The leadership of the Taraba State chapter of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Wednesday blamed the Governor Darius Ishaku-led state government for the spike in security challenges in the state.
The group lamented Ishaku’s performance, especially in the areas of security, expressing sadness that the government has failed to put in place drastic measures to halt the incessant attacks on herders in the state.
Speaking through their state chairman, Alhaji Sahabi Mahmood Tukur, in an exclusive chat with DAILY POST, in Jalingo, the state capital, they expressed sadness that despite the several attacks on herders and their cattle, the government has not come to their aid.
According to Tukur, herders “are not being carried along by this state government” adding that “we have never for once gotten any support from the governor since the inception of his administration. ”
He said as indigenes, the government should stop discriminating against herders across the state.
Citing the ongoing killings in Bali council between farmers and herders, the government’s alleged inability to tread the path of “justice”, in their view, sparked the unrest.
Describing herders as “peace loving people “, they urged the government to desist from relegating them to the background stating that “If you are a herder, let the government consider you as herder, and if you are a farmer, let the government consider you as a farmer. ”
Stressing that “nothing has been given to herders in Taraba State since Governor Ishaku came on board and we are not being considered in the schemes of activities “, Tukur said herders also deserve to live in peace.
Tukur reiterated his readiness and determination not to relent in persuading herders not to take the law into their hands.
He lamented that many herders have been killed as a result of the attacks in Bali. He urged the state government to be proactive in finding permanent solutions to the security challenges bedeviling the state.
