The presidency on Monday revealed
the identity of the real owners of cattle allegedly destroying farmers’ crops
and causing major crisis in some part of the country, especially in the North
Central.
It said the real owners of the
cattle were the pastoralists themselves and not some wealthy individuals as
popularly held in many quarters.
Reacting to a question at a
pre-event press conference on ‘Insights and Conversations with Prof. Yemi
Osinbajo’ in Abuja,’ a Senior Special Assistant, Agriculture Policy to the Vice
President, Andrew Kwasari said 70 per cent of the cattle found in the troubled
areas were owned by the pastoralists themselves, and not by wealthy Nigerians
as claimed.
According to him, ‘’It will
interest you to note that cattle owned by these so-called rich people are
highly secured and protected. They do not roam about. The truth is that the
pastoralists themselves own most of the cattle that are causing trouble. In fact,
I had met a particular herder who owns 6000 cattle’’.
He added that efforts were in
place to tackle the situation, especially now that the dry season was here.
On what the government is doing
to address the continuous farmers/herders’ clashes in the country, Kwasari said
a 10-year-plan had been mapped out to tackle the situation.
He said the federal government
was engaging the local people in various communities to understand how best to
tackle the situation, saying ‘’The federal government has set up a committee to
work with local communities in order to proffer a permanent solution to the
clashes. A 10-year-plan has been proposed and a long-term sustainable solution
is the target. 7 key states for the implementation of the 10-year policy have
been identified and we have gone round most of the states and we have found
interesting ways to tackle the situation.
‘’The people are also insisting
on the implementation of the recommendation from the last national economic
council. A conflict resolution mechanism has consequently been put in place and
the people are at home with that. If we are going to succeed in implementing
the 10-year plan, then we need the support of all stakeholders, including the
media in order to change the narrative.
‘’I’m happy that the people are
willing to resolve the problem. The people have agreed to work jointly.
‘’It’s very important that we are
looking into this problem as this is the first time in the history of our
country where we have this type of problem on the eve of a national election.
Very soon, politics will set in. So what we need to do is to ensure the
community work together to stop this menace.
‘’From our findings, the people
are also interested in proffering solution by themselves. They want the federal
and the state government to recognize their institution and their community
leaders. For instance, about 256 routes paths have been identified by the local
people in Nasarawa State. Foreign herdsmen are believed to come in through
those routes and they are working with the security agencies to stop illegal
movement along those paths,’’ he said.
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