The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, on Friday, urged the Federal Government to enact a law that would stop herdsmen and farmers’ clashes to avoid scarcity of foods in the country.
Adeyemi made the plea in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sideline of a courtesy call on him in Oyo by a delegation of Women in Maritime Africa (WIMAfrica), Nigerian Chapter.
“I have articulated this problem in the letter I wrote to President Muhammadu Buhari.
“If the situation is not controlled, there is tendency for us to have scarcity of food because the farmers will not do their work in an atmosphere devoid of freedom.
“The people in the cities depend on the farmers and the farmers have abandoned their farms because some of the herdsmen are carrying guns.
“There is no need for them to carry guns (AK 47) in Yoruba land because people in Yoruba areas are not cattle rustlers; they don’t steal cattle but is very important that government takes a holistic view to settle the matter,” the monarch said.
He claimed that some herdsmen molested some of the women due to the ammunition they were carrying, saying that after molesting them, they also killed their husbands.
“The herdsmen encroached the farm lands while their cattles destroy their farms.
“When farmers reacted, they started fighting them and before police could reach the place, they had killed a lot of farmers because they were armed.
“We have captured more than 14 herdsmen and handed them over to police and they are all facing court trials,” the first class traditional ruler said.
Adeyemi said that they had dialogue in 14 local government councils in Oyo including the Fulanis, which he said could speak and understand Yoruba language.
The traditional ruler however noted that presently, there is peace in Oyo as a result of continuous dialogue with the Fulanis.
He urged the federal government to look into the herdsmen/farmers’ crisis to avoid scarcity of food and for the protection of lives and property.
Adeyemi also pleaded that government should provide incentives for the traditional rulers to perform their statutory duties in their various domains.
