The Nation Newspaper

Tag: farmers clashes

  • Herders, farmers clashes not religious, says Fed Govt

    CLASHES between herders and farmers are not religious or ethnic crises as many have been made to believe, Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed said yesterday.

    Mohammed, who spoke yesterday at a special town hall meeting on herders/farmers clashes, explained that the clashes were not unconnected with demographic, environmental, social and economic dynamics and criminality.

    He warned that Nigerians must not allow criminals to exploit their anger and emotion to continue to perpetrate their evil scheme.

    He noted that governors and council chairmen of major flash points would be panelists in the next edition of the meeting .

    The Mayeetiallah group, represented by Baba Othman Ngelzarma, maintained that it would be difficult to make herders adopt the ranching arrangement as pushed by the representative of the Christian   Association of Nigeria (CAN), Bishop Peter Ogunmuyiwa and Rev. Father Chris Bologo, who represented John Cardinal Onayekan.

    The clerics posited that it was time for a shift from the old way of rearing livestock to the modern way, which is ranching.

    The dialogue had seven ministers: Defence (Monsur Dan Ali), Interior (Ibrahim Dambazau), Agriculture (Audu Ogbe) as well as those of Minister of Water and Minister of Environment.

    The Minister of Information and Culture, in his opening remark, said: “I want to say that the recent spike in the number of clashes between farmers and herdsmen are not unconnected with demographic, environmental, social and economic dynamics, as well as criminality. It will be simplistic and indeed a distortion to attribute the clashes to ethnic and religious reasons, and I say this without prejudice to what this meeting will come up with.

    “Let me explain, starting with demography. In 1963, Nigeria’s population was 52 million. Today, it is about 200 million, which is four times the old figure. Yet, the land space has remained the same, or has even shrunk if we take into consideration the effect of desertification, to which Nigeria loses 400,000 hectares of land every year.

    “Against this background, the contest for land and other natural resources is bound to be keener, and the friction, more! There is also the case of the Lake Chad, which has shrunk from 25,000 square kilometres to 2, 500 square kilometres. At its peak, it was supporting 35 million people from many countries in Africa. Today, most of those people have moved south in search of greener pastures, further exacerbating the contestation for increasingly scarce natural resources – and the resultant friction.

    Mohammed added: “There is also the issue of sheer criminality, e.g. cattle rustling. For those who might be tempted to view the clashes between farmers and herdsmen from the ethno-religious prism, I will cite two instances to debunk such postulation. Zamfara State is probably the epicentre of cattle rustling in Nigeria. Those who rustle cattle are Muslims. The owners of the cattle they rustle are Muslims.

    “Both groups most likely belong to the same ethnic group. Then, there is the case of Kebbi State, where 70 per cent of those who are in jail are there due to the clashes between farmers and herdsmen. The farmers whose crops are eaten by cows are Muslim Fulani, and the herders whose cows eat the crops are Muslim Fulani: Same religion. Same ethnicity. Yet, clashes still occur, to such a level that people land in jail!

    “I have cited these examples so that we can be open to interrogating the real causes of the incessant clashes that have captured national and international attention and turned former neighbours to bitter enemies, so that together we can help to evolve a lasting solution to this crisis.”

    The minister also listed the various measures that have been taken by the Federal Government to stop “these senseless killings and curtail the criminality that has fuelled the clashes as well as cattle rustling and other acts of insecurity, especially in the worst-hit areas, which  include deployment of troops”.

     

     

     

     

  • How to end herdsmen, farmers clashes, by Obasanjo

    How to end herdsmen, farmers clashes, by Obasanjo

    •Visits graveyard of victims of attacks in Benue

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday visited the graves of the 73 victims of the January herdsmen attacks in Benue State with a  call on leaders to work together to tackle the incessant violent clashes between farmers and herdsmen across the country.

    Obasanjo laid a wreath at the grave site.

    He said the continued violence and insurgency required collaboration and collective urgent attention, stressing that tackling security challenges must begin from the roots to secure permanently solution.

    According to him, until the issue is addressed from the roots more and more people will be buried as victims.

    “If the issue is tackled right from the root there will be no room for assumptions. We must collectively find solutions,” he said.

    Obasanjo said that he laid the wreath to sufficiently express his sorrow, empathy and sympathy to the families that lost their loved ones, the governor and people of the state and Nigerians.

    He disclosed that he had attended the Zero Hunger meeting which Gov. Samuel Ortom could not attend because of the incessant attacks on his subjects by herdsmen.

    The former president said that he was shocked to hear that after the mass burial of 73 persons, 83 more persons were killed.

    He said there can be no  investment and development in a chaotic atmosphere because investors would be unwilling to invest in such places.

    He emphatically sued for peace among the people.

    Obasanjo called for an end to the incessant attacks on farmers by the herdsmen, while appealing the governor not to give up because “there would surely be light at the end of the tunnel.”

    The former president flew into  Makurdi from Maiduguri.

    He was received at the Makurdi airport by Governor Samuel Ortom and other top government officials.

  • Herdsmen/farmers clashes: Oyo in search of peace

    Herdsmen/farmers clashes: Oyo in search of peace

    Farmers in Saki, Iseyin, Tede and other communities in Oke-Ogun, Oyo State have alleged that for four years, they have witnessed a decline in food production due to the activities of herdsmen whose cattle ravage their farmlands. Angered by this development, the farmers have threatened to abandon farming since the authorities have failed to call the herdsmen to order. YINKA ADENIRAN writes that the government has initiated several peace meetings in a bid to reverse the unsavoury situation.

    For years, the relationship between the herders and farmers in Oke-Ogun communities of Oyo State was fine. Now, it has gone awry – no thanks to the hostility.

    This is so because the farmers have alleged that they have been experiencing unbridled destruction of their crops by the Fulani-Bororo herdsmen who reside in their communities.

    Farmers in Oke-Ogun communities have alleged that for four years now, they have witnessed decline in food production because of the activities of the herdsmen whose cattle often ravage their farmlands in the night. They accused the herders of feeding their animals with the produce from their farmlands.

    Angered by this development, farmers in Saki, Iseyin, Tede and the entire Oke-Ogun region have threatened to abandon farming since the authorities have failed to stop the activities of the herdsmen who destroy their farm produce.

     

    Farmers’ pains and loss

    The most worrisome aspect of the tale is that the farmlands are often ravaged in the night; leaving no one with little or no evidence of who the culprits are or who are to be blamed, challenged or questioned.

     

    The search for peace

    In the face of the unsavoury situation, the state government is not folding its arms and watch things go wrong. Persistent reports at the divisional police station impelled the state police command to facilitate several peace meetings among farmers and the Bororo herdsmen.

    The last meeting was held in January at the Eleyele headquarters of the Command was supervised by the Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Odude.

    As if that was not enough, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Community Relations, Abidemi Siyanbade facilitated a similar meeting, few days later, which all stakeholders attended.

    In addition, Governor Abiola Ajimobi also invited all stakeholders that included farmers, the herdsmen, Agbekoyas, community leaders, security operatives, vigilance groups, local hunters and others to a meeting which held at the House of Chiefs, House of Assembly Complex, Agodi Secretariat Ibadan. At the meeting, all stakeholders had the opportunity to proffer solutions to the crisis.

    The farmers were not only angry with the Bororo herdsmen, they were also angry with their traditional leaders.

    They are angry that the traditional leaders who facilitate the Fulani-Bororo herdsmen’s settlement in the community could not do anything to call them to order despite repeated complaints about the havoc they unleashed on them. The farmers are of the view that, the traditional leaders have compromised and cannot help them as a result of the gifts, money and other things they allegedly get from the herdsmen.

    Many farmers who narrated their ordeals in the hands of the Bororo-Fulani herdsmen were upset.

    Dele Raji, a maize farmer said his five-hectare maize farm was ravaged and consumed by cattle whose owners are unknown. He said he suffered such destruction for three consecutive years; a situation that has adversely affected his farm produce, even as he said he is discouraged and considering quitting farming.

    Afraid that the situation may reduce food production and engender food scarcity in the region, the government is providing assistance and trainings for the farmers on how to improve production.

    But the issue assumed a dangerous dimension when suspected Fulani herdsmen were accused of ransacking and raiding villages and communities in the hinterland. They were also accused of stealing, vandalisation; looting; killing and maiming of innocent members of the community.

     

    Contrary views

    But the Fulani leadership had a different view of the situation. Many of them believed the farmers were accusing them wrongly. The herders’ leadership believed that the offence of one shouldn’t be generalised.

    The state chairman, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders’ Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Yakubu Bello, who spoke in Yoruba, exonerated his men from criminal activities and called on government to apprehend those who are criminals among herders.

    Bello said: “Government should do all it can to maintain law and order. For us, peace is very germane. We are not happy with what happened in Iseyin recently. Nobody will be happy witnessing the death of fellow humankind. We are all useful to one another.”

    Corroborating Bello’s view, the State Secretary, MACBAN, Sanni Anwal said the mass media has been creating wrong impressions about the Fulani which the people believed. He added that such situation has demonised the Fulani.”

    The Fulani leadership urged the government to come up with measures that will help in arresting the bad eggs among them.

     

    More victims

    Aside from the farmers who have suffered great losses, the security operatives also lost some men to the activities of the herdsmen.

    For instance, a police officer attached to the Special Anti-robbery Squad (SARS) unit in Saki was killed while launching an offensive against some cattle rustlers.

    He regretted that no fewer than nine people, including the police officer in charge of SARS, Saki had been killed in the last two weeks, despite government’s efforts to ensure lasting peace.

    The CP said: “The happenings in the last two weeks have been disheartening. We recorded killings of the officer in charge of SARS; a 70-year-old man, five unidentified people and another farmer, in Iseyin, Saki and Ile-Ido. So far, nine people have lost their lives and we have arrested seven suspects.

    “It is pathetic. We know that the cardinal programme of the state administration is to maintain peace and security.”

     

    Reading the riot act

    Governor Ajimobi, who facilitated the meeting, said peace and unity are important. He re-affirmed his belief in the universality of man irrespective of tribe and language.

    He said: “There is no difference between us as humans. We are the same but our selfishness, greed and avarice are what account for all our actions against one another. Everything is all about our selfishness and self-preservation. There is nobody here who is without any trace of selfishness

    “We must sit down with all the relevant stakeholders, Miyetti Allah, farmers, community leaders and security operatives and begin a monthly meeting on how to continue this effort.

     

  • How to prevent herdsmen, farmers clashes, by Falana

    How to prevent herdsmen, farmers clashes, by Falana

    Activist-lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) has suggested ways to prevent clashes between farmers and herdsmen.

    He said states which have large livestock populations should take advantage of the Land Use Act to acquire land for the establishment of grazing reserves.

    According to him, in view of the increasing incident of cattle rustling, security measure should be put in place to police the grazing reserves.

    Falana said the grazing reserves will be phased out gradually and replaced with ranches and abattoirs.

    “Since the Federal Government is obligated to protect the life and property of every citizen, urgent steps should be taken to avert further killings and destruction of farmlands by herdsmen,” Falana said in a statement.

    He said he would take legal action against the Federal Government should it fail to take steps to prevent civil disturbances.

    “If the Buhari Administration does not discharge its constitutional duty by stopping the unwarranted civil disturbances, we shall not hesitate to pray the Federal High Court to compel it to act responsibly in the circumstance by ensuring the protection of the fundamental rights of every farmer to life and property.

    “At the same time, we shall equally ask the court to compel the Federal Government and state government with large livestock populations to establish grazing reserves and ranches,” the lawyer said.

    Falana said farmlands have continued to be destroyed due to the state’s failure to address the problem.

    “Once again, I call on President Buhari to address the bloody clashes which occur regularly between farmers and Fulani herdsmen in the various parts of the country.

    “Through the negligence of the state, the country has continued to witness the reckless killing of innocent farmers and the destruction of farmlands.

    “Farmers, like other citizens, are entitled to the protection of the right to life and property. To halt such wanton killings, the primitive movement of thousands of heads of cattle from the north to the south should be stopped without any further delay,” Falana said.

    The Senior Advocate of Nigeria also wants the government to call security agencies to order, saying conflicting investigation reports can hamper prosecution.

    He said: “On May 4, 2012, a gang of gunmen invaded the residence of Mr. Olaitan Oyerinde, the then Personal Assistant to the Edo State governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomole. In the presence of his wife and young children, Mr. Oyerinde was gruesomely killed. A few days after the tragic incident, the Nigeria Police Force addressed a press conference in Benin where a set of suspects were paraded before the media and admitted their ignoble  role in the criminal enterprise. Based on the investigation which had been conducted into the matter, the Police Authorities concluded that it was a case of paid assassination.

    “Nigerians were assured by the Police that the suspects would be promptly charged to court.

    ‘’Shortly thereafter, the State Security Service addressed another press conference in Abuja and paraded another set of criminal suspects. The suspects also ‘confessed’ that they were solely responsible for the barbaric murder of Mr. Olaitan Oyerinde.

    “The DSS which claimed to have investigated the incident stated that it was a case of armed robbery. Regrettably, the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation was unable to reconcile the two conflicting versions of the same incident.

    “As I did point out at the material time, the irresponsible conduct of both law enforcement agencies was capable of exculpating the actual culprits. Thus, by creating sufficient doubt in the mind of the trial judge both security agencies had clearly compromised the prosecution of either of two sets of alleged killers of Mr. Oyerinde.

    “A similar ugly scenario has just been re-enacted in the case of the criminal gang that abducted Chief Falae last month.  In separate press conferences both the Police and the SSS claimed to have arrested the two sets of suspects who abducted Chief Falae.

    “Both security agencies gave divergent versions of the abduction saga. Notwithstanding that the suspects arrested by the Police have since been charged to the High Court in Akure, Ondo State, the SSS should hand over the suspects in its custody to the Police without delay.

    “The Attorney-General of Ondo State should ensure that the prosecution of the suspects who kidnapped Chief Falae is not bungled by the security agencies.

    “It is high time the Federal Government called all law enforcement agencies in the country to order with a view to preventing them from toying with the security of the Nigerian people by engaging in meaningless competition and overzealousness.”