President Muhammadu Buhari’s media aide has dismissed the insinuations that the President was condoning killings by herdsmen because he is a Fulani. Many Nigerians have criticised the President for not taking drastic measures to curtail the killer herdsmen, who have attacked and killed scores of people in Benue, Taraba and Adamawa states, since he (Buhari) assumed office on May 29, 2015.
But Femi Adesina, in a video message he posted on his Facebook account on Wednesday, said such killings by herdsmen predated the Buhari administration.“Something that is disturbing that I have heard about is linking those developments to the fact that a Fulani man is president and so, he is brooking such kind of evil acts,” he said.“I think that is very unkind. And I will try to back my position with statistics.
“In 2013, particularly, there were nine cases of herdsmen invading communities in Benue state alone and more than 190 people were killed” Speaking further, the presidential aide said that in 2014, there were about 16 of such tragic developments with more than 231 people killed.“Now, the question is, during that period, did we have a Fulani president? This is showing us that the issue of herdsmen attacking settlements, attacking farmers, attacking communities is pure criminality and it is something that government must deal with,” he added.
“It is the duty of government to preserve the lives of the citizenry. It is the responsibility of government to maintain law and order and that this government is determined to do.“Therefore, let nobody say that all this is happening because we have a Fulani president. “We have had many Fulani presidents in the past and this issue of herders and local communities at loggerheads has predated this government”.
