Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, has called on Fulani herdsmen to always endeavor to obey constituted authority.
He stated this when he held a meeting with the leadership of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, in Abuja on Friday. when they converged in to address challenges confronting pastoralists in the country.
Sultan, who is the Chairman Board of Trustees of the association, harped on the need to find workable solutions to address security and socio-economic challenges confronting members of the association.
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The Sultan who decried the stereotyping of Fulani herdsmen and associating them with crime stated that it was not every criminality perpetrated in the country that was done by the Fulanis
Abubakar, however, emphasized the need for pastoralists to ‘respect constituted authority‘ and shun all acts capable of tarnishing their reputations.
On his part, Dr. Usman Bugaje, A senior Advisor to the Sultan, stated that the objective of the meeting was to ensure a genuine search for solutions to the entire problem affecting the Fulanis in the country.
‘We are helping at the secretariat level to bring out the issues and see how we can look at other economic, social, and even ethnic dimensions to the problems,‘ he said.
Bugaje disclosed that a mechanism would be created that would engage the government, Fulani leaders and non-Fulani leaders, criminals elements, and every stakeholder to address incidences the challenges.
‘And, there are timelines put to it, we have agreed that there will be a timeline, we are not going to leave it open.
‘Because we need to get it done within one-year maximum from now if all the stakeholders are ready to cooperate,’ Bugaje said.
He decried the decomposition of society and total erosion of the values that have kept the fabric of the society together over the years.
The National Secretariat of MACBAN, Baba Ngelzarma, urged the Federal Government to address social support programmes of pastoralists with a view to educate and empower them.
He also emphasised the need for government to initiate programmes that would take idle pastoralists out of criminality and engage them to learn other skills in addition to cattle rearing.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK