Odumakin criticises presidency for defending herdsmen

The Publicity Secretary of the pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, Yinka Odumakin has criticised the Presidency, claiming that it always positions itself to defend herdsmen anytime they kill people.

Odumakin also slammed some Northern leaders for only finding their voice when the victims of herdsmen attack rise up in resistance.

He said this in an interview on Arise TV’s The Morning Show on Monday, pointing out that “there would have been a war in this country by now” if some Yoruba boys should do in the North one percent of what is happening in the South-West today.

He said, “Because we don’t want a war situation, that is why we have been maintaining our calm.

“But (when) it gets to a point where people will say enough is enough when the victims are beginning to rise to say we’ve had enough of this, the first person that we’ll hear that will be talking is Nasir El-Rufai who openly defended the killings of Southern Kaduna people by funding Fulani herdsmen.”

He also called out the Northern Elders Forum whom he accused of being silent on the killings going on in the South-West.

“We have not heard anything about sorry from any of them, now they are talking because the victims are saying we have had enough of it,” he said.

He continued, “Unfortunately, we don’t have a government that is governmental. Instead of the government defending the right to life of the people, you see that any time these herdsmen kill people, the first line of defense is the spokesmen of the Presidency, they are the first to defend them.”

Citing an instance, Odumakin said when the Governor of Ondo State gave a lawful order for herdsmen to vacate the forest reserves in the state, “It was Garba Shehu that first defended the rights of the herdsmen to the forest as if their animals are now human beings.”