The Senior Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, has in a rare criticism of herdsmen in the country, blamed herdsmen for clashes with farmers in the country, saying a situation were cattles ravage farmlands and damage crops, is bound to cause problems as currently being experienced in the country.
Shehu who appeared on Channels Television‘s Sunrise Daily on Tuesday, admitted that the movements of herdsmen across the country has caused a lot of problems, and would have to be stopped as the only viable solution to addressing clashes with farmers.
“We have to stop these herders from roaming and eating up crops all over the country. They drive their cattle into farmlands and they eat up crops and the farmers fight back and the killings follow. This country cannot continue in this way,” he said.
The presidential spokesman, however, noted that the roaming of the herdsmen is caused by the drying up of grazing lands in the northern-most parts of Nigeria.
He said, “The encroachment by desert leading to the drying up of a lot of grazing lands in the northern-most parts of the country have put pressure on the herders who are looking southwards for green grass so that their cattle will eat and also have water to drink.
“It’s a global climate change situation which is unfortunate, considering what has happened around Lake Chad basin itself drying to up about only ten per cent of its original size.”
Shehu expressed delight that governors of the north-central are coming together to solve the problem of grazing.
The National President of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Bello Abdullahi Bodejo, had said some time back, that the Fulani organization will deploy its own security outfit across the country to both secure herdsmen, and also settle misunderstandings with farmers.
He said, "You know Fulani people are moving; moving to those arrears where there are grasses. Any place where there is grass, they will operate there to see how they can feed their cows.
"So everywhere they are, the vigilante is supposed to be there, that is why our vigilante will be everywhere in the country because of these cattle rustlers and they will be the ones to make peace in the event of problem between the herdsmen and farmers.
"That is the reason they will be operating every part of the country. Amotekun of Southwest is just saying its own. If they want to do security to fight crimes, what is their problem with our own vigilante? Let them concentrate on what they are doing. Our vigilante is the same thing with Amotekun, but the only difference is that ours is all over the country, while Amotekun is in the Southwest."