Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Engineer Babachir David Lawal on Thursday said
that the government was going ahead with decision to establish ranches
and grazing reserves across the country as a solution to the incessant
clashes between Fulani cattle rearers and local farmers.
He made the
remark while receiving a delegation of Tabital Pulako Njode Jam
Foundation, led by its Chairman Alhaji Abdul Bali, in Abuja.
Lawal, in a
statement by the Director (Press) in the office of the SGF Bolaji
Adebiyi, also noted that nomads from outside Nigeria have migrated into
the country and have been the ones perpetuating most of the crimes on
the farmlands.
He assured
that government will do the needful to enlighten Fulani Herdsmen on how
to make cattle rearing more profitable by utilizing the ranches and reap
other social and political benefits that such settlements will offer.
The Foundation, he said, was set up to look into the problem of clashes between Fulani Cattle Rearers and Farmers.
“The
foundation, in its submissions, is also convinced that the nomads from
other lands are responsible for the senseless killings on the farms and
urged the government to strengthen control at our land borders. The
foundation is ready to partner with government to bring the situation
under control.”
In another
development, the SGF assured the people of North-Eastern Nigeria that
government agencies, responsible for the rehabilitation of the
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the region is not discriminating
in the provision of relief materials to the various states.
According to
him, relief items were distributed with a deep sense of equity and
fairness, as he emphasized that the severity of the hardships of the
IDPs in the affected communities and states were the major consideration
in the distribution exercise.
The SGF made
the clarification in his office when he received a delegation from
another group, the Lardin Gabas Elders Forum led by the Chairman of the
Board of Trustees Captain Paul Tahir.
He explained
that rehabilitation efforts in the North-East, apart from the provision
of foods items, tents and building materials, included the
reconstruction of schools, hospitals, police stations and barracks.
To
streamline rehabilitation activities in the region, and accelerate the
return of normal life to the North-Eastern States, he said that a
Presidential Committee on North-East Initiative (PCNI) will soon be
inaugurated by Mr. President.
The Lardin
Gabas Elders Forum was established as a reaction to the devastation that
Boko Haram insurgency visited on the North-East Region.
The Forum,
according to the delegation, is ready to work with the federal
government to ensure that succour is brought to victims of the
insurgency.
The
forum also advocated the return of Christian Religious Studies to
school curriculum to teach youths about good moral upbringing early.
source: The Sun
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