Foundation for Peace Professionals (FPP) welcomes the resolution of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) and Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) in which both associations agreed to jointly address the issue of farmers and herdsmen clashes in Nigeria.
We are happy that All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) also agreed with FPP that the crisis ravaging the country is the handiwork of some criminal syndicate to pitch both parties against each other and we urge them to sustain their peace ties.
In a report yesterday carried by several newspapers, ‘’All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) were quoted to have said, ‘’ “We agreed to work together to expose the criminals from among us to ensure peace and prosperity in Nigeria.
The real herdsmen do not carry AK 47, does not raze a whole settlement but desires peace to harness his pastoral activities.
AFAN also said they were willing to work with the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) to bring the criminal elements who perpetrate the evil to book’’.
National Secretary of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Baba Othman Ngelzarma also expressed the readiness of the association to work both with AFAN and the government to restore peace between farmers and herdsmen across the country.
“I have to make it abundantly clear, we represent MACBAN, and we are a peaceful association. We have been working together with AFAN in order to bring peace to this country.
We don’t control the entire fulanis in Nigeria; we only represent our registered members who are the legitimate pastoralists, the peace loving pastoralists who are doing their peaceful legitimate business of cattle rearing.
“I will never support, I will never condone any criminality, I will never be a party to any criminality, in fact that is the more reason why AFAN has decided to work with us as collaborators to bring peace to this country, so we are in line with what the president of AFAN has said and we are in line with any policy of the federal government that will bring an end to this crisis in Nigeria,” the MACBAN national secretary added.
Recall that FPP had called on government to set up an anti-crime force to combat organized criminality in states affected by such clashes. The FPP maintained that this is very important because the major cause of crisis in the states is criminality, not ethnicity or religion as being insinuated by many.
The organization therefore commends the two organizations for their joint initiatives and urges them to continue to work together in the interest of peace and justice.
