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From Godwin Tsa Abuja
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN, has Advocated the setting-up of a commission for pastoralism as a panacea to farmer-herder conflicts in the country.
Speaking in Abuja at a lecture on peace, unity and security, the AGF, postulated that simply addressing the farmer-herder crisis “from purely theoretical perspectives often devoid of reality and without synchronization with the needs and aspirations of the involved stakeholders”, is not only counter-productive, “but inimical to the emergence and sustenance of a peaceful and prosperous Nigeria”.
Malami who was a special guest of honour at the event which, held at the ECOWAS auditorium contended that the Commission, when established, could facilitate in-depth analytical studies with a view to providing lasting solutions to the recurring clashes between herders and farmers.
He said: “One of the issues that dominated the media space in recent time is the issue of farmer-herders conflict. The Farmer-herder crisis is real. It, therefore, requires real-time and practically-oriented solutions.
“The better approach towards resolving the crisis over the short, medium, and long terms is to directly involve the stakeholders in the coming up with solutions at the conception, implementation, and monitoring faces.
“In this case, the community-oriented approach is likely to yield greater dividend in diffusing and eventually eliminating the menace that has retarded economic development and created wide-spread insecurity…It is not out of place for me to say that simply addressing farmer-herder crisis from purely theoretical perspectives often devoid of reality and without synchroniSation with the needs and aspirations of the involved stakeholders is not only counter-productive but inimical to the emergence and sustenance of a peaceful and prosperous Nigeria.”
