People are hungry and angry, implementation key to end crises- Sultan speaks

The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa'ad Abubakar III has attributed non implementation of livestock policy to check mate farmers/herders clashes as why people are angry with hunger.

He disclosed this today at the National Conference on livestock reform and mitigation of associated conflict held in Abuja.

Alhaji Abubakar III pointed out that several lives and properties have been lost to farmers - herders clashes which had negatively affected people with hunger and anger, thereby advocating the need for  livestock policy implementation as tool to curb the crisis.

He said that the farmers-herders clashes we witnessed has been consistent in the past one decade, adding it was purely an economic issue, and not tribal or religion as being speculated.

According to the Sokoto Sultan "if we don't get the implementation down to a Tiv common man who is a farmer, and the common Fulani man who doesn't know anything about development in his life, he only cares about how to get water and pasture for his cattle. How do we get the outcome of this conference to them, all the English spoken at this conference needs to get to their ears"

 " The issue is government do not take Suggestion, there was a time  suggestions were given to the Federal government on how to maintain peace by the locals but at the end of the day they were thrown away, let this conference not be in the same manner whatever needs to be done, let's do it well because there are so many people affected out there with anger and hunger" 

He pointed further that there is a need for dialogue to put an end to the farmers-herders clash in the country therefore solicited for mutual dialogue among the two.

Sultan added, there is a need to adopt past documents while working on ensuring that policies created from such documents are implemented, and not thrown away.

"This issue of farmers-herders clash was taken up in 2008, a committee was formed, we put up the Tivs and Fulani leaders together in this country, and we had a good deliberation, the outcome of the meeting was that there won't be a single clash between the farmers and the herders as the 12 leaders in the committee discussed the way out. Where is that report? I gave a copy to former President Goodluck Jonathan through the Vice President Namadi Sambo.We will look for that booklet and see how we can pick out something from the proceedings and factor it into the outcome of this conference"

He added that the Kano state government who happens to be the organiser of the conference should ensure implementation of all the outcome.