By Ahmad Umar
Participants at the National Conference on the Dynamics of Pastoral Nomadism in Contemporary Nigeria, have said that the strained relationship between Fulani and farmers is not an ethno- religious conflict
Rather, they attributed it to the diminishing land and water resources.
The assertion is contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the conference on Wednesday in Gombe state northeast of the country.
The communique said the conflicts are triggered and driven by competition for access to these diminishing resources.
“The diminishing of the land and water resources in the Chad/Benue drainage basins,engendered climate changes and human activities is among the lead that, factors causing the unhealthy competition and the pastoralists displaced by these diminishing resources in sub Saharan Africa drift into the central zone of Nigeria.
“There is a trivialization of the conflict between farmers and pastoralists and a refusal by many policy makers, opinion leaders and even experts to admit that this conflict is a matter of public interest and must be treated as such. Often, the claim is that cattle rearing and farming are personal enterprise.
The conference recommended that, there is need to design as appropriate, comprehensive and positive integration program to integrate the pastoral nomad into the Nigeria society, culturally and politically.
“In doing this, we have to reconstruct the extant Nomadic Education Scheme to broaden the mandates of the Agency responsible for this and strength its capacity to deliver through legislative provisions.
They also called on government to review its range development policy and pastoral nomadism in such a way that the River Basin Development Authorities underutilized lands will be used for pilot scheme for ranching.
“State and local government should work together to allow traditional institutions of both farmers and pastoralists to jointly explore and develop conflict management strategies that best work at the local level.
The conference which drew participants from the academia and other relevant bodies was organized by the Federal University, Kashere in Gombe State.
https://www.africaprimenews.com/2018/03/26/education/nigerian-university-lecturers-seek-solution-to-clashes-between-herdsmen-and-farmers/
