Seek urgent solutions to insecurity, Bishop Ogundipe tells FG

OGUNDIPEBishop of the Diocese of Ifo, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Right Reverend Nathaniel Oladejo Ogundipe, has called on the Federal Government to seek urgent solutions to the attacks by herdsmen in parts of the country.

He stated this in his charge at the third session of the third synod of the diocese, on Friday, which had as its theme: Total Commitment to God’s Service at the Cathedral Church of Holy Trinity, Oke-Nla, Ifo, Ogun State.

Lamenting the state of the attacks, which he said were on the rise, he said if immediate and concise efforts were not taken to address the situation, “herdsmen, who are deemed only less deadly than Boko Haram, ISIS or ISIL and al-Shabaab, may be Nigeria’s worst nightmare.”

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He highlighted various incidents of the attacks, stating that “Pastoralists-farmers’ conflicts in Nigeria have grown, spread and intensified over the past decade and pose a threat to national survival. Thousands of people have been killed, communities have been destroyed and so many farmers and pastoralists have lost their lives and property in an extended orgy of killings and destruction that is not only continuously destroying livelihoods, but also affecting national cohesion.

“Nigeria has about 19 million cattle and we need to seek solutions to the problem of pastoralism, while resolving the problem of insecurity that has arisen.”

While commending the Ogun State government in its efforts at infrastructural development, he called for more to be done for rural communities.