OPC leader blames herdsmen’s attacks on federal system

National Coordinator of the Yoruba militia group, Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), Gani Adams, has attributed the incessant Fulani herdsmen’s attacks and general insecurity, to the federal system of government we operate.

Adams said this yesterday in Akure, the Ondo State capital as guest speaker at a lecture organised by the Nigeria Union of Journalist to mark the 2016 Democracy Day.

He said Nigeria, as currently being governed is not sustainable, saying “If we have a federal republic that is nothing but a sham, why then are we surprised that a group like Boko Haram can masquerade as herdsmen to terrorise innocent farmers across the country?”

Adams, who spoke on the theme: “Herdsmen/Farmers Clashes: What Implication for Inter-ethnic Relations, Nigerian Economy,” called for a proper restructuring of the federation.“Let us go back to what we had in the First Republic, a system whereby the component units had control over their resources,” he said.

He faulted our type of federal system, saying, it is an aberration from the western countries, where the states had come together to form the central government.

He noted that on the contrary, “It was the centre or federal government that created the states for political reasons,’ adding ‘It was to achieve what the eminent Igbo scholar, Chinweizu, refers to as caliphate colonialism, whereby some people are born to rule,” he said.He also advocated for the implementation of the 2014 National Conference Report.

The OPC chieftain berated the defective federal system, as being responsible for the inability of governors to maintain security in their respective states, which also explain why they have hitherto advocated for state police.

Supporting the need for state police, Adams said, they are necessary in preventing the unexplainable killings, raping of women and burning of properties, as currently being experienced in the hands of the herdsmen.

For how long shall we have the governors, as chief security officers of their respective states, without having control over the police in their domains,” he asked.

According to him, between 2010 and 2014, the Fulani herdsmen have killed about 1309 people, ranking them in line with the Global Terrorism Index as the fourth deadliest terror group in the world.

“As noted by a recent report, over 2,000 people were killed in conflicts between the herdsmen and different host communities in 2015 alone. In comparison, the regular Boko Haram kills 2,500 people annually,” he added.

While recommending the ranch system as replacement for the nomadic cattle rearing, he cited the Shongai farms as example, where foreign investors carried out modern animal husbandry in Kwara State, during the era of Bukola Saraki, as governor of Kwara State.