Gov. Bala Mohammed of Bauchi state, on Sunday, explained himself over a comment he made about Fulani herdsmen carrying Ak-47 rifles for self defence, a statement issued by Mr Mukhtar Gidado, his Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on media, said.<br>The governor said that the primary objective of his comment was to avert the dangerous prospect of a nation-wide backlash and generalization of the Fulani clan as criminals.<br>According to the statement, Mohammed said it would be inappropriate to label an entire tribe as criminals, based on the crimes of a few members of the ethnic group.<br><br>“The attention of the Bauchi State government has been drawn to reactions from various members of the public to gov. Mohammed’s speech, at the closing ceremony of the Press Week of the Correspondent’s Chapel of the NUJ in Bauchi State, last Thursday.<br><br>“The Governor used the occasion to weigh in on the contentious issue of clashes between herdsmen and farmers, particularly against the backdrop of the eviction and other forms of restriction orders, issued by some state governments and non-governmental entities.