Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Muhammadu Buhari, Mr Femi Adesina, was guest on Radio Continental programme Friday last week (March 4,2016). Here are excerpts from the interview:
Q: Fulani herdsmen have on several occasions been accused of ransacking places they pass through while they are herding their cattle. Nigerians are wondering and asking why there seems to be a very loud silence on the part of the federal government on the matter?
A: If anybody says there is a loud silence, it means that person has not been listening. At times, it is so very easy to say there has been silence, when that is not the case, because on this issue, last week in a major interview the President spoke on it. It was relayed on NTA for about two days running. He spoke on the Fulani herdsmen issue and a statement also came out from our office on the matter. So, if anybody says the President is silent or has been silent on the issue, it baffles me. The President spoke in an interview that was relayed on NTA and TVC, and he said it is a perennial problem, and something would be done about it. He talked about cattle grazing route, and he said between the federal government and the state governors, this matter would be looked at and tackled decisively. I also remember that Chief Audu Ogbe, the Agric Minister, has also indicated that quite soon, problem of herdsmen and farmers would be over in the country because they would do something about getting feed from Brazil for cattle rearers.
Q: How does the government intend to reach these herdsmen because they are not all in a place at the same time; the President has spoken as you said, but how do you get this information to filter across herdsmen so that they are aware?
A: That is the reason the President said it is going to be between the federal government and the state governors. The state governors are closer to these herdsmen, through the state and local governments, there is a way they would be reached. They are not spirits, they are humans and they operate in environments where people can reach them, and the President has said between the federal and the state governments, something can be done. In the past, there were grazing routes in the country, it is either we return to that, or there would be something else, but I know the issue would be dealt with.
A: That is the reason the President said it is going to be between the federal government and the state governors. The state governors are closer to these herdsmen, through the state and local governments, there is a way they would be reached. They are not spirits, they are humans and they operate in environments where people can reach them, and the President has said between the federal and the state governments, something can be done. In the past, there were grazing routes in the country, it is either we return to that, or there would be something else, but I know the issue would be dealt with.
Read more at http://www.theheraldng.com/power-supply-nigerians-architects-problems-presidency/#HwvKROr0XJbumb5y.99
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