It's unfair to say Buhari condoning killer herdsmen -Presidency

The Presidency says it is unfair for anyone to
say President Mohammodu Buhari is condoning
the killings by Fulani Herdsmen in Benue and
other neighboring States.
President Buhari has been accused of keeping
silent and not intervening in killings allegedly
carried out by fulani herdsmen in some states
across the country.
The President on Tuesday in a statement by
Garba Sheu, his senior special assistant to the
president on media said he is conscious of his
duty to Nigerians, not least because he is held
accountable for everything that goes wrong.
He said Buhari deeply sympathizes with all
victims of the violence and is determined to bring
it to a permanent end.
“President Muhammadu Buhari has been
concerned about these conflicts each time he
received those very gruesome pictures of mayhem
from several parts of the country, especially as it
affected Benue and neighbouring states. He is
equally worried about some public
pronouncements and finger-pointing that are, in
most cases very unhelpful to peaceful coexistence
of our diverse peoples”.
“The President is conscious of his duty to
Nigerians, not least because he is held
accountable for everything that goes wrong. He
deeply sympathizes with the families and all the
other direct and indirect victims of this violence.
He is determined to bring it to a permanent end”.
“While there are many Nigerians who see the
conflict between the nomadic herdsmen and
peasant farmers as an ethnic problem, others
point to religious differences and agenda. The
President does not subscribe to such simplistic
reductionism”.
“President Buhari holds the view, as do many
experts, that these conflicts are more often than
not, as a result of major demographic changes in
Nigeria. When Nigeria attained independence, the
population of the country was estimated at about
63,000,000. Today the population is estimated at
close to 200,000,000; while the land size has not
changed and will not change. Urban sprawl and
development have simply reduced land area both
for peasant farming and cattle grazing”.
“It is therefore both unfair and unkind, for anyone
to keep insinuating that the President is
condoning the spate of killings in Benue and other
neighboring States”.
“President Buhari has publicly condemned the
violence at every turn. He is prepared to permit
every possible step that can lead to the stoppage
of the killings. It is on account of this he brushed
aside an opinion that the federal government
should challenge the constitutionality of the anti-
open grazing bill. He wanted to give a chance to
the State government to succeed in stopping the
senseless killings”.
“The killings must stop and the security agencies
have the President’s support to do this as quickly
as possible”.
“Whipping up hate may captivate the public and
score political points on social media, but it will
not bring an end to the crisis. Let every
stakeholder instead sit down with the government
and security forces and carry everyone along in
finding an all-embracing solution”.
“As a father, a military General and a statesman,
President Buhari has maintained lasting
relationships with Nigerians, Muslims and
Christians among every ethnic group. It is also a
known fact that the young people who trek the
whole distance of thousands of kilometers tending
the cattle do not own the cattle. In fact many of
the cattle are not owned by Fulanis or Muslims.
The point is that it is too simplistic to see the
conflict as ethnic or religious”.