The Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, at the
weekend in Enugu insisted that confrontations would not solve the
problems posed by the persistent clashes between herdsmen and
farmers across the country.
He rather advocated a better understanding between herdsmen and
farmers in order to ensure adequate protection of lives and
property of both.
Ekweremadu who spoke in response to complaints by farmers over
the destruction of their farms by cows while inspecting
construction work on the Imuno Bridge in Amakofa community in
Aninri Local Government Area, lamented the increasing loss of lives
as a result of the rancorous misunderstanding between them.
He said an engagement between both sides was necessary to ensure
that neither side becomes a threat to the other in the course of
carrying out their activities.
“I also want to appeal to our herdsmen to ensure that in the
process of grazing their cows, they avoid peoples farms because as
you can see here, there are cows there and you can also see peoples
farms and the tendency is that these cows will now feed on the
farmers crops and that is one of the things that trigger crisis. It
is important that they are made to understand that just as they are
entitled to their cows, the farmers are also entitled to their
farms and the products therein and so none should be a threat to
the other.
“I hope that what we are seeing here will not be a source of
concern within this community. There should be a way of engaging
the herdsmen to ensure that they don’t graze on peoples farms and
then for the villagers to also ensure that the herdsmen are not
harassed unduly. There is need for everybody to live peacefully
with one another if we must progress as a nation,” he said.
Ekweremadu who inspected other projects he has attracted in
Enugu west senatorial zone, highlighted the importance of rural
access roads which he said would facilitate the agricultural
expansion scheme of both the state and federal governments and
reduce unemployment and poverty which he described as the greatest
challenge facing the Nigeria today.
He said solving unemployment and poverty would reduce the
nation’s woes by fifty percent.
“The federal government and indeed the state government are
minded to begin to improve our revenue base and expand our economy
and one of the areas of the expansion is the agricultural
sector.
“So that is our strategy to deal with the issue of unemployment
and poverty in his constituency. As long as these works are going
on, some people will feed on it and ones it is completed it becomes
an economic corridor; people can also go to their farm and put up
some industries and more people will be employed. Our contribution
to this is to open up the hinter land for access to our farms and
this bridge will open up access to the vast farmland around here
for our farmers to do more expansive farming on a commercial level.
We have a host of such other projects including rural access roads
nearing completion that will help to open up new economic corridors
for our people and this will only be possible in an atmosphere of
peace as we currently enjoy in the state,” he said.
The Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, at the
weekend in Enugu insisted that confrontations would not solve the
problems posed by the persistent clashes between herdsmen and
farmers across the country.
He rather advocated a better understanding between herdsmen and
farmers in order to ensure adequate protection of lives and
property of both.
Ekweremadu who spoke in response to complaints by farmers over
the destruction of their farms by cows while inspecting
construction work on the Imuno Bridge in Amakofa community in
Aninri Local Government Area, lamented the increasing loss of lives
as a result of the rancorous misunderstanding between them.
He said an engagement between both sides was necessary to ensure
that neither side becomes a threat to the other in the course of
carrying out their activities.
“I also want to appeal to our herdsmen to ensure that in the
process of grazing their cows, they avoid peoples farms because as
you can see here, there are cows there and you can also see peoples
farms and the tendency is that these cows will now feed on the
farmers crops and that is one of the things that trigger crisis. It
is important that they are made to understand that just as they are
entitled to their cows, the farmers are also entitled to their
farms and the products therein and so none should be a threat to
the other.
“I hope that what we are seeing here will not be a source of
concern within this community. There should be a way of engaging
the herdsmen to ensure that they don’t graze on peoples farms and
then for the villagers to also ensure that the herdsmen are not
harassed unduly. There is need for everybody to live peacefully
with one another if we must progress as a nation,” he said.
Ekweremadu who inspected other projects he has attracted in
Enugu west senatorial zone, highlighted the importance of rural
access roads which he said would facilitate the agricultural
expansion scheme of both the state and federal governments and
reduce unemployment and poverty which he described as the greatest
challenge facing the Nigeria today.
He said solving unemployment and poverty would reduce the
nation’s woes by fifty percent.
“The federal government and indeed the state government are
minded to begin to improve our revenue base and expand our economy
and one of the areas of the expansion is the agricultural
sector.
“So that is our strategy to deal with the issue of unemployment
and poverty in his constituency. As long as these works are going
on, some people will feed on it and ones it is completed it becomes
an economic corridor; people can also go to their farm and put up
some industries and more people will be employed. Our contribution
to this is to open up the hinter land for access to our farms and
this bridge will open up access to the vast farmland around here
for our farmers to do more expansive farming on a commercial level.
We have a host of such other projects including rural access roads
nearing completion that will help to open up new economic corridors
for our people and this will only be possible in an atmosphere of
peace as we currently enjoy in the state,” he said.