Malami Advises FG To Create Agency For Herdsmen’s Activities

Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, has called for the setting-up of a commission for pastoralism, regulated by law.

He stated this move could provide recipes for resolving protracted farmer-herder conflicts in the country.

According to the AGF, simply addressing the farmer-herder crisis “from purely theoretical perspectives often devoid of reality and without synchronization with the needs and aspirations of the involved stakeholders”, is not only counter-productive, “but inimical to the emergence and sustenance of a peaceful and prosperous Nigeria”.

He made this recommendation in an address he presented as a special guest of honour at the Peace, Unity, and Security Lecture Series 2021, held at the ECOWAS auditorium in Abuja on Tuesday.

Malami, argued that the Commission, when established, could facilitate in-depth analytical studies with a view to providing lasting solutions to the recurring clashes between herders and farmers.

He said:
“One of the issues that dominated the media space in recent time is the issue of farmer-herders conflict. The Farmer-herder crisis is real. It, therefore, requires real-time and practically-oriented solutions.

“The better approach towards resolving the crisis over the short, medium, and long terms is to directly involve the stakeholders in the coming up with solutions at the conception, implementation, and monitoring faces.

He also called for the “revamping of the activities of the Nomadic Education Commission with a view to complementing the efforts of the government in resolving the farmer-herder clashes.”