The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders’ Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) has come out to say that herdsmen are neither under attack nor are they being forced to leave any part of the South-East.

The Southeast Zonal Chairman of MACBAN, Alhaji Gidado Siddiki recently revealed this via a statement in Enugu.

According to him, the news saying otherwise are fake and they are only meant to cause disharmony in parts of the country.

He added that even if herdsmen in the area, like every other part of Nigeria, have not had it so rosy, the situation is not hopeless.

His words, “It is not as if the relationship has been all smooth all the while, but the state governor has instituted structures meant to contain endemic skirmishes and conflicts.

“One of such structures is the State Committee on Herdsmen, with me representing MACBAN on the committee.”

“Therefore, I implore our herders not to panic and leave their locations, but to only make calculated movements without giving any wrong impressions of aggression against them where none exists.”

What do you think?

Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria sometimes called MACBAN is a loose partisan advocacy group centered on promoting the welfare of Fulani pastoralists in Nigeria.

The organization was founded in the early 1970s with headquarters in Kaduna. It became operational in 1979 and gained wider acceptance as an advocacy group in 1987.

Official records of the early history of Miyetti Allah are sparse, the oral history by some members trace it to the 1960s while others to 1972 when the association was formed in Kaduna. The association’s early members were largely dominated by settled Fulanis whose early concept of Miyetti Allah was to promote the welfare of all Fulanis through self help.