Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) National President Rabiu Zuru said on Tuesday that the Fulani people have been pushed to the wall and that is why killing and kidnapping in Zamfara State remained pervasive.
The Fulani leader argued that the Hausa community had insulted the Fulani people beyond forgiveness, he said this in his address to the state governor and stakeholders at a city hall conference in Gusau, the state capital.
According to him, the Hausa people would sell portions of lands to the Fulani people only to sell the land again to Hausa people thinking that the Fulani people are fools.
He said even if the Fulani people came back to claim the lands they bought, they would be asked to pay more before they could claim the lands.
The Fulani leader maintained that the Hausa people usually killed their people and stole their animals, insisting that attacks by the Fulani were reprisals.
“These are some of the main reasons why the Fulani people picked offense against the Hausa people,” he revealed.
Responding, the chairman, Zamfara State Council of Chiefs, Alhaji Attahiru Mohammed Ahmed, blamed the Yansakai group for killing innocent citizens, especially the Fulani people in the state.
According to him, the Yansakai group would just enter the market and start killing the Fulani people without reason.
The Emir equally blamed security operatives for arresting and killing innocent citizens of the state, saying it was not fair to blame insecurity in the state on the Fulani people only.
The Fulani leader said if the state government could stop the Hausa people from killing, harassing, and stealing the animals of Fulani people, the recurring killings and kidnappings would end in the state.
In his own reaction, the state governor, Bello Mohammed Matawalle, assured that his government would construct roads, hospitals, markets, grazing land, etc so that they could remain stationed in one place.
According to the governor, the state government would set up a high powered committee to find out how best to end the mayhem.
He gave the Fulani leaders a grace of one month to settle with their young ones who, he said, were responsible for the terror attacks and kidnappings in the state.
Our correspondent reports that immediately after the meeting, the whole Fulani people entered into a closed-door session but the outcome was not yet known as at press time.