Niger State Governor, Hon. Mohammed Umaru Bago, has commended the Etsu Nupe, Alh Yahaya Abubakar, for his sterling leadership qualities and for upholding the traditional institutions of not just the Nupe Kingdom but the state as a whole.
The governor stated this on Saturday during the 20th anniversary of the traditional ruler, which was held at the Wadata Palace in Bida.
He reiterated his administration's determination and commitment to providing the needed development to the state.
The governor called on the Etsu Nupe to continue to provide the needed advice that will help his government better the lives of its citizens.
While assuring that insecurity in the state will soon be a thing of the past, the governor warned criminals to repent or be crushed completely.
Earlier, the chairman of the occasion, former Military President Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, who was represented by the former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, said the celebrant has brought so much progress and development beyond Niger State and wished him continued good health and more wisdom to serve humanity.
In his keynote address, the former governor of Niger State, Dr. Mu'azu Babangida Aliyu, highlighted the achievements of Etsu Nupe in the last 20 years of his reign.
He then called on the government at all levels to strengthen the traditional institution, which he described as the custodian of good values.
The Etsu Nupe, Alh. Yahaya Abubakar, who is also the chairman of the Niger State Council of Traditional Rulers, expressed profound gratitude to God for a successful reign in the last 20 years and the cooperation, encouragement, and support he received from his subjects.
The monarch then urged the people to take advantage of the natural resources in the emirate and engage in agricultural activities, and he assured them of his unflinching support and better rulership.
Other speakers at the occasion were the Sultan of Sokoto, Alh. Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Dr. Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja ll, the Oba of Benin, Omo N'Oba N'Edo Uku Akpolopolo, represented by Edmund Daukoru, and the Amayanabo of Nembe Kingdom, among others.
They all congratulated Etsu Nupe, described him as a great leader, and called for continued prayers for all leaders and the peace of the nation.
The event also featured the coronation of five traditional title holders, including Chief Mrs. Folashade Mujidat Tinubu-Ojo, the daughter of President Tinubu, as Yar Jari Nupe, and Sen. Bima Muhammad Enagi as Dujuma Nupe.
Others are Dr. Abdullahi Abubakar Kuso as "Dan Wadata Nupe", Chief Mordecai Ladan as "Majiko Nupe" and Akanya Aliyu as "Magatakarda Raba Nupe".
The week-long event equally witnessed the presentation of the historic book of Nupe Kingdom from 1800 to 2023, which the Niger State Government launched with the sum of N10 million.
Commissioner for Nomadic and Pastoral Affairs in Niger State, Alhaji Umar Ahmed Rebe, has affirmed the ministry's readiness to bring an end to the incessant farmer-herder clashes in the state.
He stated that the ministry under his watch will ensure peaceful and harmonious coexistence among the farmers and herders, assuring that his ministry will put an end to the menace.
The commissioner, who spoke with journalists in an interview in his office on Friday, noted that the ministry was created by the present administration of Governor Umaru Mohammed Bago to bring all the nomads together and give them a sense of belonging.
According to him, the wisdom behind the creation of the ministry was aimed at bringing all the nomads and pastoralists in Niger State together to identify their problems and find a better way of solving them that will bring about lasting peace, security, and harmonious coexistence among the farmers and herders as well as the pastoralists.
He noted that the present administration was committed to bringing all the groups together to look inward and identify the problems of insecurity and other challenges bedeviling the Fulanis, stating that if these problems were identified, then the solution to their problems would not be difficult to solve.
According to Ahmed Rebe, the ministry was concerned about the causes of the problems bedeviling the good and cordial relationship that was known between the herders and farmers, stressing that it is only if the problem is identified that it will be solved once and for all.
"You cannot solve a problem without knowing the causes of that problem; by the time the causes of the problem are already identified, solving it will be so easy", he added.
He disclosed that he had already put in place a 30-member critical stakeholders committee to go out and embark on aggressive sensitization and awareness-raising to educate the herders in their various settlements across the twenty-five local government areas of the state on the need for them to know the wisdom behind the establishment of the ministry and to come on board to join hands with the governor.
This, he explained, will further cement the already existing mutual relationship between the herders and farmers in the state, adding that the committee will be held responsible if they fail to achieve the purpose behind setting up the committee.
He assured that the ministry, as part of its mandate, will soon solicit support from donor agencies, particularly the United Nations Children's Education Fund (UNICEF) and the National Mass Literacy Agency (NMLA), to assist in the renovation of some nomadic schools in the state for the enrolment of nomadic children who are of school age.
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