Participants at the meeting on pastoral conflict management comprises many critical stakeholders including representatives of Fulani herders, farmers, security, media, non-governmental organisations and Ecowas as a body responsible for the planning and implementation of all activities at the conference.
Before the 2022 meeting, the first of its kind was conducted in 2017 at the same venue but with only a bilateral agreement signed by the Niger Republic Maradi State and Nigeria’s Katsina State.
According to the communique, this year, some factors were taken into consideration that resulted in the extension of more participating States from Nigeria and Niger Republic since the major issues in focus largely concerned pastoral, security, and transborder challenges of the two neighbouring countries and are aimed at finding sustainable solutions to the pastoral crisis as it would enhance the security and socio-economic developments of Nigeria and Niger.
According to the communique, Maradi, Tahoua, Zinder, Dosso, Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara, Jigawa and Kebbi are now the participating States in the multilateral agreement. This is because all these are States that border one another and there is the need for their contributions to the success of addressing pastoral conflicts, illegal immigrants’ issues and supplying of arms and ammunition all of which matters a lot in the continuous peaceful coexistence of the two nations.
Also, to intensify the readiness for proper engagement in this year’s meeting, the stakeholders approved the establishment of permanent secretariate in Maradi with permanent staff to coordinate the already mapped out strategies of the participating States in line with the multilateral agreement conditions.
Briefing international media correspondents shortly after the conference, Zamfara State Deputy Governor Distinguished Senator Hassan Muhammad (Jarman Gusau), explained that Zamfara State would be on the front line of the benefitting States looking at serious challenges of insecurity that affected States most of which are as a result of transborder and pastoral crisis through which illegal transportation of arms to bandits and other miscreants are taking place.
The Deputy Governor said, now that the Ecowas initiated this all-important gathering to discuss the issues generally and agreed upon our mistakes, there is also the need to proffer workable strategies for implementation to curtail the menace of insecurity and conflict between herders and farmers around the axis.
He assured that Zamfara State Government under the leadership of Dr Bello Muhammad Matawalle is ready to contribute and support the process with whatever is required for the success of the program..
Senator Hassan Muhammad Gusau further said the meeting resolved that the secretariat should organise the next meeting in the next coming three months timeframe and Katsina State Government takes responsibility for the full sponsorship of the conference scheduled to hold in Katsina in Nigeria.
Signed:
Comrade Babangida Umar Zurmi, ANIPR, Director-General Press Affairs,
Office of the Deputy Governor,
Zamfara State. (Participant) 14/05/2022.
