By David Odama

LAFIA—Worried  by the increasing clashes between herdsmen and farmers in Nasarawa State and other parts of the country, a traditional ruler in Nasarawa State, Alhaji Lawal Musa-Nagogo, has said that it was wrong for herdsmen to graze on farmlands, blaming same for the clashes between them and farmers in the country.

Musa-Nagogo  spoke yesterday while addressing Muslim faithful who paid him Sallah homage in his palace in Wamba, Wamba Local Government Area of the state.

The first class traditional ruler equally called on the farmers not to take the law into their hands no matter the damages done to their crops but to report their grievances to the appropriate authority for necessary action.

Herdsmen with their cattle

According to him, “Without peaceful co-existence between the farmers and the herdsmen, agricultural production and the socio-economic development of the country will be affected negatively, hence the need for both of them to embrace one another.”

Musa-Nagogo added that no nation or society could develop in an atmosphere of rancour and confusion, hence the need for herdsmen not to graze on farmlands to avert clashes between them and farmers in the interest of peace and national development.

He urged the Muslim faithful to sustain the lessons learned during the Ramadan by preaching peace, love and unity and to pray and support leaders at all levels to enable them succeed in the task before them.

Also speaking, Alhaji Musa Shuaibu-Wayo, the chairman, Interim Management Committee of Wamba Local Government Area of the state, urged Muslims and other Nigerians to be their brothers’ keepers in the interest of development.

“Eid-el–fitr is not only for merry making, but a time to emulate what Prophet Muhammad (SWA) was sent by Almighty God to come and do,” he said.

Prophet Muhammad preaches peace, love and unity and as true followers of Islam we suppose to emulate the same thing so that we can enjoy blessings of God Almighty here and in the hereafter. We must maintain our God-fearing acts which we exhibited during the fasting period by sustaining the lessons and change of attitude, learnt during the Ramadan fast,” he said.