By Omon-Julius Onabu
Leaders of Fulani community in Delta State have dissociated themselves from the three-day ultimatum allegedly given to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa by a faceless group, ‘Fulani Jihadists’ to rescind his stand on the ban on open grazing in southern Nigeria.
Senior Special Assistant to Governor Okowa on Special Duties, Alhaji Muktar Usman, flanked by the leadership of the Fulani in the state, told journalists in Asaba, the state capital, yesterday that they were not party to the threat, which he described as disappointing.
The Fulani leaders described the news of the threat to attack the state as shocking, noting that fears of reprisals from their hosts had overtaken their people since the news broke.
They said that having lived in peace with their host communities across the state for decades, they had no reason to take up arms against their hosts, urging the governor and security agencies to disregard the threat and remain vigilant.
“Yesterday was a very sad story for the leadership of Fulani in Delta. We woke up to see the viral report in the media that suspected Fulani Jihadists threatened to attack Delta State.
“We are very disappointed in that threat and we are calling on the Governor of Delta State, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa and security agencies in the state to know that we are not part and parcel of that threat.
“We are Nigerians and we have good understanding with our host communities, having lived here for over 40 years.
“We are calling on government to fish out those people that are behind the alleged threat because we are not part of it and we can never be part of it.
“We are in very good understanding with our host communities and we must thank the governor because we are accepted more here in Delta than even in our respective states.
“So, I want to call on all our peace- loving people to remain calm and avoid unnecessary tension because since yesterday(Sunday), our people have been panicking.
“We are telling the world today that we condemn this act in all ramifications. We are not part of it and we don’t intend to fight anybody; we are peace-loving people.”
Similarly, leader of Fulani in Delta State, Alhaji Musa Mohammed, said that his people had settled in Delta for many decades. “We have lived here for many years and we don’t have problems with the people of the state,” he said.
He urged the state government to discountenance the threat, and take measures to strengthen security across the state.
Prominent members of Fulani community at the briefing included the Sarki Fulani in the state, Alhaji Muhammed Musa; Chairman of Miyetti Allah in the state, Alhaji Abubakar Haruna and Alhaji Useni Haruna, Sarki Asaba.
