Leadership deficit reason for herdsmen/farmers crisis —Pastor Bakare

General overseer of The Citadel Global Community Church, formerly known as Latter Rain Assembly, Pastor Tunde Bakare on Thursday lamented that a deficit of leadership in Nigeria is responsible for recent crises that has bedeviled the nation.

Bakare who was speaking on Arise Television during an interview was reacting to the recent crisis in Oyo and Ogun states, where an activist, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly called Sunday Igboho issued quit notices to herders in the South-West to leave the region.

He also led people to Igangan in Oyo State and Yelwa in Ogun state where they chased away herdsmen in the areas, burning property of the settlers in those places.

Igboho said his actions were informed by the kidnapping, killings and destruction of farms which he said were traced to the herdsmen.

But in his reaction of Thursday, Bakare, who has declared his intention to run for Nigeria’s presidency in 2023, called on Igboho to tread carefully so as not to overheat the polity.

The cleric stated that Igboho’s actions were as a result of leadership deficit in the South-West part of the country, as well as around the nation, as those in places of authority have been unable to address the insecurity situation plaguing the country.

He noted that the action of Igboho, and his followers could tear the nation apart, if relatives of herdsmen in the nation also decide to retaliate against southerners living in the north.

While acknowledging that Igboho was fighting for his people whom he obviously loves, there is a need to act within the ambit of the law of the land.

He said, “We have lived with the Fulani and a they have lived with us for a long time. Violence does not do anybody any good”.

Bakare also lamented the practice of open grazing by herders, a practice he said has gone obsolete, and called on governments at all levels to end it.

“Open grazing is obsolete and needs to end, the nations of the earth have gone beyond this”, he stated.