FG blames ECOWAS Protocol for herders-farmers clashes

Federal Government last week identified the ECOWAS Protocol as one of the factors responsible for the perennial clashes between herders and farmers in some parts of the country.

Minister of defence, Abdulrahman Dambazau, stated government’s position during a Ministerial Press Briefing held at Radio House, Abuja.

The briefing was part of activities to showcase the Ministry’s modest successes in the last three years. The minister said the issue remained a complex one, and so, should be handled in such a way as not to compromise internal security.

“When he ( herder) enters into a country, there must be a checkpoint area where the cattle will be inspected, there must be international clearance certificate, know the number of cow he is moving with, ensure that he does not carry weapon of any kind, show him the route he must follow and so on.

“So, in doing that, all these clashes between herders and farmers will be completely reduced, if not eliminated. Because, what is happening is that herders along the routes go into farms and somehow destroy the crops,” the minister said.

He went further to note that: “Part of the problems is that there have been cattle routes over the years, but because population growth and climate change even farmers are moving from their traditional communities, moving elsewhere because of climate change, so now they are occupying the routes created for cattle.

“Now, population growth has made it possible for people to also build homes along those routes, so when those herders are moving, they now have to look for alternative routs, in the event they destroy farm. So, this is what is happening.

“And we (Nigeria) is signatory to ECOWAS Protocol and free movement. What is happening is that we cannot stop the free movements. About 60- 65 percent of ECOWAS is here and we also move en-mass to ECOWAS countries. We move our goods to ECOWAS countries,” he said.

“This is why I said it is a complex issue and it is a regional issue, which must be tackled accordingly. The second issue is that certain politicians also politicise this issue for their own benefits, particularly when the election is approaching and they have not been able to do well in their states, so they politicise it. So, at that meeting, we discussed with the governors that politicising this crisis is of no benefit to anyone rather it endangers the public,” he said.