The General Overseer and Senior Pastor World Royal City Church, Zion Tabernacle and Towers, Asokoro 2 Abuja, Pastor Emmanuel Effa, has said that the military, police and other security agencies are being overstretched with cattle rustling and the farmers and herdsmen clashes.
Speaking on Sunday in Abuja at a special service to pray for the Nigerian Armed Forces who were in the line of duty Effa said the situation is worsen by massive unemployment in the country and also urged the herdsmen to embrace ranching in the interest of all.
He urged the herdsmen to ask the Federal, States and Local governments to provide land for ranches, saying this would be in their advantage as it would reduce the menace they faced in the country.
“Instead of government waiting for things to happen, for people to die before they move there, I think they should react more proactively. They should begin to take measures to see how issues that are unsettling in these communities will be taking care of and addressed before it escalates into violence and killing of people.
“Have they openly asked the state government to provide land for ranches for them? They should ask. Every herdsman should have a ranch. We don’t want government to foot drag because when people are angry they begin to behave beyond what you want them to behave,” he said.
While saying that the crisis in the country was not just centered on the herdsmen and communities clashes he said there is a spirit of death that must be tackled in the country bearing different names.
“Today it is herdsmen, tomorrow it is Boko Haram; the next day it is Niger Delta militants. They have one denominator, which is the spirit of death,” he said.
He explained that the role of the military was to protect the lives of the Nigerian citizens and to curb random killing that was going on when matters like this come up.
According to him security and defence should be built in the heart of people as it was not the number of weapons or how much invested in weapons that matters but to educate, enlighten and provide jobs for the people.
He said, “The life of the citizens of Nigeria is been threatened and the military should stand up to curb random killing that is going on.”
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