Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) has accused Christian Elders Forum of fabricating none existent names among Fulanis speaking tribes to cause confusion in the country and achieve their aims.
In a statement issued and signed on Thursday, the Director, Media & Publicity MACBAN, Kaduna State, Ibrahim Bayero Zango, noted that never in the history of Fulanis has anyone bore the name, “Ardo Bulama” as circulated in the alleged doctored audio that has gone viral
While denying the existence of one Ardo Bulama alleged to have produced a treasonable audio recording which went viral, the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) insisted that fabricators are out to paint their kinsmen as terrorists.
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According to the statement, ‘Our Attention has been drawn to a petition by the National Christian Elders Forum to the Inspector General of Police calling for the attention of the Nigerian Police to arrest and prosecute one Ardo Bulama for treasonable felony.
“The petition was published by the Vanguard newspaper on the 15th August 2020.
“We are hereby calling the attention of the petitioners to know that no Fulani man bears the name “Bulama”.
“In that regard, we consider such claims and thinking that the name Bulama could be related or connected to Fulani, as a wrong impression and it bellies the ignorance of the petitioners on the culture of the Fulani pastoralist in Nigeria,” the statement said
MACBAN categorically stated that even the purported Bulama’s audio that went viral on social media was suspicious.
“It was just an attempt to blackmail the entire Fulani pastoralist in Nigeria to create a negative impression against our people. (Fulani Pastoralist).
“We are not unaware of efforts by some undesirable elements who are making fanatic efforts to classify all Fulanis as terrorists.
“The National Christian Elders Forum is one of those groups who are hell-bent on blackmailing the Fulani’s in Nigeria for their vested interests, for the NCEF to consider the said viral audio as a serious issue and giving it such publicity. It clearly indicates that the forum itself is suspicious considering the calibre of the signatories of the petition,” it pointed out.
“We suspect that the NCEF has a hand in the origin, production and circulation of the viral audio considering the manner with which the forum went about its petition.
“There are many similar audios that are going around including the Christians threatening Fulanis in Nigeria. Why did the forum choose to react to only this one?” the statement further asked.
It further stated that the producer of the audio in question is ignorant of the Fulani culture and values by naming the producer as Ardo Bulama.
“Calling a Fulani man Bulama is just like calling a Yoruba man Chukuma or Okonkwo or calling an Igbo man Babatunde or Olajide,” it stressed.
The statement called on the authorities to dig deeper into investigating the origin of the said audio.
“We call on the Inspector General of Police to properly and thoroughly investigate the origin of the whole issue and bring fabricators of the audio to justice,” the statement said
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK