The Presidency on Wednesday continued its struggle to debunk the widespread belief that President Muhammadu Buhari was condoning the killings by herdsmen in different states of the federation because he is a Fulani.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, took to his Facebook account to make a defence for the president.
He said the killings in Benue and other parts of the country predated the Buhari administration and it would be unkind to, in any way, think that the president was in support of the crime.
His words: “Something that is disturbing that I have heard about it is linking those developments to the fact that a Fulani man is president and so, he is brooking such kind of evil acts.
“I think that is very unkind. And I will try to back my position with statistics.
“In 2013, particularly, there were nine cases of herdsmen invading communities in Benue State alone and more than 190 people were killed.’’
According to him, statistics also showed that between January and May 2015, there were six attacks which left about 335 people dead.
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“Now, the question is, during that period, did we have a Fulani president? This is showing us that the issue of herdsmen attacking settlements, attacking farmers, attacking communities is pure criminality and it is something that government must deal with.
“It is the duty of government to preserve the lives of the citizenry. It is the responsibility of government to maintain law and order and that this government is determined to do.
“Therefore, let nobody say that all this is happening because we have a Fulani president.
“We have had many Fulani presidents in the past and this issue of herders and local communities at loggerheads has predated this government,’’ he added.
The president’s media aide emphasized the determination of the president to save lives and property, and called on all Nigerians to join it in the process.
He stressed that the government was working hard to solve the problem of herdsmen/farmer clash.
It would be recalled too that on Wednesday, Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, also expressed the opinion that the Buhari administration was looking the other way while the herdsmen were killing and maiming fellow Nigerians.
He called on the president to act fast and save Nigerians from the atrocities of the herdsmen.
