The Governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu, has said in a conference that the Boko Haram ideology is not associated with that of the Muslim and that the sect is not fighting the cause of a true Muslim.
Briefing newsmen on Tuesday, at the opening of a two day security conference being organised by office of the National Security Adviser, Dr Aliyu described the activities of the sect which has claimed thousands of lives in the North-East as un-Islamic and does not in any way reflect the ideology and believe of a true Muslims.
The Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum described the activities of the sect as “senseless”, calling on all well-meaning Nigerians, irrespective of their religion to join with the government to win the war against insurgency in the country.
“Boko Haram is un-Islamic. Islam is about moderation and not extremism. Jihad is about how to make peace and life better, not how to kill people.’’
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Akinwumi Adesina, also lamented how much pastoralism had become a security threat in the country.
“Pastoralism has become a worrisome practice characterised by incessant clashes of unimaginable proportions usually resulting in huge losses of lives and property”, he said.
He noted that this was not the usual pastoralists that Nigeria used to know, who for decades have lived in harmony with their communities, as criminality has increased, especially with the menace of cattle rustling.
He said, “The issue is no longer an agriculture problem. It is a national security problem and we need an integrated set of solutions that includes agriculture and security.”
The Minister also provided recommendations on how to curb the menace; “One fundamental change that must be made, which is structural is that we must end the practice of moving animals. Rather, we should be moving beef, not animals. This requires that urgent priority be placed on West and Central Africa developing its Halal-meat industry,’’ Adesina said.
However, the Speaker of House of Representative, Aminu Tambuwal, suggested the creation of a platform for pastoralists and farmers to constantly meet to discuss areas of conflicts before they degenerate into uncontrollable crisis.
While calling on the media to support the Government in achieving this by not portraying the herdsmen as the perpetrators of the conflicts, he noted that both parties have been victims, adding that sometimes the violent clashes are caused by cattle rustlers and mercenaries.
