4000 Dead In Farmer-Herder Clashes- IsDB VP

A former Minister of Finance, Mansur Muhtar, has stated that clashes between farmers and herders have claimed 4,000 lives in Nigeria.

Muhtar, who is the vice president of the Islamic Development Bank, disclosed this at the three-day ‘National Conference on Livestock Reforms and Mitigation of Associated Conflicts’ in Abuja, added that thousands of others had been maimed as a result of the perennial conflict between herders and farmers since 2016.

The former minister said he was part of over 500 stakeholders comprising technocrats, traditional rulers, and livestock researchers invited to develop a blueprint for solving the problem.

His statement is coming hours after Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State, insisted that ranching remains a viable solution to curbing the frequent clashes between pastoralists and locals, especially in rural communities.

According to Muhtar, conflicts between farmers and herders/pastoralists had been an issue of national concern, and the northern part of Nigeria had remained the epicenter.

Consequently, he called on stakeholders to ensure that winners of the forthcoming general elections work on the deliberations of the national conference on informed policies, strategies and programmes towards livestock production.

He said, “Between 2016 and now, at least 4000 people lost their lives in these conflicts, with several thousand others sustaining injuries, both physical and emotional. While fatalities were initially confined to the North Central, they have since spread across the country increasing pre-existing religious and ethnic tensions.

“In addition to the unfortunate loss of lives, this conflict has often been manifested by an increasing number of internally displaced persons, leading to the breakdown of family units, the bedrock of our society, and disruption in education, especially for young girls. This crisis has also undermined agricultural production compromising our nation’s food security, especially during these periods of rising food prices.”