Northern govs can stop herders, farmers clashes – Masari

Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State has asked the 19 Northern governors to marshal out strategies that would checkmate herders/farmers clashes which had resulted in loss of lives in the region.
Mr. Masari stated this during a visit by the newly elected chairman of the Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Katsina Council, Abdulhamid Sabo.
The governor spoke two days after his Kano State counterpart, Abdullahi Ganduje, invited Fulani herdsmen facing challenges in grazing their cattle in different parts of the country to come and establish themselves in the state.
Mr. Ganduje said the recent killings linked to the farmers-herders crisis were unwarranted especially since Kano had a wide expanse of land, including dedicated grazing reserves that remained largely underutilised.
Mr. Masari the governors had the capacity to surmount the herders/farmers clashes which had caused the deaths of several people.
He said the region had enough land that could contain the herders and their cattle in one place instead of roaming about.
“With unity and understanding all the governors can stop the cattle rearers from roaming about.
“We can settle them in one place and provide basic necessities of life, especially education for them in order to have peaceful co-existence in the region,” he said.
Commenting on the Zik Foundation Award conferred on him for rural development, the governor said that his administation was determined to advance the living standards of his people through careful planning.
“My administration is ready to make careful planning and implement policies and programmes that will improve the living standards of the common man in the state.
“The state government is always ready to partner with media practitioners to discharge their duties effectively,” he said. (NAN)