A former Senator and human rights activist, Shehu Sani has said that Fulani herdsmen perpetrated more atrocities in Northern Nigeria than in the South.
Suspected Fulani herdsmen have been accused of killing, abducting and raping people in many parts of the country, heightening the state of insecurity.
Sani, who represented Kaduna Central Senatorial District between 2015 and 2019, however, said the Southern Governors’ Forum (SGF) was right to have resolved to ban the open grazing in their region.
According to Sani, the Southern governors have a right to do so to curb security challenges.
He, however, said the governors from the two regions – North and South should have sat at a roundtable to discuss the issues before enacting anti-open grazing laws in their states.
Sani made the statement in an exclusive interview with SaharaReporters on Sunday.
The former Senator also said the criminal activities of herders in the South do not represent the image of the North, while adding that any reasonable Northerner should not support their activities.
He insisted that governors from the Northern and the Southern regions can still resolve their differences amicably, but lamented that they are politicising cogent national issues.
“Well, the Fulani herdsmen who we call bandits in the North created more havoc in the North than in the southern part of the country. The governors of the South are not wrong in the resolution to checkmate the activities of the Fulani herdsmen. They are very right to do that.
“But, you see the point is the politicisation of it. A reasonable Northerner should not defend the Fulani herdsmen who have been killing people. But, the Southerners should not think the atrocities of the Fulani herdsmen represent the wish of the North.
“The governors could have sat down on the table just as they used to agree when they are sharing common ideas on crude oil accounts or collecting bailout funds together, and agree to resolve these problems amicably,” Sani said.
