Nobody hated herdsmen until they began to kill, says CAN president

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has urged the leadership of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) to call its members who are violent to order.

According to NAN, Samson Ayokunle, president of CAN, spoke at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday.

He said herdsmen cannot regain the trust and respect of Nigerians until they stop being violent.

He said violent herdsmen created enemies for themselves, saying people had been coexisting peacefully with them for many years in various communities.

Ayokunle explained that nobody hated the Fulani until they began to act “violently”, killing “innocent people”.

“If there was any enemy from any Fulani man, the Fulani man created the enemy for himself, they have been living peacefully for many years in our various communities, till the killing issues started,” he said.

“In those days, our children married them, they married our children, but when they became too violent and started carrying AK-47, killing people, what type of play is that? That’s a dangerous play.

“We can no longer think we are friends with that type of play; it’s too dangerous. So let them call their people to order and ensure that they remove the enmity they have created around an average Fulani person.”

Ayokunle charged the government to step up its security system across the country with a view to stopping the unending killings.