Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, on Thursday attributed recent spike in the number of clashes between farmers and herdsmen across the country to increase in population, environmental, social and economic changes, as well as criminality.
In his opening remarks at a Town Hall meeting which focused on the incessant clashes between farmers and herdsmen in Abuja, Mohammed, however, said government was making efforts to find lasting solutions to what has now snowballed into a crisis.
According to him, “it will be simplistic and indeed a distortion to attribute the clashes to ethnic and religious reasons.”
He said, “Let me explain, starting with demography. In 1963, Nigeria’s population was 52 million. Today, it is about 200 million, which is four times the old figure. Yet, the land space has remained the same, or has even shrunk if we take into consideration the effect of desertification, to which Nigeria loses 400,000 hectares of land every year.
“Against this background, the contest for land and other natural resources is bound to be keener, and the friction, more! There is also the case of the Lake Chad which has shrunk from 25,000 square kilometers to 2, 500 square kilometers. At its peak, it was supporting 35 million people from many countries in Africa. Today, most of those people have moved south in search of greener pastures, further exacerbating the contestation for increasingly scarce natural resources – and the resultant friction.
He said there is also the issue of sheer criminality, like cattle rustling. “For those who might be tempted to view the clashes between farmers and herdsmen from the ethno-religious prism, I will cite two instances to debunk such postulation. Zamfara State is probably the epicentre of cattle rustling in Nigeria.
“Those who rustle cattle are Muslims. The owners of the cattle they rustle are Muslims. Both groups most likely belong to the same ethnic group. Then, there is the case of Kebbi State, where 70 percent of those who are in jail are there due to the clashes between farmers and herdsmen. The farmers whose crops are eaten by cows are Muslim Fulani,
and the herders whose cows eat the crops are Muslim Fulani: Same religion. Same ethnicity.
“Yet, clashes still occur, to such a level that people land in jail,” said Mohammed.
Speaking on the Federal Government efforts to stop these senseless killings and curtail the criminality, he recalled that the Nigerian Army recently flagged-off two Battalion Forward Operation Base (FOB) in Birnin- Gwari, with an operation tagged “Idon Raini”.
“The Nigerian Air Force has deployed its Special Forces to the newly-established 23 Quick Response Wing (QRW) in Nguroje, Taraba State.;The NAF also has a 1000-man Special Intervention Force deployed to Makurdi to degrade bandits and criminals in Benue and Nasarawa States; The NAF has unveiled a new base in Kerang, Plateau State, with the aim of reducing its response time to emergencies.”
According to him, “the ANAF has also deployed drones to flashpoints; the Directorate of Military Intelligence {DMI} has established a Fusion Centre, an intelligence analysis hub, for the purpose of gathering and sharing intelligence among the security agencies in the country. The centre is to tackle the desperate actions of Boko Haram terrorists in the North-East, who use underage children,
The Minister of Defence, Dan Ali corroborating the statement of Mohammed, said there is a need to clear the farmers-herders crashes, with state governors owing the war being the chief security of the state.
“Governors need to stand on their foot to fight security challenges in their state, especially looking into the proliferation of firearms”
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh on his path said the N10billion was given to the affected states to rehabilitate and rebuild the state, while settling those still in the IDP camps, an idea hebsaidbis tp create a home for them.
He said the Mimistry of Agriculture and Interior have put in place Agro-rangers tobwaych over farms and that the government is still busy raising funds to help with the rehabilitation process.
Also speaking, the Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Danbazau said Nigerians need to look at the farmers-herders clashes as a national pronlem that requires a holistic approach with national attention.
He emphasized that looking at it from an emotional angle will not help but worsen the situation, and reiterated that all hands must be on deck to win the war.
Speaking, the representative of Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Peter Ogunmuyiwa implored the government to act fast as the old ways of grazing was goid as when it was initiated and there is a need to shift from old to new ways of doing things which is ranching.
The Secretary General, Myatti Allah, Mallam Gadzama, said the Myatti Allah cattle breeders association is ready and willing to take to branching but the government must of all identify the
location and size of the ranches nationwide.
Ibrahim Birma, during his presentation themed ” THE FULANI HERDSMAN/FARMERS CONFLICT: WHOLISTIC PERSPECTIVE said the first Crisis between herdsmen and farmers was recorded was in 1948, the second was in 1951 and led to the migration of Fulanin Bororo to udan, while in 1955 there was a clash/genocide which led to the Sudanese Government issuing a quit notice to all Fulanin Bororo to relocate to their home countries.
He averred that Environmental challenges known as climate changes in addition to urbanization, encroachment and population explosion of both the human and livestock have added to factors challenging peaceful co-habitation between the farmers and the herders.
He recommended the enactment of the grazing reserves as opposed to cattle ranching which he said, clearly seems far away from what the government can provide because of scarce resources and what the Fulani herdsmen can comprehend because of the level of sophistication.
Other Ministers in attendance include, Minister of Water resources, minister of state for health, governor of Kebbi state, amongst other stake holders.
Oyin Aminu, Abuja
