Chairman of the 19 Northern States Governors Forum (NSGF) and Governor of Borno State, Alhaji Kashim Shettima has called for urgent strategies to check the alarming conflict between farmers and cattle rearers in the North West and North Central zones.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the governors meeting in Kaduna on Friday, Shitima said the security situation was assuming unacceptable proportions.
He also called on President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure the full restoration of civil authority in areas recaptured from the Boko Haram insurgents in the North east in order to pave way for the safe return of Internal Displaced People (IDP).
Lamenting the security challenges in the zone, Shittima said “It has therefore become a strategic imperative for us to take a hard look at these formidable challenges and work out strategies on the most effective ways of not only reversing the trend but also overcoming them once and for all”.
He said it was pertinent for the meeting to deliberate and “make an insightful and thorough review of the current security situation in the region, with specific reference to the Boko Haram insurgency, cattle rustling, the lingering deadly clashes between farmers and cattle rearers, as well as the intermittent incidents of armed banditry and kidnapping, all of which had generally been regarded as part of the major factors responsible for the formidable developmental challenges we found ourselves in.”
He said the insurgency in the North East had been halted and the insurgents themselves completely subdued.
“What remains now are few isolated pockets of suicide bombings which the recalcitrant remnants of the insurgents use as a last resort to attract attention and create unnecessary panic among the general population” he said.
He said the meeting was to deliberate on the reports of various committees set up NSGF to address the problems affecting the north.
