By Emmanuel Elebeke

ABUJA—Former Secretary to the Niger State government and Professor of Agriculture at the University of Ibadan, Prof. Mohammed Yahaya Kuta, has charged Federal Government to take the lead in the process of tackling the constant farmers and herders clashes that have eroded the peaceful co-existence of the country.

Prof. Kuta threw the charge yesterday, while chairing   the opening session of the National Summit on Conflict Resolution organised by The Nation newspapers and TVC in Abuja.

herdsmen

He said the government was expected to show leadership in finding a lasting resolution by taking practical steps to demonstrate its commitment to putting an end to the bloody conflicts.

“If the government is interested in having ranches for herders, it should begin by putting something on the ground for the herders to see.

“If ranching can be successful in other countries, there is no reason it can not succeed in Nigeria,” he posited.

The don noted that over 80 percent of the Nigerian land mass was currently unutlised, while less than 20 percent was being utilized.

He said:  “Government must take the lead in terms of demonstration. Whatever we want to achieve at the end of this gathering is there must be sign post.

“If you want ranches to come up, why not demonstrate where these herders can see that there is an innovation.

“We should have a place they can see because like the saying goes, seing is believing. We have seen how it has worked in other climes.

“Botswana is a leading light in terms of the success story, Namibia is another success story, South Africa is another leading light.”

“World Summit on Communication concluded that Communication is about people and people are very critical mass in human development and therefore, communication initiatives makes the difference.

‘’So, we must commend you for adding your voice to the ongoing conversation on conflict mitigation and resolution.

“Within this year alone, the sir Ahmad Bello memorials Foundation has organised two sessions with different stakeholders on the same subject matter and concluded that the ongoing conversation must continue until we get to the end of the matter.

“So, for you to bring all these stakeholders together as concern people to come and talk about the subject matter especially given the climate of herders farmers conflict is commendable.”