Let it be known that though Waziri Adamawa is a Fulani, he is not a member of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria nor has he ever been a member… (Atiku’s) interests lie in the general welfare and unity of the Nigerian populace, devoid of ethnic/religious divides
A year away to the next presidential election, politicians have begun to take on each other, especially by throwing darts of diatribes.
First to be buffeted with such tirade is Peoples Democratic Party presidential hopeful, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku. In a manner resembling rivulets falling from the cottage rack, chairman of the highly influential Northern Elders Forum, Chief Paul Unongo, took on Atiku, accusing the former Vice President of being a major sponsor of the deadly Fulani herdsmen that recently plundered Benue and Nasarawa states, leaving blood and ruin in their trail.
Unongo said Atiku was the grand-patron of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, which is the umbrella body of the dreaded herdsmen.
Atiku is the major sponsor of Miyetti Allah in this country. He has been the major force behind their various deeds, and his major reason is to become Nigeria president. I am also aware that he wants to create a problem for Buhari
According to him, the former VP has been the primary financier of the group for years, thereby sponsoring and equipping different Fulani youths to bear arms for political purposes.
“Atiku is the major sponsor of Miyetti Allah in this country. He has been the major force behind their various deeds, and his major reason is to become Nigeria’s president. I am also aware that he wants to create a problem for Buhari.
“He finances Miyetti Allah, and he is a prince of Tiv Court because he was given a traditional title.
“The establishment of these people is very enormous and they have big men among them who sponsored the herdsmen with arms to kill around the country, and I wonder what the government is doing over the case,” he lamented.
The Forum’s leader also said he got the confirmation of his statement from Atiku himself when they were close allies.
Unongo further averred that he would have gone to see Atiku “on one” to persuade him to discontinue further sponsorship of the killer group but that the latter had been avoiding him.
“Have you tried to see a ‘big man’ before? I don’t like to wait at people’s doors. If you’re in government, yes, but when you’re not in government, it shouldn’t be so hard to see you. Atiku is my younger brother and he should come to me.
“Anytime you go to his place, the people around him think you are there to collect money that they are sharing. So, I decided that I would not disgrace the NEF. I am not belittling him, but he is no longer in power and I deserve some respect,” he demurred.
In a swift response, however, Atiku described Unongo’s allegations and accusations as “sad and false.”
In a statement issued through his spokesman, Paul Ibe, Atiku said it was disheartening that in this period of intense grief in Benue State, Unongo could choose to level false allegations on his (Atiku’s) person.
Atiku said much as he was proud to be Fulani, he was also a thoroughly detribalised Nigerian. “Let it be known that though Waziri Adamawa is a Fulani, he is not a member of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria nor has he ever been a member.
“He has also never discussed about that group with Chief Paul Unongo.
“Furthermore, Abubakar enjoins that a thorough investigation be made into the killings in Benue, and that anyone found culpable be made to bear the full weight of the law,” Ibe wrote on behalf of his boss.
Ibe added that it would be a very sad day when a supposed elder chooses to make mileage of the sufferings of the people of Benue State who have had to endure the impunity of these killings for far too long.
Atiku, according to Ibe, prayed for the souls of the departed.
“As a traditional title holder of Tiv land, Abubakar, assures the entire people of Benue (including the Idoma and Igede) that he would do everything in his powers to bring justice, relief and compensation their way,” the statement concluded.
However, determined to protect his integrity, Atiku has threatened to head for court, as he is demanding apologies from Unogo and a sum of N200bn as damages. According to Atiku, Unongo has 30 days to make the payment.
The former vice president also gave the Northern Elders’ leader a seven days ultimatum to retract what he termed “mischievous allegations”.
“The above allegations, aside from being frivolous, callous, baseless and unwarranted, are utter falsehood and unjustified,” Atiku’s lawyer, Mahmud Magaji (SAN), said in a letter to the NEF chairman. “Your mischief has gravely defamed our client and painted him in a very bad light as a sponsor and instigator of violence across the country, a character you know he does not possess.
“Having given much of his life to the service of his country in various capacities, rising to the enviable position of Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from 1999-2007, our client has continued to function as an elder statesman and stakeholder in the nation’s polity, whose core interests lie in the general welfare and unity of the Nigerian populace devoid of ethnic/religious divides.
“As you very well know, those unwarranted allegations calling our client the financier of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, an organisation you made out as the perpetrators of the heinous and wanton destruction of lives and property in Benue State in the recent past, is nothing but complete
falsehood.
“Nothing can, indeed, be farther from the truth. Take notice that our client takes strong exception to these allegations and considers same as an act of character assassination,” Atiku’s lawyer said.
