Prince Charles to address farmers/herders clash during visit – UK Envoy

Prince Charles




The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Paul Arkwright, announced in Abuja on Sunday that Prince Charles would engage in peace-building activities, including addressing the persistent attacks of herdsmen on farming communities in Nigeria.

The Prince of Wales and his wife, Princess Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, are expected in Nigeria from November 6 to November 8 in a high profile visit during which the royals would also have audience with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa.

Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) ahead of the visit, Mr Arkwright said that one of the events on the agenda was for the prince to discuss practical solutions to alleviating the tensions, arising from the activities of herdsmen.

Herdsmen have launched a deadly onslaught on farming communities in Nigeria in recent years, raising concerns over the future of agriculture in a nation, having majority of its populace engaged in subsistence agriculture.

“People do want to come together and if we can provide that kind of environment then hopefully, we can come up with some ideas and solutions to resolving some of these conflicts.

“Some of the issues like the farmers/herders crisis are deep-rooted and are about the economy, land resource, climate change and cultural issues.

“The Prince of Wales will be looking at the causes, talking to people who are working in this area and together, seeing if we can find solutions and move on.”

Mr Arkwright said that addressing the root causes of conflicts would lead to a peaceful and more prosperous Nigeria and also become beneficial to the relations between Nigeria and Britain.

He noted that the visit was also aimed at strengthening the existing ties between Nigeria and Britain as members of the Commonwealth.

The prince, who took over as the Head of the 53-member Commonwealth of Nations last April, succeeding his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, has already visited 44 African nations.
Source: NAN