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.