President Muhammadu Buhari has been accused by cattle farmers in the nation of failing to provide for the protection of their lives and property throughout his administration.
They said that Buhari, who is a cow breeder himself, should have brought farmers and cattle breeders together to find a peaceful resolution to the ongoing confrontations that had resulted in a significant number of fatalities in almost all of the federation’s states.
The cattle breeders expressed confidence that the next president, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, would bring peace back between herders and farmers during a joint news conference on Thursday in Abuja.
Dr. Baba Othman Ngelzarma, National President of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Dr. Salim Musa Umar, President General of the Fulbe Global Development and Rights Initiative (FGDRI), and Alhaji Auwal A. Gonga, Vice President of the Tabital Pulaaku International Nigeria Chapter, were present at the joint press conference held under the auspices of COPAN, the Pastoralists Association of Nigeria.
Umar encouraged the new government to investigate the actions of security personnel in charge of tense regions and order them to take further precautions to safeguard the defenseless citizens who are often persecuted by criminal vigilantes and bandits.
In order to discourage future illegal activity, COPAN urged security services to locate, apprehend, and punish everyone involved.
The coalition asked pastoral communities in the states to display caution in the face of the catastrophe that has befallen them, as well as elected authorities at all levels of government, to be attentive to issues that may aggravate instability in the nation.
In response to inquiries, Gonga urged the incoming president, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to create the Federal Ministry of Pastoralist Affairs to handle issues relating to this sector of the economy in accordance with international best practices, as made possible in the majority of nearby nations and other ECOWAS member nations.
Instead of putting it in the hands of security services, which he accused of bias, the ministry would be tasked with the obligation of coordinating and administering the affairs of both farmers and pastoralists.
