Abdulsalami Abubakar, former Military Head of State, says crisis between Fulani herdsmen and farmers in the past one year led to death of 2,500 persons and displacement of 62,000 people in Kaduna, Plateau, Nasarawa and Benue states.
Speaking in Minna, Niger State on Monday, the former Head of State also disclosed that Nigeria lost $13.7billion within the same period.
Urging the government to take steps in addressing the matter to forestall future reoccurrence, Abdusalami said the statistics were so alarming and disturbing.
He said: “The Federal Government loses $13.7billion annually as a result of farmers/herders conflicts in Benue, Kaduna, Nasarawa and Plateau states. On an average, these four states lost up to half (47 percent) of their internally generated revenue.
“The hidden causes of these conflicts on every sphere of our national life are enormous and it has been estimated that about 2,500 persons were killed nationwide in 2016 and this is why governments at all levels should put in place appropriate policies and responses that would guard against recurrence of such clashes between the two warring bodies across the country.
“The development should be a wake up call to all relevant stakeholders, states and federal government, legislatures, traditional rulers, civil society organizations, security agencies and communities on the need to address these deadly conflicts that are expanding gradually to other states in the federation. The current situation is threatening the fragile peace in the nation”.
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