Herdsmen’s activities bringing bad name to Fulani race – Vandefan

A retired Chief Superintendent of Police, James Vandefan, has asked the leadership of Miyetti Allah to check the activities of herdsmen, whom he said are bringing bad name to the entire Fulani race. Vandefan, who made the call yesterday in an interview with newsmen in Makurdi, said the Fulani were known as a peaceful race but the recent activities of the herdsmen in the country will result to damaging effect on them in generations yet unborn.

He said Nigerians and the international communities were beginning to view Fulani as a violent race where the case should not be so. “The Fulani should look at the action of the herdsmen because it will have damaging effects on the generation yet unborn and these will not be a healthy situation. “People are beginning to see them as a threat where ever they are and this is having a damaging effect on the entire Fulani race.

“We are saying these are foreign Fulani but why do we give them room to infiltrate into our fatherland and kill our people and still let them stay without being prosecuted. “Miyetti Allah should understand that there is a thin line between nationalism and patriotism. If you are patriotic to your tribe, you now make sure that you didn’t kill the ideal of nationalism, because patriotism should stop at the level of assisting one another,” he added.

Vandefan, who is a senatorial aspirant for Benue North-East said, the Benue Anti-Open Grazing Law was one of the best things that has happened to Nigeria, noting that it is only people who are illustrates and misinformed that will find it obnoxious or think it is anti Fulani.  He said herdsmen doing open grazing perpetually subject under age children to dehumanising child labour by making them trek long distances into the bush in the name of open grazing while they sit back in the comfort of their house in the cities.

The retired Police officer said the nomadic children are deprived of education and exposed to various forms of dangers, which could have been avoided if cattle were kept in the ranch. “Now you are taking a small child who will be trekking from Kano in the name of grazing, and you deprive them of education.

“The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) is also supposed to come in and arrest these children who are under age or guardians or parents who send them to graze cows.

“They should be arrested because they are subjecting the children to child labour and depriving them from acquiring normal education.” He said he was in the race to bring quality representation to his people, and will do better than what he has done even as a private individual.

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