Leaders of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria(MACBAN) in the southern part of Kaduna State have pledged to work with security agencies to tackle insecurity in the zone.
The leaders made the commitment at a meeting convened by MACBAN on Sunday in Kafanchan, headquarters of Jema’a Local Government Area.
Speaking at the meeting, the Southern Kaduna Zonal Chairman of MACBAN, Alhaji Mato Yahaya, said it had become imperative for the group to seek solutions to the security challenges bedevilling the area.
‘We cannot stand idly by and allow insecurity to take firm root in our communities.
‘Therefore, I urge us all to be frank in our submissions and suggest practical ways of resolving the security problems facing us’, he added.
Yahaya urged participants to promote peaceful coexistence between Fulani herders and other residents.
In his remarks, the Kaduna State MACBAN Chairman, Alhaji Abdulhamid Albarka, said the meeting was convened to gather input from local Fulani leaders and forward same to security agencies.
Albarka urged the leaders to expose criminal elements within their communities to avoid suspicion of collusion.
‘If we don’t fish them out, they will give us a bad name, and we don’t want that at all’, he stated.
The National Organising Secretary of MACBAN, Alhaji Hassan Tugga, who hails from the zone, said the association was committed to ensuring that the relative peace being enjoyed in the area was not disrupted.
Tugga urged community leaders to report suspicious persons or activities in their domains to the relevant authorities.
He also appealed to the media to give factual and balanced reportage on the security situation in the zone.
Others who spoke emphasised the need for herders to seek the permission of farmers before grazing on farmlands where crops had been harvested.
It was reported that Fulani leaders from the eight local government areas that make up Southern Kaduna attended the meeting.
