Kano governor Abdullahi Ganduje on Saturday called on federal government to work toward reviewing the West African Protocols that allow for free movement to stop herdsmen migrating into northern Nigeria.
He said the international blockades due to coronavirus pandemic was an opportunity to stop entry of weapons-bearing herdsmen into the country.
Ganduje spoke at the inauguration of “200 Ruga Housing Settlements” at Dansoshiya village in Kiru Local Government Area of the state for Fulani cattle rearers.
“Such movements of the herdsmen always cause conflicts and destruction of human lives,” he said.
“One can clearly see that these migrating herdsmen always move with dangerous weapons and are the ones causing conflicts in most places around the North and the nation at large,” he said.
The governor also invited herdsmen from across Nigeria to come to Kano and enjoy the bounties of his government’s new Ruga Settlements.
He noted that the settlement had all the basic infrastructure, including water, grazing reserves and milk processing factory and markets.
Ganduje expressed concern over the long sufferings of herdsmen whom, according to him, have suffered enough humiliation in Nigeria by way of loss of lives, stealing and rustling of their cattle.
He added that his administration had constructed earth dams with capacity for four million litres of water.
Kano had earlier sent some 74 Fulani children to Turkey to study milk processing and other vital things that would help them to settle down at a place.
“Today you see a Fulani man doing robbery, kidnapping and other social vices, therefore the need for a Ruga Settlement for him is highly desirable,” Ganduje said.
He added that the irony of the whole thing was that a gallon of milk was costlier than a gallon of petrol, which clearly showed that an average Fulaniman was neither porr nor stupid.
“It further revealed that most of the dangerous weapons carrying herdsmen comes from Mali, Cameroon and other African nations,” he added.
