The cattle herders and farmers clash is beginning to take a dangerous twist with recent happening across the southern parts of the country. Last month, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly called Sunday Igboho, issued a 7-days ultimatum to Fulani herders in the Ibarapa area of Oyo state following the rising spate of, kidnapping, rape, murder, encroachment of farmlands and other criminal activities in the area.
The herders were accused of kidnapping and murdering Dr. Fatai Aborode, a former House of Representatives Candidate of the Accord Party in the 2015 general elections. Aborode was murdered in Igangan while leaving his farm on a motorbike with his farm manager. The late Aborode’s murder is one out of many cases in the area. The activities of these criminally minded individuals are reported in various parts of the southwest.
The Governor of Ondo State, Olurotimi Akeredolu, last month also ordered that the herders should vacate reserved forest in the state due to the criminal activities of suspected herders. IMPACT NEWS recalled that the Olufon of Ifon, Obase Israel Adewusi was killed last November by suspected kidnappers, while the Funke Olakunrin, the daughter of Afenifere leader, Reuben Fasoranti was also shot dead along Ondo-Ore road last year.
The sad tales of the activities of these suspected herders is uniform in various parts of the country and it calls for proactive action. We are tempted to say the cold feet developed by the government in finding lasting solution to the issue is a proxy stamp on a conspiracy theory alleging ethnic cleansing. In the 21st century, battle and conquers to grab land should only emanate in tales of the past but the activities of these herdsmen point towards that.
While cattle rearing and beef consumption is lucrative in Nigeria, other countries across the world are able to manage pasturing and farming without any crisis. Nigeria is not among the top 20 countries in the world with cattle inventory and rearing, yet the country battles with managing herders and farmers. While counties like India, Brazil, the United States, Argentina, Australia and Egypt are some of the largest cattle inventory in the world, tales of bloody clashes between herders and other land users are not frequent, even if they are recorded. It is therefore high time the Federal government introduce ranching to stop the frequent and unending clashes.
We understand that the National Economic Council (NEC) chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo had approved the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP) 2019-2028 aimed at transforming livestock production system in Nigeria and ensuring atmosphere of peace and justice. It is therefore imperative that the federal government must fast-track the implementation of the NLTP for peace and economic development in the country.
