Ajadi spoke with the Newsmen on Thursday in Abuja, on the sidelines of a stakeholders parley on resolving the Benue conflict.
He said the killers must be held accountable to their crimes, whether they were herders or farmers to serve as deterrent to others.
According to him, Nigerians should grow beyond resorting to killings as way of tackling intra or inter communal crisis.
“We have a policy development process which is
ongoing, looking at this conflict; we have been working on this for the past
three years. “We have created factories for cassava peels as an alternative
solution to grass and we funded the project. “We have been working in Benue; we
need to ask ourselves what is the root cause of these problems? We needed
people who have firsthand information on the issues. That is the essence of this
meeting. “I think that the first step towards addressing the Benue problem is
to make sure that people are held to account for killings; murder is murder; it
does not matter whether it is the herder or the farmer involved. “Anybody who
kills should be held; that will douse the tension; we should stop resolving
communal conflicts by killing one another.’’ He said that there was need to
deal with the issue in a way that the farmer and herder did not see their
source of livelihood and future as being threatened. The country director said
that any effort to find solution should involve all the parties, adding that it
would take some time to resolve the issue. “We know that we need to change the
way we handle livestock; can involve technology, but doing it the way it will
be favourable to both the farmers and the herders is what we are working at,’’
he said. On his part, Mr Ghali Umar, a Conflict Mediator, told NAN that
identifying all pastoralists in the state matters, as it would help the Benue
Government in implementing its policies. He said that the Benue Government, in
its Anti-Grazing Edict, wanted herders to ranch, without providing the
facilities. “ The Benue Government is saying herders should ranch or leave
without making provisions for them; the grazing land was not given to them; no
social amenities were provided anyway for them; how do you expect them to ranch
without amenities? “One cow drinks an average of three buckets of water per
day, and the distance between the herders and the stream is lot of distance;
how do they fetch water for 700 cows; that is a tank of water; again, where is
he going to source grass for the cows? “If the governor wants to end the
crisis, he has to look for a way of giving the pastoralists land for grazing,
and put all the social amenities needed for survival in a ranch. “Many farmers
are not even willing to sell their land to the herdsmen; what I expected the
government is call both parties and give herders and farmers more time and
sensitisation,’’ he said. Umar, who is Fulani, said that he expected the Benue
Government to establish a ranch as a way of showing the herders what he wanted
them to do. He said that more discussions were needed to find a lasting
solution. Mr James Ker, Programme Manager, Benue State Agricultural and Rural
Development Authority (BNARDA), said that there was need to quickly get the
pastoralists and the farmers back to discussion. Ker said that the farmers and
herders understood the problem, adding that what was required was a middle
course for the problem to be solved. “I will not preempt what the herders
issues are or what the farmers issues are, but they need to talk and find a
solution. “There must be a middle ground; both sides must be heard for the
problems to be solved,’’ he said. Synergos is a global nonprofit organization,
that brings people together to solve complex problems of poverty. It builds
trust and collaboration on issues such as health, nutrition, agriculture, and
youth employment, creating opportunities for individuals and communities to
thrive.
Source: Vanguard
herdsmen
“We have a policy development process which is ongoing, looking at this
conflict; we have been working on this for the past three years.
“We have created factories for cassava peels as an alternative solution
to grass and we funded the project.
“We have been working in Benue; we need to ask ourselves what is the
root cause of these problems? We needed people who have firsthand
information on the issues. That is the essence of this meeting.
“I think that the first step towards addressing the Benue problem is to
make sure that people are held to account for killings; murder is
murder; it does not matter whether it is the herder or the farmer
involved.
“Anybody who kills should be held; that will douse the tension; we
should stop resolving communal conflicts by killing one another.’’
He said that there was need to deal with the issue in a way that the
farmer and herder did not see their source of livelihood and future as
being threatened.
The country director said that any effort to find solution should
involve all the parties, adding that it would take some time to resolve
the issue.
“We know that we need to change the way we handle livestock; can involve
technology, but doing it the way it will be favourable to both the
farmers and the herders is what we are working at,’’ he said.
On his part, Mr Ghali Umar, a Conflict Mediator, told NAN that
identifying all pastoralists in the state matters, as it would help the
Benue Government in implementing its policies.
He said that the Benue Government, in its Anti-Grazing Edict, wanted
herders to ranch, without providing the facilities.
“ The Benue Government is saying herders should ranch or leave without
making provisions for them; the grazing land was not given to them; no
social amenities were provided anyway for them; how do you expect them
to ranch without amenities?
“One cow drinks an average of three buckets of water per day, and the
distance between the herders and the stream is lot of distance; how do
they fetch water for 700 cows; that is a tank of water; again, where is
he going to source grass for the cows?
“If the governor wants to end the crisis, he has to look for a way of
giving the pastoralists land for grazing, and put all the social
amenities needed for survival in a ranch.
“Many farmers are not even willing to sell their land to the herdsmen;
what I expected the government is call both parties and give herders and
farmers more time and sensitisation,’’ he said.
Umar, who is Fulani, said that he expected the Benue Government to
establish a ranch as a way of showing the herders what he wanted them to
do.
He said that more discussions were needed to find a lasting solution.
Mr James Ker, Programme Manager, Benue State Agricultural and Rural
Development Authority (BNARDA), said that there was need to quickly get
the pastoralists and the farmers back to discussion.
Ker said that the farmers and herders understood the problem, adding
that what was required was a middle course for the problem to be solved.
“I will not preempt what the herders issues are or what the farmers
issues are, but they need to talk and find a solution.
“There must be a middle ground; both sides must be heard for the
problems to be solved,’’ he said.
Synergos is a global nonprofit organization, that brings people together
to solve complex problems of poverty.
It builds trust and collaboration on issues such as health, nutrition,
agriculture, and youth employment, creating opportunities for
individuals and communities to thrive.
Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/01/prosecuting-killer-herdsmen-benue-will-douse-tension-group/
Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/01/prosecuting-killer-herdsmen-benue-will-douse-tension-group/
herdsmen
“We have a policy development process which is ongoing, looking at this
conflict; we have been working on this for the past three years.
“We have created factories for cassava peels as an alternative solution
to grass and we funded the project.
“We have been working in Benue; we need to ask ourselves what is the
root cause of these problems? We needed people who have firsthand
information on the issues. That is the essence of this meeting.
“I think that the first step towards addressing the Benue problem is to
make sure that people are held to account for killings; murder is
murder; it does not matter whether it is the herder or the farmer
involved.
“Anybody who kills should be held; that will douse the tension; we
should stop resolving communal conflicts by killing one another.’’
He said that there was need to deal with the issue in a way that the
farmer and herder did not see their source of livelihood and future as
being threatened.
The country director said that any effort to find solution should
involve all the parties, adding that it would take some time to resolve
the issue.
“We know that we need to change the way we handle livestock; can involve
technology, but doing it the way it will be favourable to both the
farmers and the herders is what we are working at,’’ he said.
On his part, Mr Ghali Umar, a Conflict Mediator, told NAN that
identifying all pastoralists in the state matters, as it would help the
Benue Government in implementing its policies.
He said that the Benue Government, in its Anti-Grazing Edict, wanted
herders to ranch, without providing the facilities.
“ The Benue Government is saying herders should ranch or leave without
making provisions for them; the grazing land was not given to them; no
social amenities were provided anyway for them; how do you expect them
to ranch without amenities?
“One cow drinks an average of three buckets of water per day, and the
distance between the herders and the stream is lot of distance; how do
they fetch water for 700 cows; that is a tank of water; again, where is
he going to source grass for the cows?
“If the governor wants to end the crisis, he has to look for a way of
giving the pastoralists land for grazing, and put all the social
amenities needed for survival in a ranch.
“Many farmers are not even willing to sell their land to the herdsmen;
what I expected the government is call both parties and give herders and
farmers more time and sensitisation,’’ he said.
Umar, who is Fulani, said that he expected the Benue Government to
establish a ranch as a way of showing the herders what he wanted them to
do.
He said that more discussions were needed to find a lasting solution.
Mr James Ker, Programme Manager, Benue State Agricultural and Rural
Development Authority (BNARDA), said that there was need to quickly get
the pastoralists and the farmers back to discussion.
Ker said that the farmers and herders understood the problem, adding
that what was required was a middle course for the problem to be solved.
“I will not preempt what the herders issues are or what the farmers
issues are, but they need to talk and find a solution.
“There must be a middle ground; both sides must be heard for the
problems to be solved,’’ he said.
Synergos is a global nonprofit organization, that brings people together
to solve complex problems of poverty.
It builds trust and collaboration on issues such as health, nutrition,
agriculture, and youth employment, creating opportunities for
individuals and communities to thrive.
Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/01/prosecuting-killer-herdsmen-benue-will-douse-tension-group/
Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/01/prosecuting-killer-herdsmen-benue-will-douse-tension-group/
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