Governors responsible for attacks, says cattle breeders association

The farmers and herdsmen clashes have resulted in theloss of lives and properties worth millions of Naira.

Speaking at a town hall meeting on the crisis in Abuja on Thursday, May 17, 2018, the general secretary of Miyetti Allah, Baba Othman Ngelezarma, wondered why the chairman of the governors’ forum, Abdullaziz Yari and Governor Kashim Shettima were not at the event.

He maintained that as chief executives of their states, the governors are custodians of the lands in their terrotories.

He accused governors of not putting in place the enabling environment for the herders to go about their business before enacting laws prohibiting livestock movement.

Ngelezarma noted that the group was not opposed to Federal Government’s plan to introduce ranching.

“We are not opposed to ranching, all that we are saying let us begin to identify grazing reserves,” he said.

“Let us know their current status in the view of developing them and making them attractive to the pastoralist. The cow to them is a thing of prestige, a means of livelihood.

“You have to put something in place for them to see before you accept. A lot has been said about this issue. Up till now nobody is looking at the root cause of the crisis and the people responsible are the state governors.

“How I wish through chairman of the governors forum or northern governors forum is here. He is supposed to be here. All the grazing reserves we have in the country are located in the northern part of the country.

“The state governors have more responsibility than the federal government because this is their primary assignment. They are custodians of the land. They are the custodians of security and education in their states. The federal government's hands are tied we know that,” he added.

The Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, noted that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration is taking steps towards ending the crisis.

He urged Nigerians not to give religious colouration to the killings.

Present at the event were state governors, the ministers of agriculture, defence, interior, representatives of the Police, religious leaders, members of civil society organisations amongst others.