By Jibrin Baba Ndace and AbdulRaheem Aodu, Kaduna
President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday said terrorists now masquerade as pastorialists in order to inflict maximum damage on the peace, stability and security of the country.
Jonathan was speaking at the International Conference on Security and Development Challenges of Pastoralism in West and Central Africa, holding in Kaduna with the theme, “The Role of Pastoralists for Sustainable Peace and National Security,” organised by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
Represented by Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo, he argued that insurgents were hiding under the umbrella of Fulani herdsmen to exploit the conflict between pastoralists and farmers in Nigeria to propagate their activities.
“Terrorists capitalise on the lingering pastoralists-farmers conflict to form a hybrid type of insurgency whereby they masquerade as pastoralists to wage war against the state,” he said.
The president noted that in order to avoid such ugly reality in the country, “stakeholders, community leaders, religious leaders, youth groups, must continue to promote the cause of peace rather than resort to conflict and violence, which serves no useful purpose.
“It is, therefore, pertinent to state that issues affecting pastoralists, especially pertaining to the current clashes with farmers, is holistically reversed.”
Speaking in the same vein, the Governor of Niger state and chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, Dr Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, branded people with extremist ethno-religious views as members of Boko Haram.
He pointed out that Islam emphasised moderation.
Aliyu clarified that Boko Haram was un-Islamic and must be condemned, adding that the right Jihad in this 21st century was that one that improved the standard of living rather than that which sought to destroy lives.
He said: “Boko Haram is un-Islamic. It’s not Muslim and you must fight Boko Haram even in your houses. In fact, I consider anybody who is an extremist as Boko Haram.
“Islam is about moderation and not extremism. Jihad is about how to make peace and life better, not on how to kill people.”
Earlier, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, had lamented that pastoralism, which had over the years been a seasonal and mutually beneficial traditional livestock management and production system that worked well between Fulani herdsmen and local farmers, had become a conduit to security threat.
He said previous interventions to curb pastoralists-farmers clash had been largely unsuccessful because of growing foreign dimension to the conflict.
The minister noted that there had been reports of some of these foreign migrant pastoralists carrying dangerous weapons and assault rifles.
He said: “This is not the usual pastoralists that we know in Nigeria, who for decades have lived in harmony with their communities. Criminality has increased especially with the menace of cattle rustling.
“The issue is no longer an agriculture problem. It is a national security problem and we need an integrated set of solutions that includes agriculture and security.
“We must face these challenges squarely, be frank and realistic in our solutions.
“One thing is clear: the status quo of unbounded pastoralism can no longer continue. These solutions can no longer be just national.
“Old traditions must give way to new realities and challenges. Moving animals, instead of beef, can no longer be sustained.”
Adesina added: “We must accept that just like humans cannot move between places without identification, it is no longer tenable for migrant pastoralists, whether local or foreign, to move without any identification.
“And we must accept that just like cars cannot move without licenses or chassis number, the days that animals are without labels, records and tracking are limited.
“As a government, we must change our approach. Our communities must change. And within ECOWAS, we must change.”
Also speaking, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), assured that the federal government, in collaboration with state governments and other stakeholders, were doing all they could to tackle the frequent conflict between pastoralists and farmers.
Dasuki said several measures had been put in place to bring a lasting solution to the crisis that claimed many lives in different parts of the country.
He added that the government encouraged dialogue between the pastoralists and farmers so as to promote peaceful co-coexistence between them.
He said: “Such crisis is mostly between Fulani, Kanuri, Tiv, Jukun and other ethnic groups. But efforts have been made by the federal government, in collaboration with state governments and other stakeholders, to involve permanent measures to bring an end to such crisis or conflicts.
“I would like to commend the recent initiative of the Inspector General of Police for bring all aggrieved persons to roundtable so as to discuss a way out.
“The crisis has nothing to do with religion against what other people think. Some believe that Fulani are Muslims and farmers are non-Muslims, which is not true, because when the cows come to your farm they don’t differentiate a Muslim or Christian farm, they will just destroy them. But people will always attribute the incident to religion or ethnic, which is not so.”
Governor of Kaduna state, Alhaji Mukhtar Ramalan Yero, in his address, said the aggressive urbanisation in most parts of the country had become a major threat to pastoralists and farmers, leading to a dangerous struggle for farmlands and grazing fields.
He said, “This is why my government voted N45 million to develop grazing reserves in the state.”
In his remarks, the Emir of Zazzau, Alhaji Shehu Idris, who was represented by the Emir of Birnin Gwari, Malam Zubairu Jibril Mai Gwari, stressed on the need for the government to meet with leaders of Fulani with the hope of finding a lasting solution to the crisis.
“We must sit down with leaders of Fulani to find a solution to this problem,” he said.
