Dr. Junaid Mohammed, elder statesman and Second Republic federal lawmaker in this interview with TEMIDAYO AKINSUYI, speaks on the controversy trailing the quit notice given to herdsmen in Ondo forest reserves by Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, how to address the criminality by bandits and other issues. Excerpts:

Governor Akeredolu last Monday issued a seven- day ultimatum to herdsmen in the forests reserves to leave the area as part of measures to curb kidnappings and banditry. How did you receive that news?

Well, I’m not sure I have much of a stake in it because the questions that are supposed to be asked are not being asked. If somebody who is in a position in government or the government itself decides to take certain steps, the question to ask is, is it a legal step? Unless we want to live in a lawless and irresponsible society, people don’t simply wake up and decide that A,B,C is illegal or they want people to behave in a particular way. If what Akeredolu is asking is legal, then of course, those who are affected must follow the law. Akeredolu is a lawyer; he is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association. If what he is doing is illegal, then he has no right to do it and those who want to challenge him can take him to court. I have been watching him for many years. If his own brand of politics is through blackmail and he is taking these steps to introduce institutionalized tribalism and religious bigotry, then he should be told that he should be careful of what he wants because what he thinks will benefit him politically may not necessarily benefit him. Millions of Nigeria today are living outside their hometowns, local government areas or where there is a preponderance of their own ethnic group. So, we should be very careful about certain actions we take.

So, what do you think the state government should have done given the atrocities of these bandits who are hiding in the forests?

If we want this Nigerian project to survive, fine. If however some people believe they can blackmail other people of the country to concede power to them, goodluck to them. We know Akeredolu has presidential ambition just like his colleague in Ekiti state, Kayode Fayemi. The two of them have been going round even outside the South-West. So, we are aware of what they want. As far as I’m concerned, those who have quarrels with Buhari should go and confront him, the way a man should confront his fellow man. But you don’t go and kill innocent people. If the people who are living in the bush are Fulanis and they do something which is illegal, then they should be arrested and taken to court. No Fulani man can claim he is above the law. But those who now want to blackmail Buhari or his party, APC which is the same political party Fayemi and Akeredolu belonged to now want to achieve their aim through blackmail the way the Igbos have been using IPOB, then they should be prepared for what comes their way.

I have been to Ondo and I used to have a very good friend of mine, Senator Lawrence Agunbiade, he is now dead. If you put all the Fulanis in Ondo together, you could put them in one Boeing 737 plane and take them out of the state. But imagine if we are going to talk about Ondo people who live in Kano, Kaduna, Jos or Maiduguri. You can see that we have irresponsible people who are occupying very serious political positions in Nigeria. For them, what they want at any particular time is what is uppermost in their mind. They have never believed in the unity of this country, they have never been cautious about the interest and the lives of other Nigerians who are living in the country. We have seen similar things in the past.

The issue is already degenerating into ethnic tension with ACF and Akeredolu bickering. What do you think can be done to nip this in the bud?

We saw how OPC started, killing people unnecessarily until Obasanjo was forced to rein them in. The same people who led OPC are Gani Adams and the late Frederick Fasehun. Fasehun was my junior in the Soviet Union when we attended our own American school. We are also witnessing what is happening now with IPOB. Just last month, we had to travel to Port Harcourt and Enugu just because some people decided to go and kill people in the name of #EndSARS. These people are living in the bush. They either bring cows or agricultural materials such as tomatoes, pepper and other farm produce. How then do you go and attack these people and say you are trying to give freedom to your own people? After they did that, they now started issuing statements and now we have what can be called a de javu phenomenon. During the outbreak of the civil war, some politicians in the South-West who are Yoruba people were telling the Igbos to secede from the country and they will follow them if they do so.

I recalled that the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo issued a statement and Wole Soyinka also did that. They both said if the South- East secedes, the South- West will follow. The South-East went but the South-West left the Igbos to be slaughtered. Over one and half million people were killed and the whole area was devastated. Till today, most of the roads and infrastructures have not recovered. Now, when the Igbos left, the people who were asking them to go and they will follow them now took over their businesses, all their houses and also took over their bank accounts especially in Lagos. People with such a history, if they ask you to go and make trouble, you should think twice. The successors of those traitors are the Akeredolus of this world. Let me be frank with anybody who wants to listen- Buhari is not a Fulani man! Buhari is not a Fulani man even though he is claiming to be one. You can quote me on this. I challenge him to subject himself to a genotype test so that we can know his gene because you can find out the genes of a typical Fulani man. Even if he is a Fulani man and you have a quarrel with him, that does not mean you should go into the bush and start killing everybody who is Fulani. If you have a quarrel with Buhari on a matter of principle, even on tribal grounds, go and find out his true identity and then fight him instead of fighting innocent Fulani people.

There have been concerns that no herdsman has been prosecuted for criminal activities even if caught in the act. Why do you think that is so?

I know there are some Fulani scoundrels who called themselves herdsmen and go to attack farmers and other people pursuing their legitimate interests; where you have these bad characters, arrest them and take them to court. Simple! Don’t listen to the likes of Akeredolu who are political opportunists, demagogues and all manners of hustlers who are about finishing their term as governors and are now aspiring to be President. That is what is happening now.

These people are so reckless. For example, I knew my friend Tinubu played a very important and significant role in making Akeredolu the governor of Ondo state. But we knew how he has been abusing Tinubu over the years after he became governor. If he does that to a fellow Yoruba man, a man to whom he is obligated for the rest of his life, then you can see that Akeredolu can do that to anybody else. But I repeat that he should be careful about what he wishes for. If he imagines that he can simply walk over the people who are the majority of the people in the country and he thinks there will be no consequences by unleashing mayhem on the so-called Fulani herders, there will be consequences. There will definitely be consequences.

Do you agree with the statement credited to the National President of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Bello Abdullahi Bodejo that they own all the lands in Nigeria?

He is talking nonsense. In the first place, that Bodejo or whatever he calls himself is an illiterate. Even if he is the most educated person among the Fulanis and I am a Fulani man, he has no right to make that reckless and irresponsible statement. How can the whole of Nigeria belong to the Fulanis? When we had the Uthman Dan Fodio wars, they did not conquer the South-West. They did not conquer Oyo, Ondo or Ogun states. Yes, there are Muslims there but that does not make it a Fulani territory. How does he come about that all lands in Nigeria belong to Fulanis? Miyetti Allah my foot! How will Nigerians rely on an illiterate to teach them history? And how did he come about that knowledge? Who told him that? Where did he read that the whole of Nigeria belong to Fulani? Which Fulani is he talking about anyway? The Fulanis are one of the most diverse groups in Africa. As I’m talking to you today, there are 53 African countries that are recognised by international laws. Out of that, the Fulanis are in 34 countries. For years, they have spread, some in large communities, some in small communities. But that does not mean that the whole of Africa belongs to them. You can see that the whole thing is nothing but politics. Miyetti Allah was created by the likes of Buhari himself, late Shehu Yar’A dua and others. They wanted to use it for politics and today, it is being used by the likes of Sultan of Sokoto and others for politics. The same thing goes for the former Emir of Kano who was sacked, Sanusi. He was sacked by Ganduje and until few years ago, Ganduje cannot speak Hausa, he could only speak Fulani. Even among the Fulanis themselves, they have problems. Why should anybody come and say the whole of Nigeria belongs to Fulani? Which history or geography did he study? The media should help by educating Nigerians on these and other issues. But the likes of Akeredolu cannot be helped because they have made up their minds how they intend to go. It is the same thing with the likes of John Nwodo. For these ones, they have to agitate in order to become politically relevant. It is the same thing with this scoundrel in IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu. Characters like that are professional hustlers who have to agitate so that they can be relevant. The governor of a state is a very important and responsible position. If he behaves or talks responsibly, then it is not because of ignorance. It is because he has a political agenda in mind.

Do you think in 2021, people should still be doing nomadic rearing of cattle instead ofranching? Why are the Fulanis finding it difficult to embrace ranching?

For over 20 years, I have been saying to people whether they are from the South, North, East or West that this idea of herdsmen is not just about economic activity, it is a way of life. You can see that from the days of Abraham, M oses and others, most of these people actually started their own lives as shepherds. Does it make sense for somebody to follow a cow all the way from Maiduguri down to Lagos or Port Harcourt? So, to them it is their own way of life. If you want to change them or win them away from that way of life, you have to do it carefully by letting them understand. I have been talking for over 20 years that it is in the interest of those who eat the meat that these people are bringing from the North, Chad and other stations that it is better we build stations with deep freezers near some of the markets in Lagos and then let the governors build it and be renting it to the herders and the butchers. Then of course, if they cannot manage it, they can sell it to some people who are businessmen and the herders can also buy it. They don’t have the money to start this vast business. They also need lands and the land is in the hands of the government. You cannot stop somebody from living his way of life in the name of freedom or politics. No, you can’t.

If anything happens, you hear people screaming ‘it is Fulani herdsmen’. The fact is, a lot of this criminality is simply a lie. But if it is true, what you do is not to make noise about it and incite people and communities to be killing themselves. If found culpable committing criminal acts, take them to court. I don’t want to believe there is a Fulani man who is a magistrate or High Court judge in Ogun, Ondo or any South-West states. Once arrested take the criminals to court. Making noise about it does not help anybody. Left to himself, Akeredolu cannot subdue a Fulani man when it comes to fighting. Never! You must have heard of what happened in Yemen where they have this civil war. Wherever they go, they always carry knives with them. It is their way of life. So, I can’t see how a man armed with a dagger can be subdued by Akeredolu. He can’t! If people want peace, they will have peace, if they want war, then they will get war.

https://www.independent.ng/akeredolu-should-be-prepared-to-face-the-consequences-of-his-actions-against-fulanis-junaid-mohammed/

Hmm... Mr Governor carry out your threat

Arewa1stSon:
Hmm

I know you gonna spill trash as you've been doing.
Anyways let this be clear to you.

If Eze Ndigbo can be flogged and the title can be banned in Ondo state.

Then you Fulanis just a piece of trash that'll can be easily be thrown away anytime.

BTW, educate your fellow Fulanis to embrace ranching, at least their papa dey president he should provide funds for them.

This Is 2021 not 1700.
If you guys don't wanna be innovative, then don't bring your backward ideas to the South.

E.g,they will ban him from eating cow meat.

Very late news.

We moved already

Dr. Junaid Mohammed should shut up abeg! What consequences? The governor broke no law, so what consequences are you talking about? The governor gave an ultimatum - obey the law or be punished! He didn't order all herdsmen out of his state. Only the unscrupulous elements among them are bound to be affected, which should be supported by all well-meaning Nigerians. Nobody is above the law... Any Herdsman that's too big to register should be punished! Nigeria is not a lawless country.

But if Junaid Mohammed must attack, then he should channel his energy to Sunday Igboho.. He's the terrorist that should be dealt with!

Nigeria must better.

Arrrrrrrh

Tbh, no one could tell weather Gov. Rotimi's move would a yield better results or not. Because this set of people are really different from the northern Nigerians, the Hausa to be precise. Could it be its an initiative to over shadow the South as thier number will be increasing on a daily basis?

You see, even though the southerns/easterners live in the North, they still can't do anything in terms of instigating crises like the Fulani's. But imagine this minority group's adamant in a state that is not thiers, they seems to be unremovable.

Well if registration could cool the heat then it's a better one. But I pity the day things will turn the other side, the words of Dr. Junaid would be remember.

In all honesty, I hope it yield a better result.

Hide under your bed and be saying 'you move'

helinues:
Very late news.

We moved already

SilverNorGold:
Ok

E pain you my brother

He wish Sunday was arrested

Sammy07:


E pain you my brother

He wish Sunday was arrested

I don't like being tribal but the way most of you celebrated victory against Fulani herdsmen even to the extent of calling out other tribes is so unsophisticated.

Haba, you simply gave a quit notice which they have not respected, you started celebrating that they have apologized. Lol. Will the apology end the crime? Who told you Fulanis understand the statement of dialogue? At a day ESN was already exchanging fire with Nigerian soldiers on same issue.

All these meetings and dialogue will never remove Fulani from the forest. In fact, it will energize them the more. Stop celebrating nonsense. We all have to continue the pressure on herdsmen until the whole south is librated. Sunday Igboho house has been put on fire by these I.d.iots. To tell you the issue at hand is yet to be over.

Sammy07:


E pain you my brother

He wish Sunday was arrested

The pain just started

haffaze777:


The pain just started

And e no go stop

Sammy07:


And e no go stop

L'ase edumare

Mumu talk...dey compare ondo people with fulani people. Asif ondo people dey go cause mayhem for north. Dey come threaten him papa with war. Nobody get the monopoly of violence oh, whether fulani dey waka with dagger or not.

[s]

SpecialAdviser:


I don't like being tribal but the way most of you celebrated victory against Fulani herdsmen even to the extent of calling out other tribes is so unsophisticated.

Haba, you simply gave a quit notice which they have not respected, you started celebrating that they have apologized. Lol. Will the apology end the crime? Who told you Fulanis understand the statement of dialogue? At a day ESN was already exchanging fire with Nigerian soldiers on same issue.

All these meetings and dialogue will never remove Fulani from the forest. In fact, it will energize them the more. Stop celebrating nonsense. We all have to continue the pressure on herdsmen until the whole south is librated. Sunday Igboho house has been put on fire by these I.d.iots. To tell you the issue at hand is yet to be over.

[/s]

Early morning trash
https://www.nairaland.com/silvernorgold

https://www.nairaland.com/arewa1stson

Check their post history and comments in the last 5 days.
Fact is you can't push away other tribes from your land.

You can only cage them by forcing them to submit to your will.
Make use of your head, registering the herdsmen is very important from there, critical decisions can be taken on them

Arewa1stSon:
Hmm... Mr Governor carry out your threat

You have been out here making noise since yesterday.

I dare Fulani not obey the governor and see what will become of them.

Moving on

Does the Old fool Junaid or whatever he calls himself really thinks for a second that only Fulani herdsmen are the Northners in the South west.

We have people from Okada riders, house help, Shoe makers, Labourers, traders, business men to Government workers from the North living all over the Southwest without any problem.

In fact, South West houses the largest number of Northerners outside North in Nigeria.

I also dare say there are more Northerners in South West than South Westerns living in North.

Let them try nonsense and see nonsense.

God bless Akeredolu and other Omoluabis.

No going back, deal decisively with the killer herders and evict them from our region.

We're in this TOGETHER

Sammy07:


Early morning trash
https://www.nairaland.com/silvernorgold

https://www.nairaland.com/arewa1stson

Check their post history and comments in the last 5 days.
Fact is you can't push away other tribes from your land.

You can only cage them by forcing them to submit to your will.
Make use of your head, registering the herdsmen is very important from there, critical decisions can be taken on them

Registering them not a bad step. But keeping quiet to pressure and celebrating victory damn stupid.

SpecialAdviser:


Registering them not a bad step. But keeping quiet to pressure and celebrating victory damn stupid.

I don't know what was your intention of supporting the Yorubas but be rest assured that intentions of the Yoruba people is quite different from yours.

We have no interest in starting any war, we only want the Fulani to obey the laws of our land and submit themselves to the constitutional authority of our land.

Anyone that feels higher than the state constitutional authority and laws/ regulations can always leave and settle elsewhere

Thanks for your support anyway.

SpecialAdviser:


Registering them not a bad step. But keeping quiet to pressure and celebrating victory damn stupid.

Nah your victory?

Iamgrey5:
I don't know what was your intention of supporting the Yorubas but be rest assured that intentions of the Yoruba people is quite different from yours.

We have no interest in starting any war, we only want the Fulani to obey the laws of our land and submit themselves to the constitutional authority of our land.

Anyone that feels higher than the state constitutional authority and laws and regulations can always leave and settle elsewhere

Thanks for your support anyway.

Thank you jare.
Anyone that feels higher than the state constitutional authority and laws and regulations can always leave and settle elsewhere

Akeredolu have no political dreams beyond Yorubaland. Because we in the north is waiting for him in Abuja

Sammy07:


Nah your victory?



Thank you jare.
Anyone that feels higher than the state constitutional authority and laws and regulations can always leave and settle elsewhere

It is simple as abc .

If anyone refuses to obey a simple rule like registration, then the person surely has a sinister motive.

I mean look at the Arewa guy crying all over Nairaland like a little baby over the fact that state government wanted to document those living in the forest in order to improve security.

AlhajiImam:
Akeredolu have no political dreams beyond Yorubaland. Because we in the north is waiting for him in Abuja

The only time he will ever need North is if he wants to become the president.

I am sure Akeredolu being a smart lawyer have seen that it's hard to be a rational human being and still have the support of irrational northerners.

So he would rather have the support of the rational humans.

Iamgrey5:
It is simple as abc .

If anyone refuses to obey a simple rule like registration, then the person surely has a sinister motive.

I mean look at the Arewa guy crying all over Nairaland like a little baby over the fact that state government wanted to document those living in forest in order to improve security.

Swears.

Just looked at his comment in the pics below.
If they value cow more than human being in the North.
We have to tell them we value Human being more than animals here.

Every South West governor is a spineless traitor and they deserve whatever they get from these bunch of idiots. When will they come out and speak as one? What is authorized grazing, really? How do you explain the statement accredited to Fayemi at the meeting? How do you explain the silly registration of killer herders in Ondo State? How do yo explain the silence of Dapo Abiodun despite the Army flogging his people for not allowing the herders to eat up cultivated farmlands in Ogun? We are playing a lot of games in this country, dangerous games

Iamgrey5:
I don't know what was your intention of supporting the Yorubas but be rest assured that intentions of the Yoruba people is quite different from yours.

We have no interest in starting any war, we only want the Fulani to obey the laws of our land and submit themselves to the constitutional authority of our land.

Anyone that feels higher than the state constitutional authority and laws and regulations can always leave and settle elsewhere

Thanks for your support anyway.

My intentions is very clear. Nobody prays for war. My rage on stupid celebration of victory because they simply apologised and said they are not grazing at night. Where is the victory in that. Also, have they left? Will they leave? No way. You think using extra force will cause war? lol

We shall not keep quiet. If the crime does not stop, then its time to use some force. War have not started in Igbo land despite so many cases of ESN exchanging fire with army. If something drastic is not done, don't expect any change.

My prayer is for there not to be war. But unfortunately big action is the only thing that scare Fulanis not some sort of meetings. FACT

Sammy07:


Swears.

Just looked at his comment in the pics below.
If they value cow more than human being in the North.
We have to tell them we value Human being more than animals here.

Most people from the north are emotional babies which make them easy preys for their elites.

Just like the Junaid said, the total number of Fulani in the south might not be up to 10,000 but he deliberately forget to tell us that the total number of other Northerners in South West is in their millions.

Yet, the silly Arewa is ready to put the safety of millions of Northerners in danger and probably start a civil war over a threat that he imagined in his head to this 10,000 Fulani people.

SpecialAdviser:


My intentions is very clear. Nobody prays for war. My rage on stupid celebration of victory because they simply apologised and said they are not grazing at night. Where is the victory in that. Also, have they left? Will they leave? No way. You think using extra force will cause war? lol

We shall not keep quiet. If the crime does not stop, then its time to use some force. War have not started in Igbo land despite so many cases of ESN exchanging fire with army. If something drastic is not done, don't expect any change.

My prayer is for there not to be war. But unfortunately big action is the only thing that scare Fulanis not some sort of meetings. FACT

@ emboldened is clearly your intention but not necessarily ours.

Like i said earlier, we only wanted them to submit themselves to the constitutional authority and obey the laws of the land.

Iamgrey5:
@ emboldened is clearly your intention but not necessarily ours.

Like i said earlier, we only wanted them to submit themselves to the constitutional authority and obey the laws of the land.

The emboldened is clearly what you may never get

Iamgrey5:
Most people from the north are emotional babies which makes them a easy prey for their elite.

Just like the Junaid said, the total number of Fulani in the south might not be up to 10,000 but he deliberately forget to tell us that the total number of other Northerners in South West is in their millions.

Yet, the idiot Arewa is ready to put the safety of millions of Northerners in danger and probably start a civil war over a threat that he imagined in his head to this 10,000 Fulani people.

Don't mind them jare.

SpecialAdviser:


The emboldened is clearly what you may never get

Well time will tell.

In the art of negotiation, once an opponent makes a concession, you also make an attempt to meet the opponent the half way.

The world is watching and we cannot lose the moral argument on what we are trying to achieve.

Iamgrey5:
Well time will tell.

In the art of negotiation, once an opponent makes a concession, you also make an attempt to meet the opponent the half way.

The world is watching and we cannot lose the moral argument on what we are trying to achieve.

Thank you. Lets not lose guard in close marking them.