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Govt plans farmers, herdsmen dialogue

By KarlsTsokar, Abuja
24 March 2016   |   1:47 am
In a bid to douse the tension in some parts of the country, the Federal Government has completed plans to convene a National Town Hall dialogue between farmers and herdsmen in the country following...
PHOTO: www.worldbank.org

PHOTO: www.worldbank.org

In a bid to douse the tension in some parts of the country, the Federal Government has completed plans to convene a National Town Hall dialogue between farmers and herdsmen in the country following persistent clashes between the two.

A statement issued from the office of the Minister of Interior Abdurahman Dambazau by his Personal Assistant on Media, Osaigbovo Ehisienmen said though the date was yet to be fixed, the planned dialogue is intended to bring critical stakeholders to a roundtable and fashion out ways to arrive at a solution to the seemingly unabating conflict.

According to the statement, Danbazzau said: “It has become imperative to examine factors that give rise to such conflicts as well as discussing ways to finding lasting solutions to these crisis” adding that
“realisation of immense contributions of herdsmen and farmers to the nation’s economy has made it more expedient to have an all inclusive dialogue.”

Recalled that the herdsmen recently went on rampage, killing farmers who prevented their herds from grazing on their crops, particularly targeting the fertile lands of the Niger-Benue trough where farming is the predominant occupation of the inhabitants. The activities of the herdsmen raise concerns of a grand plan to kill all farmers in the most fertile areas, taking over their lands for grazing and animal husbandry.

Obviously sensing the tension, with the threat of stiff resistance coming from some parts and the protests by some non-governmental organisations such as Movement Against Fulani Occupation (MAFO), the government intends to invite stakeholders to the proposed dialogue, which, according to the statement, will “provide opportunities for various stakeholders to share views and provide honest answers to the various questions which may arise.”

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