The Sultan of Sokoto and president general of Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, yesterday passed a damning verdict on the country’s leadership over the refusal of the current administration to address the plight of Nigerians.
Specifically, he warned that if nothing is done to douse the tension in the country caused by insecurity, scarcity of new Naira notes and fuel, the citizens will one day rise against its leaders.
Speaking at a national conference organised by the Kano State government on Livestock Reforms and Mitigation of Associated Conflicts in Abuja, the royal father noted vehemently that the people are hungry and at the same time angry in Nigeria.
The conference is expected to come up with a blueprint on the farmers-herders clashes in the country and proffer lasting solutions.
On the theme of the conference, the Sultan noted that the incessant clashes between farmers and Fulani herdsmen in Benue and other states have continued unabated because the government has refused to implement all the suggestions made to it.
Speaking generally on the current situation in Nigeria, including scarcity of fuel and new Naira notes presently causing untold hardship for Nigerians, he said, “Let’s keep politics aside. The issues of development, especially for the common man (should be prioritised). These people that God Almighty gave leadership over, one day, God forbid, will rise up (against us).
“After all these English by professors (at the conference) how do we get these developments down to the common man who is a farmer, the common Fulani man who doesn’t know anything about development in his life, he only cares about cattles.
“I have been to Benue at least two times as Sultan to sit with the governor and traditional rulers to discuss peace in the Benue valley. At the end of it, the suggestions, we throw them away. Nothing is done and we are back to square one. Let this conference not be in the same manner, let’s do it and let’s do well and now.
‘The people are hungry – is there money? Akawi kudi? No cash! People are angry and hungry. Let’s see how we can douse the tension.”
On his part, Kano state governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, stated that even though the Rural Grazing Areas (RUGA) or ranching had been deliberately politicised, it remains the only option that would to a greater extent mitigate existential problems.
He said to end the perennial crisis between the farmers and herders in Nigeria the pastoralists must be persuaded to move their cattle into ranches and grazing reserves across the country.
He listed aiding of information, education and strategic communication on the development of grazing reserves as a way of mitigating the consequences of these conflicts.
The governor noted that while modernising the livestock sector is not the only key to resolving the herder-farmer conflict, it is envisaged that the economic investment pillar will support and strengthen the development of market-driven ranches for improved livestock production through breed improvement and pasture production.
With this, he noted that pastoralists would have lands to graze without cattle encroaching on people’s farmlands because herders need fodder for their cattle.
He continued: “It is also very important that we must also avoid the dangers of allowing these conflicts to harden to religious or ethnic conflicts. This is the responsibility of political, religious and all other parts of our leadership elite in Nigeria.
“We must also intensify existing collaboration with our neighbours, especially border communities, to prevent the movement of small arms, and disarming armed pastoralists and bandits who go through our borders day after day.
“Predominantly nomadic pastoralists should be persuaded to move their cattle into established ranches and public grazing reserves, where breeding farms and other mechanized livestock management practices would bolster the sector’s productivity.
“Hand in hand with this, the government should rebuild social capital at the community level to promote mutual trust, confidence building, and consolidate the peace process, while the law and order pillar would support the strengthening of legal frameworks for improving livestock production, peace and harmony.
“It is my hope that this conference will produce a working document that would go a long way in mitigating conflicts between herders and farmers in this country.”
On efforts to settle the pastoralists in Kano, Ganduje said the state government has established Ruga Settlement in the state.
“Already, 25 housing units out of the projected 500, situated on 4, 413 hectres of land at Dansoshiya Forest in Kiru local government have been completed and handed over to the herders. Replica of the houses will be displayed during an exhibition planned as part of this conference.”
Earlier in his opening remarks, chairman of the organising committee and former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Atairu Jega, noted that the conference is an all-inclusive process to generate ideas that would address an acute national problem.
“As Nigeria searches for sustainable ways and means of diversifying its economy, becoming self-sufficient in food production as well as a major competitive exporter of Agro-allied products in the global economy; and becoming a stable, more cohesive developing democracy, a national strategic focus on the Livestock sector and its perennial challenges is an imperative that has assumed significance,” Jega stated.
Also speaking at the event, vice president of Islamic Development Bank, Dr Mansur Muhtar, noted that farmers-herders clashes in Nigeria have claimed the lives of 4,000 people in seven years, with several thousand others sustaining injuries.
According to him, while fatalities were initially confined to the North Central, they have since spread across the country, increasing pre-existing religious and ethnic tensions.
Muhtar added that the Northern parts of Nigeria have been the epicentre of the conflict, though it had spread to other regions.
He said considering the relatively poor performance of the region in terms of education, health and other human development indicators, the situation was untenable and threatens the future of the young, growing, and promising population.
He noted: “Conflicts between farmers and herders/pastoralists have been an issue of national concern in recent years. Perhaps the most significant issue of concern is the growing number of casualties associated with it. Between 2016 and now, at least 4000 people lost their lives in these conflicts, with several thousand others sustaining injuries, both physical and emotional . While fatalities were initially confined to the north central, they have since spread across the country increasing pre-existing religious and ethnic tensions.
“In addition to the unfortunate loss of lives, this conflict has often been manifested by an increasing number of internally displaced persons, leading to the breakdown of family units, the bedrock of our society, and disruption in education, especially for young girls. This crisis has also undermined agricultural production compromising our nation’s food security, especially during these periods of rising food prices.”
Muhtar further decried the security challenges caused by the conflict, noting that with the passage of every single day that the crisis goes unresolved, fragile national security is further threatened, even as he said the country cannot continue like this.
On the way forward, he said while ranching was very important, it was insufficient to effectively address the fundamental drivers of the farmer-herder crises, because of the complexity of the crises which calls for a multi-stakeholder intervention.