From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar, has warned the Federal Government to note that its monetary policy is causing untold hardship to Nigerians.
The monarch said Nigerians are angry and hungry, and urged the government and authorities concerned to urgently do something to douse the tension in the land.
He spoke at the National Conference on Livestock Reforms and Mitigation of Associated Conflict, hosted by the Kano State Government in Abuja, yesterday.
“Let’s keep politics aside. The issues of development, especially for the common man should be prioritised. These people that God Almighty gave leadership over, one day, God forbid, rise up (against us).
“After all these English by professors, how do we get these developments down to the common man who is a farmer, the common Fulani man who doesn’t know anything about development in his life, he only cares about cattle. I have been to Beune at least two times as Sultan to sit with governors and traditional rulers to discuss peace in the Benue valley. At the end of it, the suggestions, we throw them away. Nothing is done and we are back to square one. Let this conference not be in the same manner, let us do it and let us do well and now. The people are hungry – is there money? Akawi kudi? No cash? People are angry and hungry, let’s see how we can douse the tension,” he said.
In his keynote address, Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, identified climate change, weakness of state institutions and lack of infrastructure as factors fueling the increasing spate of farmers/herder clash in the country.