Buhari asks herdsmen to disregard ‘leave the south’ advice by northern elders

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday told herdsmen to disregard the call to vacate the southern part of the country.

The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) had asked herders to leave the southern part of the country if their safety is no longer guaranteed.

But speaking through Garba Shehu, presidential spokesman, the president said no one has the right to ask anyone or group to leave any part of the country.

Questioning the intentions of NEF and “other so- called leaders in delving into issues with unsolicited, ill-intentioned advice”, the president warned those dabbling into issues to score cheap points not to mislead anyone.

He added that his administration is committed to finding a lasting solution to the farmers-herders crisis in “a way that will be acceptable to all”.

“All citizens of Nigeria are free to move and live within any part of the country they please, whether or not they are originally from there.

“In line with our country’s constitution, the government of Nigeria and the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari will protect citizens of Nigeria wherever they find themselves.

“No one has the right to ask anyone or group to depart from any part of the country, whether north, south, east or west. They have no one’s authority to make such pronouncements.

“The polarising role of the Northern Elders Forum and all those other groups dabbling into issues of security to score cheap political points has for long been a sore point in Nigeria’s body polity.

“They should not be allowed to mislead anyone, least of all the Fulani herders.

“The Buhari administration is fully devoted to finding a lasting solution to the herder-farmer clashes in different parts of Nigeria- one that would be acceptable to all the parties involved.”