Ex- Head Of State President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, has said that it is not the responsibility of President Muhammadu Buhari to address the menace of Fulani herdsmen.
The former President believes it is the duty of state and local governments to deal with the persistent problem.
He made the comments during the 23rd annual Lift Above Poverty Organisation (LAPO) development forum in Abuja.
He said: “Some of the words that have been coming out from our leaders, particularly from state governors, are not helpful; they are not helpful.
“This issue is not a federal issue and another thing I don’t like about it is that when you talk of Fulani herdsmen, people talk of the President.
“Now because the President of Nigeria is a Fulani man, then you would expect him to jump up and say this one is condemned and all that, no. That is not his job. And when people make comments like this, it annoys me.
“They say the President hasn’t said anything about this, that he used to be the patron of something…, but I believe that the ranching thing failed because the states and the local governments failed to do what they ought to have done.
Obasanjo noted that the clashes are not a national issue while adding that it’s not acceptable for Fulani herdsmen for Fulani herdsmen to destroy the crops of farmers.
“I need to state that it is the responsibility of local governments to take care of them. Now, states should have even done a lot better, (but) they haven’t, and then when you have cattle rustling, herdsmen and farmers’ conflict, you try to make it a national issue. But it is not really a national issue,” he said.
“For me, the herdsmen are entitled to be able to look after their animals but they are not entitled to destroy the crops of the rural farmers, it is unacceptable.”
