Leadership of Nigeria’s Fulani ethnic group are set to meet presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, and the flagbearer of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to discuss issues surrounding the 2023 general elections.
The leaders under the auspices of the Fulani Development Association of Nigeria, made this known during the inauguration of their newly elected executives in Abuja on Saturday.
According to them, the meeting with the two leading contestants in the country’s political circle would guide them to decide who they would support in the 2023 polls.
The leader of the Fulanis and National President of FULDAN, Muhammad Bello, stated that they were fully prepared to discuss with the presidential candidates of the PDP and APC because they believed in supporting anyone of them who would deliver on their needs, be it Fulani, Igbo Yoruba, Kanuri or Hausa.
‘‘You can see me with Atiku Abubakar, discussing next you can see me with Bola Tinubu. If anybody is ready to give all the necessary support that we need, we will support him”, he said.
Bello stated that the problems of Fulanis started a few years ago when they were living happily with others, adding however that due to interests from different quarters, the peaceful living degenerated into bad shape.
He pointed out that lack of education on the part of the Fulanis resulted in some security bogs in the country, saying that there was a need to enlighten the public on the negative profiling of Fulanis because some citizens disguise themselves as Fulanis to commit crimes.
‘‘All these problems started a few years ago, but we were together for donkey years, we have been living together happily, it is only these days some interests came in and because of the illiteracy of our people it was easier to penetrate them but when our people are educated all these things will come to pass.’’
He also further stated that not all Fulanis are culpable but alleged that a Plateau man was caught committing a crime while in a disguised accent defrauding the public.
‘‘We have seen an event where a man I think is from Plateau State can change his accent but differently from Fulani, he cheats. It is not only Fulanis that are doing all these things, but there are also those that camouflage.’’
The Chairman of FULDAN Board of Trustees, Ahmad Bello, expressed optimism that there was a need to lobby the National Assembly to enact laws for the creation of the Ministry of Livestock and Animal Husbandry while charging the Federal Government to make speedy steps in addressing all the challenges of the Fulani nation and other citizens.
‘’We will liaise with the National Assembly to create the Ministry of Livestock and Animal Husbandry; if the government can do that then it will be easier to take over this country to tackle all these borders because we are being carried along, we will ensure that is created we will liaise with the National Assembly to make laws in that respect”, he said.
