Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar, the other day, shared his understanding on issues of food insecurity and the perennial herder-farmer crisis. Abubakar’s rather poor judgment on those critical issues is unfortunate. While the minister placates the existential crises with trivialities, he unwittingly offers an insight into the Federal Government’s laidback disposition to tackling those problems frontally. Indeed, both fall short of a sincere government or one determined to end insecurity.

Responding to questions on farmer-herder crisis at a ministerial scorecard session in Abuja, Abubakar said he was “unsure herders intentionally” unleash cattle on farms to erupt clashes. He said: “Accidentally, the cows might stray” into the farms! Coincidentally, he added that the country has enough food to feed all Nigerians, though acknowledging inflation and spike in the cost of food, which he blamed on prices of fertilizer, pandemic disruption and smugglers.

With the benefit of hindsight, Abubakar is being clever by half, political and for dubious purposes. His veiled response belies the undercurrent of the cattle-crisis, its devastating impacts and attendant food insecurity. However, no amount of effort at deflecting the real issues will justify a controversial open grazing undertone of the Federal Government.

For a fact, Nigeria’s cattle-crisis dated back to the colonial era and the menace has worsened lately. Unlike Abubakar’s stray cattle narrative suggests, Nigeria has experienced the highest number of farmer-herder fatalities in West and Central Africa. As at 2018, the crisis in the Middle Belt was adjudged to be six times deadlier than the Boko Haram insurgency with over 2,000 deaths recorded. Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) recently estimated that Nigeria has lost no fewer than 8,343 persons to farmer-herder conflict since 2005. ACLED noted that the casualties were as a result of 1,350 attacks spread across 16 states of the federation.

The Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, was spot on lately when he lamented the involvement of some Fulanis in banditry and kidnapping and called for a concerted solution to end the crisis. Not mentioned by the Sultan are cases of bandits holding farmers enslaved in Borno and made to pay illegal taxes and levies in Sokoto. The criminals have continued to kill daily in Benue, Taraba, Jos, Southwest and lately, the Southeastern states. This is a gory reality of today’s Nigeria and a shame on politically-correct state actors aiming to cover up daylight evil.

Where insurgents kill or kidnap farmers daily and ransacked farms, there can be no magic to poor harvest and attendant food insecurity. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation estimated that about 19.4 million people would face food insecurity in Nigeria between June and August 2022. That projection was made before the October flood ravaged all farms in 27 states. The point is that mass starvation looms in the days ahead. Abubakar, therefore, lied and was quite dishonourable in giving false assurance on food surplus and blaming smugglers for cost hikes. Prices of food, like any commodity, are bound to balloon where there is supply shortage. And until the Federal Government faces the real issues of criminals masquerading as herders, to completely outlaw antediluvian open grazing and end insecurity, then food insecurity would continue to worsen nationwide.

False appraisal of issues is deliberately geared at administering dubious solutions to the existential crisis. President Muhammadu Buhari has left no one in doubt of his unwillingness to end the farmer-herder crisis. His aloofness and sheer lack of empathy for victims have emboldened murderous elements that are pretending to be Fulani herders to perpetuate killing sprees in Middle-belt and Southern regions with impunity. Not swayed by the allegations of ethnic bigotry for his kinsmen, Buhari’s administration has not shown any pretence in the grand plan to legitimise controversial open grazing and land-grabbing in the agrarian communities and further escalation tension.

Currently, the Federal Government and officials are working hard to rehash earlier failed attempts at introducing controversial cattle colonies, under the guise of Rural Grazing Area (RUGA) policy and Water Bill – all in favour of the Fulani herders. For the umpteenth time, the politics of Fulanisation is not the solution to farmer-herder crisis or a way to end insecurity. And in the interest of one Nigeria, the National Assembly should maintain its stand against legislating RUGA and Water Bill. Both policies will only energise conflicts in already troubled communities – reinforcing government’s insincerity and incompetence to address insecurity.

Lest we forget, modern provisions of the law and 21th Century cities have no place for controversial cattle grazing routes or colonies. Though the 1999 Constitution (as amended) guarantees freedom of movement, it is for citizens; not cattle or criminal herders. Under the Land Use Act, Sections 1 and 2, every state government is vested with the right to the title of the land. Landscape of the state is under the ownership and control of the governor, who holds it in trust on behalf of the people. In addition, cattle breeding is a private business and should be treated accordingly.

Indeed, the Federal Government’s desire for retrogressive cattle policies and official attempts at veiled justification, at the twilight of the administration, are repulsive. Both plots are disingenuous and uncharacteristic of a good government or sincere public officeholder. The business of government is to solve problems; not to give excuses or stage cover ups that will further inflames parochial passion against nationhood.

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