Afenifere condemns Falae's kidnap, calls for ban on activities of Fulani herdsmen in Yoruba land

Following the kidnap of former presidential candidate Olu Falae by suspected fulani herdsmen in Ondo state last week Monday, leaders of Pan Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, have called for a ban to be placed on the activities of Fulani herdsmen in Yoruba land.

The group also condemned the kidnapping of the 77 year old elder statesman. They made their position known after an emergency meeting in Akure, Ondo state yesterday September 28th. Speaking through its Spokesman, Yinka Odumakin, the group said;

"We believe now that after what has happened to chief Falae, people would not tolerate such thing in any part of Yoruba land . So while we await the arrest of the criminals, the cattle rearing should be stop in Yoruba land. Yoruba people go to any part of the country to trade,no history or record of such anywhere that the Yorubas destroy the business of their host. What we cannot do to others, nobody should do it to us. We describe this as scandalous and chilling that the harrowing experience of the 77 year old man in the hands of vandals,miscreants. The Meeting did not considers it as a mere coincidence that chief Olu Falae for two to three years has been having running battles with the Fulani herdsmen on the very farm before he was abducted. Last of such was about two months earlier when they enter his farmland and destroyed it and chief Falae pursue the matter with the police and grudgingly accepted half of what the police said they should pay as compensation. The fulani elements coming to abduct him two months latter, is presumably a vengeance mission for justice that he pursued against the invasion of his farm and the destruction of his hand work. The meeting recalled that for years, farmers in Yoruba land has been expressing what chief Falae was going through in the hands of this nomadic cattle rearers. You will recalled that in year 2000 in Oke Ogun area of Oyo state, the fulani herdsmen and farmers had a major clash which led to a strong delegation from Arewa consultative forum to storm the office of the office of the then Governor Lam Adesina in a rowdy and angry manner on behalf of fulani . The meeting also noted that the 2014 national conference in which chief Falae led the Yoruba delegation ,extensively discuss this matter of nomadic cattle rearing and the conference resolved the it should be stopped and instead have ranches for cattle business. We condemned the abduction of Chief olu Falae and his gruesome experience as shameful, insensitive and a violent violation of Yoruba culture, values and space".

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