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.
