Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, in a statement credited to Bello Abdullahi Bodejo was said to have given some certain conditions for support of Southern candidates for 2023 presidential election.
Some of the conditions advanced by Abdullahi Bodejo include an apology to Fulani, repeal of anti-grazing laws and restoration of open grazing routes in the country.
But IYC Secretary General, Comrade Frank Pukon, in a counter statement on Tuesday in Warri, Delta State, said the Miyetti Allah’s statement is a threat to National unity and posed existential threats to National cohesion.
Pukon said that in a country as large and diverse as Nigeria, progress can only be achieved when leaders are guided with their public statements, proffer solutions to the multiplicity of challenges such as insecurity, profligate economic policies to reflect back leap forward.
IYC statement reads in part; “The statement therefore credited to Bello Abdullahi Bodejo, the National President of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, titled, “Apologize to Fulani, repeal anti-grazing laws, restore grazing routes: Miyetti Allah gives conditions for support of Southern candidates for 2023,” in a multicultural country like Nigeria is a threat to peaceful-coexistence, National unity and posed existential threats to National cohesion”.
He said that the views of Abdullahi Bodejo does not reflect equity, fairness, justice, and progressive and inclusive Governance.
According to the statement, “Nigeria is for all Nigerians, statements such as, “no Southern Presidential aspirant would get the support of the Fulani people unless they pledge to repeal laws banning open grazing and bring back the controversial grazing routes that had been outlawed in many states in the South,” just because Southern and Middle Belt leaders agreed in a communique that they would not support any Presidential candidate from the North through a simplistic superior augment of power rotating back to the South in 2023.
“I want to re-emphasize again that: Nigeria is for all Nigerians. So, I profusely applaud the leader of the Fulani socio-cultural association-Bello Abdullahi Bodejo [whereby he said that until Southern States, repeal anti-grazing laws, restore grazing routes, they will not support a Southern Presidency], it is logical, yet a technical brief he has held for some prominent Northern politicians. And this should be a clarion call for our Governors in the South regardless of political party to continue to agitate for true Federalism, a Restructured Nigeria.
“I don’t want to be politically correct, but for Bello Abdullahi Bodejo to erroneously asserts that a President from the North is better because Northerners are better managers of the Nation than Southerners, is pretty far-fetched.
“Is it in this Nigeria that Northern President is a better manager of the Nation than a Southern President? It is in this Nigeria we had a Southern President and his economic team who led the country to exit the debt trap of the 1980 and 1990s, Nigeria is once again wallowing in a second debt trap with absolutely no idea of how to exit with a Northern President.
“Under a Southern President Nigerian economy was the biggest in Africa and the 26th largest in the world, according to World Economic Forum, with unprecedented performance in wealth creation as well as mapping out strategies for continued Economic and Social growth in the country; whereas in a Northern Presidency Nigeria became a poverty capital of the world. When a Southern President handed over to Northern President exchange rate was between N170 to N190 to a dollar, today, it is N415 to N550 to a dollar.
“Who is more a better manager between North and South Presidencies? This is not the time to join issues, this is the time for all well-meaning Nigerians to match ideas together to salvage our country. For us in the Niger Delta we believe in a united Nigeria under the pillars of equity, fairness and justices. To simply put a Restructured Nigeria, a true Federalism Nigeria”.
