Pastoralist organizations have urged President Bola Tinubu to convene a national dialogue on farmer-herder conflicts, rejecting what they describe as the widespread profiling of Fulani herders as bandits, kidnappers and terrorists.
The call was made on Sunday in Abuja by the Confederation of Pastoralist Non-Governmental Organisations (CONPA), which said it represented millions of pastoralists through more than 30 associations across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
In a statement signed by the president of the Kautal Pulaaku Fulbe Association of Nigeria, Dr Huseini Buzaye, and read by its General Secretary, Abdullahi Ardo, the coalition alleged that hundreds of pastoralists had been killed in recent months in Plateau, Niger, Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara and other states.
The group said women, children and elderly people were among the alleged victims, while cattle had been rustled or killed and pastoralist settlements destroyed. It called for an independent investigation into the reported killings and urged the government to provide relief to displaced families.
“Criminals are criminals and have no tribe,” the coalition said, urging security agencies to investigate and prosecute suspects individually rather than target entire ethnic groups.
The coalition also urged the National Emergency Management Agency and the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons to provide relief to displaced pastoralists.
It commended Tinubu for establishing the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development but described the ministry as underfunded and lacking a clear operational framework. The group called for at least 30 per cent of the agricultural budget to be allocated to the ministry, the protection of 417 grazing reserves and the establishment of pilot ranches and fodder production projects across the six geopolitical zones.
Citing more than 20,000 deaths from farmer-herder conflicts over the past decade, the coalition said military action alone could not end the violence. It proposed a national dialogue involving pastoralist groups, farmers, traditional rulers, religious organisations, security agencies and state governments.
The group also urged herders to keep their cattle off cultivated farmland, respect farmers’ property, cooperate with security investigations and reject violence and reprisals. It said it planned to launch public awareness campaigns across the six geopolitical zones to promote peaceful coexistence.
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