One of the primary duties of any government is to secure the lives and properties of its citizens. Any slack in this basic duty can lead to self- help and then anarchy.
There is no gainsaying the fact that the Fulani herdsmen/Indigenes clashes across Nigeria is weighing everyone down. The alert button of most Nigerians have been pressed, coupled with the fact that the APC-led FG of GMB doesn’t seem to be interested in bringing perpetrators of this heinous crime to justice or doing anything to stop the carnage beyond rhetoric.
Government has encouraged our young population to go into farming but the farms are being destroyed by Fulani herdsmen who have been noted to culturally care more about their cattle than any human life. They are known to be nomadic in nature, moving from one place to another in search of fresh green grass and water for their cattle and won’t stop at anything until their cattle eat green grass, not minding if the so called green grass is the labour of another human being, thereby destroying farms at the expense of feeding their cattle.
Needless lives have been lost all over the country as these clashes seem to be taking a new dimension by the day. This will continue unabated if drastic steps are not taken by all and sundry. We must jointly take urgent steps to bring an end to the conditions that lead to incessant crisis. We cannot afford to continue folding our hands while watching people die unnecessarily.
The Federal Ministry of Agriculture must as a matter of urgency interact with the umbrella body of the Fulani herdsmen association and make them see reasons why they must adopt modern ways of rearing cattle by establishing ranches. The ministry and the association must jointly agree on a time frame to convert from pastoral cattle rearing to modern cattle ranches.
In addition, the Federal Ministry of Finance should work out an agreement with the CBN for loans from commercial banks to interested Nigerians to establish cattle ranches where modern methods like artificial insemination and much more will be adopted.
The states Ministries of Agriculture should also endeavour to see how they can assist businessmen/farmers/cooperative societies set up cattle ranches that will supply the beef that is needed in their states.
In the interim, each and every individual in every community must come together to defend themselves against any form of aggression.
Nigerians from all walks of life should see reason and invest in modern cattle ranches in order to provide the much-needed beef for local consumption and export purposes.
We must all continually engage with government at all levels and the various security agencies to make sure that they provide adequate security of lives and properties for all categories of Nigerians.
All lives matter and no individual life is of more importance than the other. Everyone deserves to live. May the soul of the departed rest in perfect peace.
God bless you.
God bless Nigeria.
smiling sheepishly the change has come to stay in your various homes