Pastor Emmanuel Effa, General Overseer and Senior Pastor, World Royal City Church, Zion Tabernacle and Towers, Keffi Road, Asokoro 2, has appealed to all Fulani Herdsmen to embrace ranches to reduce violence clashes.
Effa made the appeal at a special service to pray for the Nigerian Armed Forces and to reach out to the less privileged on Sunday in Abuja.
He called on the herdsmen to ask the Federal, States and Local Governments to provide land for ranches, adding that this would reduce the avoidable violence clashes being faced in the country.
The cleric, however, also urged the government to be more proactive and take measures on these issues and see how communities affected would be taken care of before it escalates into serious violence.
“Instead of government waiting for things to happen, for people to die before they move there, I think they should react more proactively.
“The government should begin to take measures to see how issues that are unsettling these communities will be taking care of and addressed before it escalates.
“Have they openly asked the state government to provide land for ranches for them? They should ask. Every herdsman should have a ranch.
“ We don’t want government to foot-drag because when people are angry they begin to misbehave,’’ he said.
He, however, noted that the crisis in the country was not just centred on the herdsmen.
According to Effa, there is a spirit of death released in the country, bearing different names.
“Today it is herdsmen, tomorrow it is Boko Haram; the next day it is Niger Delta militants. They have one denominator, which is the spirit of death.’’
He explained that the role of the military was to protect the lives and property of the Nigerian citizens and to curb random killing that was going on in some parts of the country.
Effa further noted that security and defence should be built in the heart of people.
He stressed the need to educate, enlighten and provide jobs for the people.
“We know that the role of the military primarily is protection of the lives of its citizen so we expect that the military should protect the life of the Nigerian citizen when matters like this come up.
“It is not the weapons that you have or how much you have invested in weapons but first of all educate the people, enlighten, provide jobs for the people,’’ the pastor said.
NAN
