are people who rear cattle. So, it creates the wrong impression that everybody you see with a cow is a Fulani man and therefore becomes a common target for the present problem we are addressing as a government,” he said.
He said the warning against inflammatory statements was not made against only one group of persons but against all Nigerians including governors.
“It is for all Nigerians. A governor is a community leader. The only difference is that he has a label called governor. If you don’t mind, in recent times, it started with the West when elder statesman, Olu Falae, had some very nasty experience. And it was attributed at the time to Fulani herdsmen.
And at the end, those people were apprehended, they were not Fulanis. And this thing has been going on in virtually all the country today. If we now say that everybody should rise and say herdsmen should leave, we will not have a country,” Adamu said.
He added that northern senators would soon initiate a bill to address the menace of herdsmen as he commended the federal.
In a related development the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Audu Ogbeh has disclosed that the federal government is working towards the resolution of clashes between herdsmen and farmers with plans in advanced stage to begin the establishment of grazing reserves in the next four months.
Ogbeh, speaking on Wednesday, at the sectoral debate aimed at exploring diversification of the economy, organised by the House of Representatives disclosed that nine state governments have already agreed to release 5000 hectares of land for the reserves.
The reserves would be tilled with grass imported from Brazil, a development that has generated criticisms to the government. The Minister however explained that the grass being imported guarantees high yield as they have already been treated.
“Grass is not Grass, there are grasses and there are grasses. These grasses were taken from Nigeria and worked upon and they are better,” he said.
The Minister also disclosed that some private companies are already in agreement with the government for the utilisation of some derivatives and by products from the reserves, adding that the reserves would boost the economic status of the herdsmen.
Speaking on plans for food sufficiency, the Minister lamented the level of dependence on imported food items, adding that those who profit from the importation are working against the government’s food sufficiency bid.
“They even protested against Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) interventions. The challenge is, how do we cope with resistance, competition, cheap finance among others? Among other things we are putting in place , 40 rice mills would be installed around the country by December, with tomato paste and banana processing plants also on the way,” the minister said.
