NAN-F-11
Conflict
By Maureen Okon
Abuja, Nov.23, 2016 (NAN) Dr Vivian Iwar, a member of ECOWAS Commission Abuja, on Wednesday, blamed the incessant conflict between among farmers and pastoralists, on the lack of implementation of trans-humans certificate by governments’.
She made the remark in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the end of “ Mercy Corps’’ four year initiative programme.
The Mercy Corps programme, is sponsored by UKAid to support peace building process in communities.
According to her, the international trans-humans certificate is the provision of the Heads of States decision in 1998, which stated that the certificate was to check the number of cattles coming into a country.
“The international trans-human certificate is a provision of the Heads of States’ decision on trans-humans of 1998, that provides for an international trans-human certificate.
“It is like a passport for animals, same way you have passport for humans entering another country. Animals are suppose to have that certificate as long as they are crossing from one ECOWAS country to another.
“This is aimed at cattle movement and training and to ensure wholesome stealing that is going on is checked,” she said.
According to her, due to the failure of implementation in the regulations in certain member states, it is difficult to identify which animal belongs where and who is taking and exactly what is going on.
She also said that the conflict between pastoralist and farmers should be blamed on the lack of proper border control of animals.
“Because we do not know what animal comes into a certain country, conflict occurs in part of the country, for instances, in Nigeria if the country did not identify where those animals are coming from”.
She explained that it has ramification on anything coming into the country, if you do not control that.
“Animals come in, sometimes carrying things on them, so if you cannot identify what animals came in at a certain time, they could be bringing all manner of things you won’t even know.
“So it’s really a proper border control that is needed for animals coming into the country, and when you control the animals, you also control the humans and whatever else they may be bringing in,’’ she explained.
She blamed government in the sub- region for failing to develop a consistent policy on livestock, and also to regulate pastoralism and the practices of pastoralism.
“Because we have failed to develop a consistent policy on livestock development over time, we have also failed to regulate pastoralism and the practices of pastoralism.
“This has given the opportunity to those, who generally disobey the laws to do so, when there’s nothing to hold them to; there are no enforcement regulations and no stable policy.
`The government must take a stance and say this is where we want to go and you have to fall in, when none of that exist, people take advantage of such confusion and do as they please. (NAN)
(Edited by Emmanuel Okara/Julius Enehikhuere)