspected Fulani herdsmen.

He called on the people of Plateau, Benue, Kogi, Taraba and Nasarawa states to also stop the consumption of cow meat. According to Alhaji Dokubo, Middle Belters have to accept responsibility for their own defence as the government is never going to come to their rescue.

Alhaji Dokubo said: “They should stop crying like babies and stop behaving like cowards because the people who are killing them are not gods. The first law of survival is self defence.

“Till today, people in Plateau, Benue, Kogi, Taraba and Kogi states are still eating their cows and those of us that are not eating their cows are labelled extremists. It is shameful that the people of the Middle Belt are crying like babies and other people are killing them, don’t they have hands to defend their lives?"

In April, the Benue State government filed a case against the Fulani herdsmen body the Miyetti Allah cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria at a high court in Makurdi, accusing it of murder and widespread violence across 14 out of the 23 local government areas. In Plateau State too, over 100 people were recently slaughtered in a mindless attack on four villages.

“They have every right to defend themselves. They should protect themselves and stop complaining,” Alhaji Dokubo added.