Hamisu Garba, a Fulani youth leader in Plateau State, has strongly maintained that since they are also state citizens, any attempt by the locals to physically threaten and expel them will fail.
Hamisu, who spoke in an exclusive interview with newsmen, claimed that he and the majority of Fulani people were born and raised in Plateau State and do not know any other place outside of the state. As a result, they are from Plateau and have become indigenes.
He added that Federal Republic of Nigeria’s constitution, explicitly states that one may claim the state of origin where one was born.
“I, like many other Fulani people, are also part of Plateau State and efforts, or should I say attempts to intimidate, frustrate and chase us out of Plateau will not work,” Hamisu said.
“I was born in Plateau State, I have my indigene form duly signed by both my district head and local government chairman which makes me a bona fide citizen of Plateau State.
“My parents were born in Plateau State and all my siblings were born and raised in Plateau State.
“All my life, I have lived in Plateau, I went to primary, secondary and university in Plateau State.
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“The longest I have been out of Plateau was when I went for my youth service in Enugu State. So tell me, why would anyone say I am not from the state?
“So if anyone says we should leave Plateau, where do they want us to go? Is it a crime that we are Fulanis? Why are some people always profiling us as criminals and trouble makers?
“Yes, I agree that there are criminal elements among our people and just like our Governor, Barr. Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang said sometime ago, there are also criminals in other tribes.
“There are Mwaghavul criminals; there are Berom criminals; there are Tarok criminals; there are Ngas criminals; there are Irigwe criminals; there are Mupun criminals and there are Fulani criminals.
“But everyone is only concentrating on the Fulani, putting all efforts at demonizing and profiling all of us as criminals. I agree that some herders do go out of their way to cause problems but that does not mean all of them do that.
“I can tell you that most of the so-called bandits who attack some communities in the state are not only Fulani people.
“From our investigations, we have found out that there are even the natives among them who are recruited and paid.
“It will interest you to know that some natives are paid as little as N20,000 to provide information on their communities.
“So are those ones Fulani people as well? We have been living in peace for years. I grew up in our village rearing our cattle, playing with our neighbours, visiting them during Christmas and Easter, and they also visited us during Sallah and we ate together, played football together and some of our older uncles and aunties were married to the natives.
“We all lived in peace but I don’t know where and when the battle line was drawn and all of a sudden, the Fulani people became an endangered species that must be exterminated and chased out of Plateau State.
“But I dare say such will not work. No one, and I repeat, no one can chase us out of Plateau State.
“We as youth leaders have been engaging our people and educating them to live peacefully with others. We have been advocating for peaceful coexistence and we expect other tribes to do the same thing instead of putting all their efforts at demonizing us and putting all criminal acts in the state at our doorstep.
“Like I said earlier, not all Fulani people are criminals and bandits.
“We also have criminals in other tribes as well and everyone knows this. We just want to be left alone,” Hamisu stated.
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