NAN-AE-12
Herdsmen
By Awayi Kuje
Umaisha (Nasarawa State), March 16, 2017 (NAN) A first-class traditional ruler in Nasarawa State, Alhaji Usman Abdullahi, has appealed to herdsmen in the area not to harbour strangers, as the 2017 farming season approaches.
Abdullahi, who is the Ohimegye Opanda, made the call in Umaisha on Thursday during a peace meeting of farmers, herdsmen and other stakeholders in Toto Local Government Area of the state.
He expressed concern over the influx of herdsmen into the area, saying that the development posed a great threat to farmers as the cropping season approached.
“There are so many unknown herdsmen migrating to our local government area, and we considered this as a threat to our farming activities.
“Often times, we have tried to keep them away but they found their ways back at night through bush paths,’’ he said.
Abdullahi, therefore, called for the government’s intervention in addressing the situation so as to avert clashes between farmers and herdsmen.
Earlier, Mr Mohammed Ohinoyi-Musa, Chairman of the Interim Management Committee of Toto Local Government Council, said that the meeting was called to maintain the existing peace in the area.
He also cautioned herdsmen in the area against harbouring strangers.
“We would not want herdsmen in the area to entertain people we do not know because reports of violence are often blamed on unknown herdsmen and not on those living among us,’’ he said.
Ohinoyi-Musa said that the meeting became expedient as a result of the influx of herdsmen into the area, particularly as the farming season was fast-approaching.
He, however, urged on the government to liaise with the traditional rulers, in efforts to design strategies to curb potential clashes between farmers and herdsmen in the area.
Meanwhile, spokespersons for farmers and herdsmen in the area, Maikasuwa Dogo and Mohammed Sani, pledged to ensure a peaceful farming season in the area, in view of the measures taken by the leaders.
The meeting resolved, among other issues, that herdsmen should desist from grazing on cultivated farmlands, while farmers should refrain from taking the law into their hands in face of any provocation. (NAN)
AKW/MOL/OOK
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Edited by Mustapha Lamidi and Dayo Komolafe