PMB Feels Major Demographic Changes In Nigeria Is Causing These Conflicts — Garba Shehu

The Presidency has said it is determined to bring up short and long term solutions to frequent conflicts between farmers and herdsmen across the country, a presidential spokesman, Mr Garba Shehu, has said.
Garba Shehu disclosed this recently.

“The President is conscious of his duty to Nigerians, not least because he is held accountable for everything that goes wrong.

“He deeply sympathises with the families and all the other direct and indirect victims of this violence. He is determined to bring it to a permanent end’’.

“While there are many Nigerians who see the conflict between the nomadic herdsmen and peasant farmers as an ethnic problem, others point to religious differences and agenda. The President does not subscribe to such simplistic reductionism.

“President Buhari holds the view, as do many experts, that these conflicts are more often than not, as a result of major demographic changes in Nigeria.

“When Nigeria attained independence, the population of the country was estimated at about 63,000,000. Today the population is estimated at close to 200,000,000; while the land size has not changed and will not change.

“Urban sprawl and development have simply reduced land area both for peasant farming and cattle grazing.’’

“He is prepared to permit every possible step that can lead to the stoppage of the killings. It is on account of this he brushed aside an opinion that the federal government should challenge the constitutionality of the anti-open grazing bill.

“He wanted to give a chance to the state governments to succeed in stopping the senseless killings,’’ Shehu said.