Says nobody owns the forests
Ejiofor Alike
Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed, has alleged that his counterpart in Benue State, Mr. Samuel Ortom, started the herdsmen’s crisis by not accommodating the herders.
Mohammed also accused the southern governors of mishandling herdsmen’s crisis, insisting that all forests belong to Nigeria and that the Nigerian Constitution guarantees all Nigerians to settle in any place of their choice.
He also faulted the quick notice given to the Fulani herders in some southern states, particularly in Ondo State, pointing out that the move of the “Southern governors are wrong”.
He stated these yesterday at the closing ceremony of the 2021 Press Week of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists Bauchi State Council, which was aired live on Channels TV.
The governor, who was the Guest of Honour and an awardee, in his keynote address on the theme: “The Role of the Media in Promoting Peace in Nigeria”, commended journalists in the state for their accurate and balanced reporting and for promoting peace in Nigeria.
The governor cautioned journalists against rushing to press on the issues capable of dividing the country
Mohammed said, “On the herders/farmers clashes, you have seen what our colleagues in South-West are doing and some of them in South-East. Some of us told them with all modesty and humility –you are wrong.
“But the person that is most wrong is the Governor of Benue State, my brother and my colleague, Governor (Samuel) Ortom, he started all these. If you don’t accommodate other tribes, we are also accommodating your people in Bauchi and other places.
“We have so many Tiv people working and farming in Alkaleri, farming in Tafawa Balewa, farming in Bogoro Local Government areas of Bauchi, has anyone asked them to go? We have not, because it is their constitutional right to be there.
“We have Yoruba people in Bauchi for over 150 years, even before the birth of Nigeria. Nobody has told them to go, some of them have risen to become permanent secretaries in Bauchi, Gombe, and Borno.”
“Nobody owns any forests; the forests are owned by Nigeria,” he argued.
He added, “And now, the Fulani man is practicing the tradition of pastoralism, he has been exposed to the dangers of the forests, the animals, and now, the cattle rustlers, who carry guns, kill him and take away his commonwealth, his cows, he had no option than to defend himself because the society and the government are not protecting him.
“It is not his fault, it is the fault of the government and the people, you don’t criminalise all of them because in every tribe there are criminals. You should be very sensitive.”
