Northern group accuses Osinbajo of frustrating projects meant for the North

…Gives reasons the North want Fulanis out of southern Nigeria

 

BY KAZIE UKO

The emerging northern political pressure group, Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) has blamed the office of the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, for non-implementation of projects that would have benefitted the north, under the Buhari administration.

CNG which earlier this month gave President Muhammadu Buhari and the Federal Government of Nigeria 30 days to rescind the decision suspending the controversial Ruga Settlement programme, accused the office of the vice president of frustrating projects meant for the north.

Stating reasons why it wanted all Fulani herdsmen in the southern part of the country to relocate with their cattle back to northern Nigeria, the group through its spokesman Abdul-Aziz Sulaiman, said the north was finding it difficult to trust the Federal Government on its commitments for the welfare and safety of the north, particularly on the flagrant issue of herders-farmers conflict.

“We are concerned about the sincerity of the federal government in implementing the NLTP (National Livestock Transformation Plan) going by the manner previous efforts at executing development projects like the Mambilla hydro-electric power project and several initiatives on the herdsmen dilemma were invariably stalled.

“We are equally worried that the NLTP is vested in the office of the vice president that is believed to have frustrated previous projects meant for the north.

“We find it difficult to trust the commitments of this government which has for the past four years failed to execute any positive initiative towards resolving the herders’ problems nor shown any encouraging concern for the dilemma of the Fulani who have been attacked in various states,” Sulaiman said, while calling for the recall of herdsmen across the south, at a joint press conference Tuesday, with the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) led by Prof. Ango Abdullahi.

Following the gruesome killing of Mrs. Funke Olakunrin, daughter of Afenifere leader, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, last week by suspected Fulani herdsmen and subsequent angry reactions by prominent Nigerians and groups that trailed it, Sulaiman, said it believed the safety of the Fulani and their cattle could no longer be guaranteed in the south.

According to him, the situation was made worse after a section of the southern leadership had introduced a fresh round of instigations by indiscriminately blaming the death of the daughter of the Afenifere leader on the Fulani and threatening reprisals on northerners, contrary to on the spot account of her own driver and the official explanation by the police that the culprits were yet to be identified.

He said: “Throwing caution to the wind, Gani Adams, Fani Kayode, Yinka Odumakin and a host of other southern regionalists shamelessly insisted on changing the narratives around killing of the Fasoranti lady. In the process, they threatened all forms of violations and breaches against northerners including the threat of an all-out war.

“With all these statements and steps taken by the southern governors and opinion leaders, we are worried that none of the northern governors or federal official has deemed it apt to caution them.

“The failure or neglect of the police to trace a connection between the Fasoranti murder and the seeming pre-arranged conduct of Fani Kayode, Odumakin and Adams by their haste to shift the blame in order to render the Fulani object of attack is certainly suspicious.

“Based on the above observations sir, and the fact that the instigation of hatred against the Fulani persists, we feel obliged to advise the leadership of the Northern Elders Forum to consider calling on the Fulani to forego their right to live and flourish anywhere in the south and relocate to their various states in the north to ensure their safety noting the inherent return value of such denial,” the CNG submitted in its proposal to NEF.