By Abdullahi M. Gulloma Abuja
A signifi cant milestone was yesterday reached in the advancement of peaceful coexistence between Nigeria and the neighbouring Niger Republic with the signing of a bilateral agreement on cross-border transhumance between Katsina state and Maradi state. Th e documents were signed by Governor Aminu Bello Masari and Governor Malam Zakari Ousmanou in Maradi with the host nation’s Minister of Defence, Alhaji Kalla Mountari, in attendance. Th e pact, which is the culmination of nearly two-year long search for solution to the spate of regional and trans-border criminal activities by cattle rustlers and other outlaws, was aimed at strengthening socio-economic activities between the two states.
Th e pact empasised on the free movement of people and animals in line with the ECOWAS charter which proclaimed that “the eff ectiveness of the right of mobility of men and livestock is a prerequisite for peace and security in the ECOWAS area.” Speaking at the signing of the agreement, Governor Masari, who initiated the all-out war against cattle rustling in the North-west, said it was the duty of the leadership to frontally confront anybody whose activities are a threat to farming and livestock in the region.
He said: “As farming and livestock are the mainstay of the economic activities of our region, employing more than 70 per cent of the people, it is incumbent on us the leaders to do whatever we can, sparing no resources in the process, to secure and ensure the safety of our people, their farmlands and livestock. Anything short of this amounts to a failure on our part to deliver on our mandate to and covenant with the people in line with the promises we made during our campaign.”
He also lamented the incursion of some criminal elements from Nigeria who crossed into the Republic of Niger, only to come back into Nigeria in the guise of Boko Haram insurgents and cattle herders to perpetrate criminal activities in Katsina and neighbouring states in the North-west. In his remarks, Governor Malam Zakari Oumarou of Maradi state recalled the commonality of culture and religion between the peoples of Katsina and Maradi states, saying that every eff ort must be made to strengthen the ties between Nigeria and Niger Republic. “We must not allow the artifi cial boundary that separates our peoples to push us further away from each other, as the both Nigeria and Niger are people sharing a common heritage,” he said.
