The Chairman of the Senate Services Committee, Senator Karimi Sunday, has emphasized that Nigeria could quickly resolve the herder/farmer conflicts and prevent further loss of lives if the government stops politicizing security issues.
He called for decisive action at all levels of government to put an end to the unrestricted movement of cattle across the country.
Speaking on a motion regarding recent killings by suspected herders in the Logo Local Government Area of Benue State, Sunday described the practice of cattle roaming freely in Nigeria as unusual. He proposed organizing a national conference where all parties involved in the herder/farmer crisis could agree to a ban on the free movement of cattle, according to Nigerian Tribune.
The senator, representing Kogi-West under the All Progressives Congress, recalled a recent visit to Morocco, where he and his colleagues were surprised to see no cattle along the 300-kilometer road between Marrakech and Casablanca. He contrasted this with the situation in Nigeria, where cattle are commonly seen moving across different regions.
Sunday noted that in other African countries such as Algeria and Egypt, this issue is not prevalent, and stressed that Nigeria has the capability to resolve the crisis if the government takes bold steps. He suggested that a national conference could help reach a consensus to address the herder/farmer conflict and end the practice of cattle roaming freely.
“We were in Morocco with my colleagues.
“We travelled a distance of about 300km by road from Marrakech to Casablanca by bus.
” Along the road, we never saw people moving about with cattle, and we were asking ourselves. We have to tell ourselves the truth in this country.
“But, in Nigeria here, we see cattle moving all over the place. The solution is in our hands. We have decided as a nation to play politics with the security of this country and our people.
“If we want to solve the problem, we can solve it.
“In other parts of the world, other African countries, in Algeria, in Egypt, you don’t find such a thing except in Nigeria.
“If we want to find solutions to the farmer/ herder crisis, we can find it. We know what to do. Let’s call a national conference and agree to end the problem.
“Let’s stop this issue of cattle moving all over the place,” he said.
