President Muhammadu Buhari has called for end to undocumented movements of persons and animals within the West African sub-region as part of efforts to address herders-farmers conflicts.
He made this call while declaring open the ECOWAS/Federal Government summit on herders/farmers conflicts in Abuja on Thursday.
The President who was represented by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the occasion, lamented that many clauses of the ECOWAS protocols on free movements within the sub-region have not been activated, stressing that those clauses would have reduced the incidents of clashes between farmers and herders.
"We can’t continue to tolerate the undocumented movement of persons and animals in the region", he said. "They must all have certificates."
He said Nigeria decided to call for the summit to design a uniform plan of action to tackle the conflicts, following the success achieved through same method in dealing with the Boko Haram insurgency.
Buhari who noted that there have always been conflicts between farmers and herders since the existence of man, stressed that the issue was being complicated in recent years following the competition for land and water as a result of climate change.
He also said criminals were using the situation to cause havoc in the region, adding that "we have seen evidence that this situation is being complicated by the actions of criminal networks who are taking advantage of the proliferation of illegal weapons and our porus border across the West African sub-region."
Buhari therefore, asked for regional cooperation in border management, law enforcement and in identity management as part of measure to address the problem.
The economic implication of these problems are very worrisome, more that 70% of the population of the ECOWAS region makes a living from agriculture, saying many countries in the region were already struggling with food security.
Speaking at the event, the President of ECOWAS Commission Mr. Jean Claude Kassi Brou who emphasized the need for urgent solution to the herders/farmers crisis, noted that livestock production plays a key in the economies of West Africa countries.
"With more than 60 million heads of cattle, over 160 million small ruminants and well over 400 million poultry, the Sahel and West Africa stand out as a recognized livestock producing region," he said.