Acting President Yemi Osinbajo assured yesterday that the federal government is determined to tackle farmers/ herders clashes in the country head on.
This, he said, has become necessary because, apart from being at the front burner in the country, the security challenge forms the cardinal objectives of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
Osinbajo who stated this at the opening ceremony of the 2017 national security summit on farmers-pastoralist clashes, kidnapping and other forms of violent crimes and bank security in Nigeria also noted that the administration will soon address all the challenges confronting the Nigeria Police Force.
The ongoing national security summit with a theme, “Forging Partnerships For Effective Strategies To Curb The Menace Of Kidnapping, Recurring Farmers- Herders Clashes & Criminality in Nigeria held at the international Conference Centre, Abuja, was organised by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) in conjunction with LEADERSHIP Newspapers Group and the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria.
Gov. Ortom Insist On Ranching
On his part, the governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, called on the federal government and Nigerians to adopt ranching system of cattle rearing, saying it is a Panacea to herdsmen/farmers clashes.
Ortom who spoke on behalf of State governors at the national security summit pointed out that population growth has reduced the available green regions that supported open grazing in the past.
The governor explained that the passage of the bill to prohibit open grazing by the Benue State House of Assembly was not an attempt to chase out herdsmen out of the state.
Rather, he said, it is meant to restrain them from destroying crops and provide solution to the incessant clashes between farmers and herdsmen in the state.
He added that Benue State is most affected by the clashes because it is an agrarian state with no industries or other means of livelihood, except farming.
He noted that when cattle routes where designed in the 50s, the population of the country was less than 40 million but has risen to over 170million, according to 2012 projections.
The governor observed that if Nigeria could borrow other systems such as governance from the western world, it could as well borrow ranching system which is the best practice globally.
“There is no land in Benue State for open grazing. We are an agrarian state with no industries and no other source of livelihood except farming. We all must support ranching as it is practised even in South Africa and Kenya. Ranching is the only solution to farmers/herdsmen clashes”, he said
Ortom said, with the personalities involved, he has confidence in the capacity of the summit to proffer lasting solution to farmers/herdsmen clashes.
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