One year to the end of ex-President Muhammadu Buhari’s first term, the Nigerian leader had a one-on-one meeting with President Donald Trump at the Oval Office in the White House.
Looking
Buhari in the eye, the US President, who was also in his first term, had asked,
“Why are you killing Christians in Nigeria?”.
Buhari, who
was obviously taken unaware by the strange question, maintained his composure.
He allowed
his host, who also dabbled into other issues, complete his thought before
explaining that the long-running clashes between farmers and herders in Nigeria
were driven by cultural and environmental factors, not by religion or
ethnicity.
Buhari also
traced the free flow of arms and light weapons to the destabilisation of Libya,
which the US government has admitted was poorly handled by then Obama
administration.
“We
recognize the strong United States support in our fight against terrorism and
also appreciated very much the United States agreement to sell 12 Super Tucano
A-29 warplanes and weapons to Nigeria to effectively fight terrorism.”
“To contain
the spate of insurgency in Nigeria, the federal government has adopted a
multi-sectorial approach involving related government agencies to address the
socio-economic and political damages, while the armed forces of Nigeria assist
civil authority to provide security and maintain law and order.
As part of
efforts to address emergent cases of insurgency in the country, the Nigerian
military adopted — the Nigerian military adopted counterterrorism insurgency
approach, codenamed “Operation Safe Corridor,” to de-radicalize, rehabilitate,
and reintegrate willingly surrendered Boko Haram members into the larger
society.
The
government is taking necessary steps to promote the peaceful coexistence of
herdsmen and farmers by focusing on boosting security and enforcing legislation
that will guarantee borders and farmers’ access to land.
One year
into his second term, Buhari spoke about that encounter at a retreat in Aso
Rock.
“When I met
Trump in his office, it was just the two of us. He looked me in the face and
said, ‘Why are you killing Christians?’ I wondered how anyone would react to
that.
“I kept my
emotion under control and told him the truth — that the problem between herders
and farmers is older than me, not to talk of him,” Buhari recounted.
The former
president said he made it clear that the conflict stemmed from the traditional
movement of cattle rearers, population growth, and the effects of climate
change, not religious hostility.
“With
climate change and population growth, herders follow the routes to water points
regardless of whose farm it is. It’s a cultural problem, not a religious one,”
Buhari said.
Buhari told
his audience that he further explained to Trump how earlier Nigerian leaders
had established gazetted grazing routes to prevent such conflicts, but later
administrations allowed encroachment on the routes, worsening the crisis.
“The First
Republic leaders were the most responsible we ever had,” he said. “They used
limited resources to create earth dams and windmills for grazing areas. Any
herder who allowed his cattle to destroy farms was taken before a court and
made to pay compensation. But subsequent leaders encroached on those routes.”
The former
president said his explanation helped to correct the perception that violence
in Nigeria’s rural areas was targeted at any particular religious group.
“I believe I
was about the only African among the less developed countries invited. So, I
tried to make him understand that the crisis in Nigeria has historical roots,
not religious motives,”he said.
Buhari, who
served as president from 2015 to 2023, was among the few African leaders
invited to the White House by Trump during his administration.
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