Fani-Kayode Berates Senate President Over Comments On Fulani Herdsmen Crisis

Posted by Tolulope Ogugua African News, Featured, Latest Headlines, News, News Across Nigeria, News From The State Monday, February 22nd, 2021

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – A Former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, has slammed Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, for saying that the ethnic crisis that erupted recently in Oyo State which led to the killings in Shasha area of Ibadan, were caused by South-West governors due to their inciting statements.

The African Examiner reports that the Senate President had stated “What happened in Oyo State and some states in the South-West and probably the South-East was truly a failure of leadership. I will not only blame governors, the governors have a responsibility to protect people living in their states.”

Reacting, Fani-Kayode in a statement on Monday, disagreed with Lawan saying that the South-West governors, especially Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, have done their best to stop the escalation of the crisis.

He said: “I need to ask this question. Why does the Senate President not complain about the violence that northerners are inflicting on Middle Belters and Southerners in the North itself?

“Again, why does he not complain about the barbaric attacks and killing of our people in the South-West and other parts of the South and Middle Belt by killer Fulani herdsmen who are carrying arms, raping our women, occupying our land and terrorising our people?

“How come he does not complain about that? Is Northern blood more precious than Southern blood?

“It appears that he is only concerned about retaliatory attacks by the local Yoruba population who have been brutalised and traumatised by the terrorists.

“He has not complained about what those terrorists are doing to our people and he has exhibited no empathy with the victims simply because they are Southerners.

“The only way the resentment against northerners will vanish in that zone is when the killer herdsmen and terrorists stop the killings.

“Outside of that. all the self-serving and sanctimonious admonitions and lectures in the world from Northern leaders, who are clearly partial in this matter, to our leaders in the South-West will change nothing.

“Northern leaders should thank the South-West governors for keeping a lid on the whole thing and restraining our people rather than blame them for trying to keep the peace in the face of the most extreme provocation from the terrorists.

“The level of hate and resentment against Fulani herdsmen in the South-West is frightful and unprecedented today and the governors are having a hard time trying to calm people down and reign them in. They may not want to admit it publicly.

“The decisive actions of the South-West governors over the last few months saved lives and their words and utterances reflected the will of the people.”