• Yes, Ortom is right, I am a cattle rearer
President Muhammadu Buhari has agreed that the security challenges in the country particularly in the North East is quite enormous.
The president who spoke on Thursday in an exclusive interview with Arise Television said he was almost overwhelmed by insecurity in North East.
The president also heaped praises on Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum, for risking his life to improve security in the state.
He said hevwas almost overwhelmed by the security challenges in North East when we came on board, pointing out, however, that people residing in that geo-political zone of the country could attest to the progress being made so far since his administration came on board.
According to him, “I am overwhelmed by what is happening in the North-west.
“But now, we are treating them as criminals, they are experiencing a lot of casualties, they will not say it because they don’t want you to demoralize their recruitment constituency.
“They are suffering a lot of casualties, we know that.
“The problem in North-west, the same people, same culture, killing each other, stealing each others’ cattle, burning their villages.
“As I said, we are going to treat them in the language they would understand.
“We have given the army and police powers to be ruthless and you watch it in few weeks’ time, there will be different.
“If we keep people away from their farms, we are going to starve and we cannot control the public if you allow hunger, the government will be in trouble and we don’t want to be in trouble.
“We already have enough trouble. So, we warned them and sooner than later, you will see the difference.”
On the situation in the south eastern part, he stated: “So, that IPOB, is just like a dot in a circle and the way they (Igbo) are spread all over the country, having properties and businesses, I think IPOB doesn’t do what they are thinking about.
“In any case, we say we will talk to them in the language they understand, we will organize the police and the army to purse them. That’s what we can do and we will do it.”
While reacting to a statement credited to the Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom calling him a cattle rearer, the president said the governor accused him of not taking action about the herdsmen killings in the country because he was also a cattle rearer.
“The governor of Benue State said I am not taking action on herdsmen killings because I am also a cattle rearer. While I cannot deny that I am one of them, however what is clear in that the cattle rearers do not carry anything apart from their sticks and cattles.
“But the people killing and wreaking havoc across the country carry arms and majority of them are foreigners.”
Speaking on the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), President Muhammadu Buhari reiterated his earlier position that they would be dealt with in the language they understand.
Stay ahead with the latest updates! Join The ConclaveNG on WhatsApp and Telegram for real-time news alerts, breaking stories, and exclusive content delivered straight to your phone. Don’t miss a headline — subscribe now!
