Group to Empower 3,000 Victims of Herders, Farmers’ Clashes in Nasarawa

Igbawase Ukumba in Lafia

The Catholic Diocese of Makurdi’s Foundation for Justice, Development and Peace (FJDP) yesterday said it would empower about 3,000 victims of the herders/farmers clashes in Nasarawa State.

The Programme Manager of the FJDP, Mr. Valentine Kwaghchimin, disclosed this when he led a team from the group to Awe Local Government Area of Nasarawa State on enumeration exercise for the victims.

Kwaghchimin said: “We hope to empower 1,500 pastoralists, 1,500 farmers with livelihood means. Place them on good mentoring programme. We will look at their future, the future where their current generating incomes are no longer feasible, where even controlled grazing is no longer possible.

“The same thing with farming, what happens to climate change and other factors making it impossible for regular farming? We will develop rural skills for these populations hoping that they will utilised them and be able to bounce back.”

He declared that the group was in talking terms with the Nasarawa and Benue States Governments, hoping to be with the Taraba State Government to see that the states are able to create peace building agencies to take up community resilience programmes and not leave it to only NGOs, which are not sustainable.

“But with government taking the lead, this will be a sustainable project that will take care of the people in the future,” Kwaghchimin concluded.