The President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Dr. Samson Ayokunle, has asked the leadership of the Miyetti-Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) to protect the image of President Muhammadu Buhari by exposing the criminal herdsmen in the country.
Ayokunle made the call on Monday in Abuja while speaking with the representatives of MACBAN led by its National Secretary, Baba Othman Ngadzarna and Alhaji Sidia Metankari, who came to congratulate him on his re-election and seek for a date for dialogue with the leadership of CAN on the ongoing security challenges in the country.
According to him, the major problem confronting Nigeria is lack of leadership and that Nigeria needs a detribalised leader who will pick the best across all divides that will help him to govern the entire nation well.
“The leadership of CAN is not attacking President Muhammadu Buhari on religious ground. All we are asking the government for is to be more responsible and responsive to the yearning of the people of Nigeria irrespective of their faith, ethnic background and political leaning.
“Good governance will surely change the current disturbing narrative. There is no reason why the criminals amidst us should not be brought to book.
“Now that you have said it is not all herdsmen that belong to MACBAN, then your association should stop justifying the atrocities being perpetrated by those criminals.
“The criminal herdsmen are giving the President bad name and the only way this can be stopped is by exposing those criminals that are carrying gun around, maiming and killing the innocent people.
“President Buhari is Fulani like you people and the best thing you can do for him is by exposing those criminals,” Ayokunle said.
He however commended MACBAN for the initiative and promised to work with the leadership of the association in the quest for peace and stability of Nigeria.
Speaking earlier, the National Secretary of MACBAN, Baba Othman Ngadzarna, said the delegation came to congratulate the CAN leader on his victory for the second term and to also seek for a date when the leadership of MACBAN can come to hold dialogue with CAN leadership in their ongoing dialogue with stakeholders in the country.
Ngadzarna said, “All the criminals pretending to be herdsmen are not our members. Those carrying AK-47 around are cattle rustlers who came from outside the country and are capitalizing on the porosity of our borders.”
He also said that there is another group of herdsmen who shared same name with them adding that they were also registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
He said that the crisis between the pastoralists and farmers were as a result of climate change, increase in population, illiteracy, cattle rustling and failure of government to address their needs.
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