Regional News of Friday, 11 March 2016

Source: atinkaonline.com

Fulanis not barbaric - Fulani Assoc.

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The National President of the Fulani Association in Ghana says his kinsmen are among the early settlers in Accra .

He revealed that they settled in places like Tudu, Kanda and Adabraka decades ago and that Ghanaians should see them as brothers since “we have lived in the country for more than four hundred years.”

Speaking on Atinka FM’s AM Drive Friday, Professor Osman Barry said Fulanis should be seen as Ghanaians and treated with equal respect. " The Fulani's are peace - loving who are ready to co-exist with the people of Ghana. Ghana is the only country where we can live and have a sense of belonging. Some four hundred years ago, nomadic Fulani herdsmen settled in Accra and have inter-married with the locals. So there are some Fulanis who are Ghanaians. We are not criminals".

According to him, the Ghanaian media have blown this Fulani-Agogo Youth impasse out of proportion and painted the picture as if the Fulanis are barbaric people.

“They don’t report the series of attacks meted out to Fulanis in that area. If I tell you the number Fulani’s who have been killed in that area, you will be shocked"

Professor Barry showed nerve-chilling pictures of lynched and butchered Fulanis in the Ashanti Akyem Agogo District to his Host, Kaakyire Ofori Ayim.

He refuted the assertion that Fulanis have been listed as the fourth most dangerous militant group in the world. He said," those reports have no basis and I entreat the public to dismiss it. People just want to demonize us for no reason. We trust the security of this country to resolve the issue and restore calm in Ghana so that we will all live happily together."

The president appealed to the government to enact husbandry laws for both the Fulanis and the people of Agogo. This, he said will help restore calm in the conflict zones.

Statistics released by the Ashanti Regional Police indicates that Fulani herdsmen have brutally murdered at least fifty residents of Agogo and have raped not more than 27 women. Further reports indicate that their cattle have damaged many farmlands within the last three years.