Kwankwanso Tells Yoruba Elders To Shut Up

According to him, “The issue of conflict between the farmers and Fulani herdsmen is not common to the South-west. It is not even common to Nigeria. It is all over the sub-region. On the issue that we are talking about, education is very important. If all Fulani are given opportunity to go to school, I don’t think they will risk their lives and their animals, going into the bush, where there are reptiles. I think the key thing is education. These Fulanis should be educated.

“I am Fulani. My parents settled down many years ago. My father went to school and I have been to school. My children have gone to school. Now, I don’t think I will take cattle and go into a forest; that is education for you.

“The key thing is, whether in the North or Africa, Fulanis are all over. They call themselves Fulani in this part of the world, but in other places, they call them different names. So, education is key. These Fulani people should be educated. They should be settled. Of course, by that they will develop the modern way of keeping livestock.

“If you go to developed countries, you don’t see animals running about. It has to do with underdevelopment. If you go to Niger, Chad, Cameroun and all these places, they have Fulanis roaming about, endangering their lives, endangering their own animals and it is not good for anybody, the economy and the security. But that is for the future.

“But for today, I think it is important for government to provide facilities because we require their services. Facilities like grazing areas for the cattle and other facilities to make sure that we manage the situation.

“In the North, we used to have all these grazing areas. We used to have cattle ranch, where they go from place to place without going into the farm. Probably because of the population now, and other issues all these places are being taking by farmers. Therefore, it becomes very difficult for any cattle to roam or go to places without going into farms.

“So, it is not only peculiar to the South-west. We just need to have a lot of understanding of the situation. Some of the issues being raised by the people, especially politicians, do not help anybody. If you sack the Fulani from here or you fight them, maybe it is because you are here. If you are a Yoruba man based in Kano, I don’t think you can contemplate sacking the Fulani.

“I am from Kano, but right now I am in Ibadan. Where you are is your home. Today, Ibadan is my home. God forbids, if something bad happens here, it will affect me. If it happens in my village, I am not there, they won’t see me. But for today, I think it is important for government to provide ranching facilities such as grazing sites, because we require their services.  It now calls for understanding among Nigerians.   To that extent, therefore, politicians should stop overblowing the issue.”