Farmers-Herders Crisis: El-Rufai preaches peace across Nigeria

Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has called on leaders across Nigeria to commit seriously to the easing of ethnic tension before it goes out of hand.

In a statement released on Wednesday, February 3, 2021, the governor said elected and appointed public leaders across the country must act on their constitutional obligations to protect all citizens so as to maintain a climate of peace.

His comments come on the back of weeks of ethnic tension in the country especially in the south west where a political enforcer, Sunday Igboho, has ordered Fulani herdsmen to leave the region.

Decades-long conflict over access and control of land between the nomadic cattle herders and local farming communities has led to thousands of lives lost, and millions worth of property damage.

The rise of criminality in many areas of the country have also been blamed on roaming herders who have been tagged as invaders running a land-grabbing campaign.

In his Wednesday address, El-Rufai said the frenzied ethnic profiling and unlawful eviction of citizens from their places of domicile should not be condoned anywhere in the country.

The governor noted that his own administration has resisted attempts to malign all members of any ethnic group for the criminal actions of some of its members.

The 60-year-old called on his fellow governors to condemn the targeted attacks, and contribute to a climate for peaceful resolution of all issues.

He said, "It is time for governments and leaders at all levels to step in, exercise firm action, engage people and ensure that the responsibility these dire times demand are not derailed by those who only see opportunity for their own myopic agendas.

"We cannot allow, by inaction or otherwise, the reign of anarchy where fear creates a tragic momentum of violence, blurring the lines between victims and perpetrators and complicating a difficult moment."

El-Rufai appealed that the activities of criminals across the country must not be allowed to tear the country apart with dangerous ethnic finger-pointing that can lead to targeted attacks and evictions.

He said the rights of everyone to live in safety anywhere they choose must be upheld by the relevant authorities.

"We cannot quench one fire by setting more places ablaze. Let us reject the path of disorder, marginalise, expose and prosecute all criminals and promote peace," he said.

The governor also called on the National Assembly to expedite action on constitutional amendments to usher in state and community policing which he said will solve law enforcement problems nationwide.