Tinubu blames state actors for farmers-herders clashes, advises FG on solutions

The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, has advised the Federal Government on ways to end the lingering crisis between herders and farmers in the country.

This was contained in a statement issued and signed by Tinubu on Saturday, March 13.

The APC recommended a meeting at the instance of the federal, involving state governors, senior security officials, traditional rulers, and religious leaders, as well as representatives of herders and farmers.

Tinubu suggested that the purpose of such meeting should be to hammer out a set of working principles to resolve the crisis that has claimed many lives over the years.

He stated that the governors should convene follow-up meetings in their respective states to refine and add flesh to the universal principles by adjusting them to the particular circumstances of their states.

According to the former Lagos State governor, the herder-farmer dispute has taken on acute and violent dimensions and has cost too many innocent lives while destroying the property and livelihoods of many others.

“We all must get hold of our better selves to treat this matter with the sobriety it requires.

“Because of the violence that has ensued and the fretful consequences of such violence, if left unabated, we must move in unison but decisively to end the spiral of death and destruction.

“Only when the violence and the illogic of it are halted can logic and reason prevail. Until the violence is rolled back, we cannot resolve the deep problems that underlie this conflict.

“We will neither be able to uplift the farmer from his impoverished toil nor move the herder toward the historic transformation which he must make,” he said.

Tinubu also revealed that the crisis has also aggravated ethnic sentiment and political tension and has yet to be significantly abated despite the efforts of some of those in positions of high responsibility and public trust.

The APC stressed the need for all to move in unison but decisively to end the spiral of death and destruction occasioned by the crisis.

He said that until this was achieved, it would neither be possible to uplift the farmer from his impoverished toil nor move the herder toward the historic transformation which he must make.

While noting the importance of security to the resolution of the matter, Tinubu believes enhanced security may be the necessary first step but not be the only step.

He stated that farmers have a right to farm their land unmolested while herders also have a right to raise their livestock without undue interference.

“In addition to religious and traditional leaders and local farmer and herder representatives, these meetings shall include the state’s best security minds along with experts in agriculture (livestock and farming), land use, and water management to draw specific plans for their states.

“To accomplish this goal, the wise policy must include the following elements:

– Maintain reasonable and effective law enforcement presence in affected areas. The proposed reform of the Nigerian law enforcement apparatus towards state and community policing can help in this regard.

“Yet, as vital as security is to the resolution of this matter, we must realise security measures alone will not suffice. Enhanced security may be the necessary first step, but it cannot be the only step.”