President Muhammadu Buhari has
reacted to a recent report to the British Foreign and Commonwealth office by
the Bishop of Truro, Philip Moustephen on ways to solve the lingering clashes
between Fulani herders and farmers.
A statement on
Thursday, through his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina,
said that Buhari “welcomes the recent report to the British Foreign and
Commonwealth Office – specifically the British Government’s new focus on
herder-farmer clashes.”
It added that “Engagement with
various stakeholders is key to breeding the dialogue and – most importantly –
trust to resolve this age-old conflict.
“As the report sets out, there
are many causes to this conflict, from competition over land to climate change.
The National Livestock Transformation Plan sets out to deal with these by
preventing open grazing of cattle and – consequently – the destruction of
crops.
“Enclosed ranching is a core
component of the programme. For farmers, this guarantees their yield and
livelihoods. For herders, all livestock produce more meat and milk in a ranch
rather than being always on the move.
“These plans do not come at one
or another’s expense. Instead, they shall make both farmers and herders richer.
We must learn to live together because there isn’t another way. Our diversity
should never be a cause for conflict, but a source of strength from which the
nation can draw.
“The report also highlighted the
threat from Boko Haram in their mission to establish an ‘Islamic state’ in
place of the secular state. Where the group once administered territory, they
now hold on to none.
“In those fringe areas and spaces
where they still pose a threat, they are being chased, their bases smashed. In
this second term, we shall focus on extinguishing the final remnants of the
group.”
The statement added, “As
President Buhari reasserted at Easter: ‘[I will] do all it takes to… confront
these security challenges [and] not allow merchants of death and evil to
overwhelm the nation.'”
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