Skip to main content

Food: Maku preaches peaches between farmers, herdsmen

FILE PHOTO: A herdsman in Nigeria

Former Minister of Information Labaran Maku has urged farmers, herdsmen and other Nigerians to embrace peace in order to achieve national food security.

Maku made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in his ancestral home, Wakama, Akun Development Area of Nasarawa State.

He advised them to shun violence no matter the level of provocation and unite in the interest of peace and national development.

Maku, a 2015 gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Nasarawa state, fielded questions on national stability and growth.

Maku, who is also the National Secretary of APGA, also urged herdsmen and farmers in the state to co-exist peacefully.

According to him, the persistent herdsmen/farmers crisis in the state is politically engineered to cause confusion along ethnoreligious lines.

“I want to congratulate Christians and Nigerians at Christmas and wish them prosperous New Year.

“Christmas season commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ who is the symbol of Christianity and there is no better way to celebrate the season than to demonstrate love, humility and generosity towards one another.

“As we celebrate, we must continue to extend hands of love and live as one big family irrespective of our background, and trust God for a better tomorrow and a greater country.

“Let all Christians and Nigerians at large to embrace the virtues of love, charity and peaceful co-existence that Christmas celebrations symbolize and use the season to reflect on the reason for the birth of Christ as well as developments in the country and keep hope alive.

“It is in view of this that I want to appeal to grazers and farmers and Nigerians at large to shun violence; violence could only end in the destruction of our lives and properties and hence the need for all of us to embrace peace.

“The problem of grazers and farmers in the state is politically engineered to cause confusion between tribe and religion so that the people will not be united to vote the people they want and those causing the confusion want to continue to be in power,” the former minister said.

“Whenever you see the masses killing each other, there is conspiracy at the top, hence the need for the people of Nasarawa state to shun divide and rule principle and be united to elect credible leaders for good governance,’’ he said.

Maku urged Nigerians to use the period of Christmas to continue to pray hard for the peace of the country, adding that no nation or country can achieve meaningful progress without peace.

Besides, the ex-minister urged Nigerians, especially youths, to be peaceful, law abiding, respect constituted authorities and be hard working.

He further urged Nigerians to continue to live in peace and tolerate one another irrespective of ethnic, religious and political affiliation for the overall development of the country.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Court grants Fani-Kayode N50m bail

Fani-kayode sandwiched by EFCC officials Justice James Tsoho of the Federal High Court Abuja on Thursday granted a N50m bail to former spokesman of the Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode. Fani-Kayode was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a five-count charge of money laundering to the tune of N26m. Fani-Kayode is the sole defendant in the fresh charges numbered, FHC/ABJ/CR/140/2016. The EFCC accused the defendant of diverting 26 million Naira allegedly received from the ONSA while Sambo Dasuki was in office. The anti-graft agency also accused him of handling the said N26 million without going through financial institution as required under the Money Laundering Act. The embattled former minister is already facing 17-count charge of money laundering before the Lagos Division of the court, along with a former Finance Minister; Nenadi Usman, Danjuma Yusuf and a firm; Joint Trust Dimension Nigeria Limited. They were charg...

Pope not involved in Colombian peace deal- Vatican

Pope Francis Pope Francis has turned down a request to play a role in the peace deal between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebel group. The Vatican in a statement issued on Wednesday in in Vatican City said that an invitation was sent to his Holiness in early August to appoint a representative to participate in the committee that selected the judges for the talks. The statement said that though Pope Francis supported the peace process, he, however, reiterated that he would not get involved in Colombian peace deal. It said that Pope was praying for the enlightenment of the hearts and minds of those who were called to promote the common good of the Colombian nation. A deal was announced last week, putting an end to five decades of internal conflict between government forces and the FARC rebels. The agreement, which needed to be ratified through a referendum in Oct. 2, would entail setting up a special court to grant amnesties or pu...

Fall of Assad is a Blow to Russia's Prestige

The potential fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a long-standing ally of Russia, would mark a turning point in Moscow’s global influence, particularly in the Middle East. Steve Rosenberg’s analysis underscores the profound implications for Russia, which has invested heavily—both militarily and politically—in ensuring Assad’s survival over the past decade. This article delves into why Assad’s downfall would strike at the core of Russian prestige and what it could mean for the broader geopolitical landscape. Russia's Strategic Commitment to Syria Since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Russia has been a staunch supporter of Assad's regime. In 2015, Moscow launched a military intervention that proved decisive in stabilizing Assad’s hold on power. This intervention solidified Russia's role as a key power broker in the Middle East and demonstrated its willingness to project military power far beyond its borders. Syria is not just an ally for Russia; it is a...