By Dipo Olowookere
The United Nations has called on leaders in Africa, especially in Nigeria, to urgently take decisive steps to stop the incessant deadly clashes between cattle rearers and farmers.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr António Guterres, said the world body stands ready to support efforts to resolve the deadly clashes between the farmers and nomadic herders in areas of West and Central Africa.
In the statement issued by his spokesperson, the UN scribe expressed deep concern over the mounting violence, as well as the resulting banditry, extortion and cattle rustling.
Mr Guterres also condemned the “resulting loss of life, property and livelihoods, as well as population displacement, which undermines peaceful coexistence between communities in many of the affected countries.”
According to him, this action “is also detrimental to regional stability.”
The UN chief urged all concerned governments, regional organizations, civil society and other parties to work together to find solutions to the conflicts.
More than 80 people in central Nigeria were killed in land disputes between the two sides this week.
However, this has been a long-standing issue with similar incidents occurring in other countries in Africa, causing more than 1,000 deaths over the past year alone, according to media reports.
