From Yusufu Aminu Idegu, Jos
Efforts of the federal government to guarantee cheaper and affordable foods for her citizens are being sabotaged by various categories of militias operating across the country.
The militias include Boko Haram/Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP), Yan Ta’adda, Yan Bindiga and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), as well as kidnappers and cattle rustlers, whose presence in the bushes has made farming and grazing a nightmare for farmers and herders.
The director-general of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), Dr Bakut Bakut, made this observation in his welcome remarks at the Stakeholders’ Forum held in Jos recently.
He said, “Farmers and herders have been afraid to go about their daily activities. Their lives and property are destroyed by gunmen on the field, ethno-religious tensions intensified, and other social and community activities are adversely affected.”
Most worrisome is the fact that while agriculture (farming and pastoralism) remains the mainstay of subsistent living across communities, it has been threatened by violence that has trailed the farmers-herders conflicts in the country.
The frequent farmers-herders conflict has even provided the enabling environment for separatist agitations, criminality, banditry, insurgency and terrorism in the country.
Bakut said, “These armed groups have taken advantage of the intractable farmers-herders conflict in all the six geopolitical zones of the country in a manner that looks as if the federal government is not doing anything about it.
“Sadly, the violent upsurge has persisted in the face of concerted interventions of both state and non-state stakeholders to prevent, mitigate and transform the traumatising experiences of community dwellers.”
He said the Stakeholders Forum was to brainstorm and come up with a policy and advise the government.
Bakut reminded the participants that the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution was deliberately created by the federal government for the purpose of providing knowledge-driven insights into conflict trends and dynamics in Nigeria and Africa.
In his remarks, the director-general of Peace Agency, Plateau State, Joseph Lengmang, applauded the IPCR for hosting the Stakeholders’ Forum in the state.
