By Gideon Maxwell
October 17, 2024
Former Vice President of Nigeria, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, has highlighted that the persistent conflicts between farmers and herders in the country have a significant political undertone.
This statement was made during the Nigerian Institution of Surveyors’ 42nd Annual Olumide Lectures (OML) held in Abuja.
Osinbajo emphasised that the farmer-herder crisis, which has been a longstanding and complex issue in Nigeria, cannot be fully explained by the traditional narratives of resource competition or ethnic tensions alone.
He suggested that political motivations and interests play a crucial role in exacerbating these conflicts.
The conflicts between farmers and herders have had severe economic consequences for Nigeria.
According to Osinbajo, the country has lost over $14 billion annually due to these clashes, which is a significant drain on the national economy.
However, he informed that his administration proffered a solution to it by getting the 36 state governments, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), to agree to a National livestock Transformation Plan which would restrict the movement of animals in the country.
He said the plan, if implemented by various state governments, will end the bloody farmer/herder crisis.
“As you know farmer/herder issue is seriously politicised and there are also some political implications. But we were able to get an agreement of all 36 state governments, including Abuja.
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“I think that the implementation of the National Livestock Transformation Plan will be a positive contribution to farmer/herder problems” Osinbajo said.
The former Vice President also informed that the major reason for herders’ migration is climate-change related which causes desertification and drying up of wetlands.
“It’s also true that the farmer/herder crisis is as a result of climate change and desertification and drying up of wetlands. If you look at the Lake Chad region, the Lake Chad itself has covered up 35,000 sq kilometers. The Lake has reduced somewhere around 2000sq kilometers from 35,000.
“Those who used to farm or fish in that system are looking for alternatives everywhere. So, you find that Lake Chad is one of the major areas where you have all these kinds of clashes taking place. So, there’s no question at all that there’s a positive correlation of the farmer/herder crisis and environmental degradation, especially desertification.
“But there’s a way to solve it. We developed something called the National Livestock Transformation Plan. I think the Minister of Environment, is very familiar with that. That plan was agreed to by all state governments to deal with this problem.
“There are aspects of it which I think are important for implementation and I believe that the plan will be implemented. It took a while to develop the plan because it took a while to get consensus” Osinbajo said.
Also, addressing the gas flaring issue, as another problematic area in Nigeria, Osinbajo said that the solution is to commercialise the product.
He said that gas flaring may be a global phenomenon, but it is not without a solution, emphasusing that it should be commercialised, suggesting that a bill should be designed for those companies that want to collect gas.
“Gas flaring is such a major problem across the world. You’ll find that Russia is the major gas flaring country in the world. Other gas flaring countries include US, Venezuela, Angola and others.
“What Nigeria tries to do is to see how we could commercialise the gas that’s being flared. That’s a bill that’s been put out around those who want to collect gas that’s being flared. A lot of these are small wells scattered around where the International Oil Companies (IOCs) have their initial big wells.
“I know that a few small oil companies have taken off the bid. The idea will be that they will take up particular wells, collect the gas and sell in commercial quantities. I think that that’s one way of solving the problem.
“As I said, I don’t know how that project has gone now but I know that it’s a project that is to enable commercialisation of gas flaring. If there’s a commercial benefit to it, it will make it easier. It’s a very major problem all over the world even in developed world. Canada is suffering from severe gas flaring. Venezuela, Argentina.
” It’s a major problem in the Niger Delta in particular. The pollution there is a major problem. So, I hope the idea of commercialisation will be a possible solution. Even if it does not solve it, it will reduce it,” Osinbajo said.
