Prince Charles to address Fulani cattle herdsmen saga during visit to Nigeria this week

BRITAIN'S Prince Charles intends to address the vexed issue of Fulani cattle herdsmen when he visits Nigeria later this week as part of an ongoing plan to enhance peace initiatives across the country.

Between November 6 and 8, Prince Charles will be visiting Nigeria, where among other things he and his wife Princess Camilla, will have an audience with President Muhammadu Buhari. According to Paul Arkwright, the British high commissioner to Nigeria, during the visit, Prince Charles would engage in peace-building activities, including addressing the persistent attacks of herdsmen on farming communities in Nigeria.

Mr Arkwright said that one of the events on the agenda was for Prince Charles to discuss practical solutions to alleviating the tension arising from the activities of herdsmen. Over recent years, herdsmen have launched deadly onslaughts on farming communities, raising concerns over the future of agriculture across the country.

“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. Prince Charles has not been here since the past 12 years as 2006 was the last time he was here and the Duchess of Cornwall, has never been to Nigeria, so it is about strengthening ties, particularly people-to-people ties.," Mr Arkwright added.

He stressed that addressing the root causes of conflicts would lead to a peaceful and more prosperous Nigeria and also become beneficial to the relations between the country and Britain. According to Mr Arkwright, the visit was also aimed at strengthening the existing ties between Nigeria and Britain as members of the Commonwealth.

Prince Charles, 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. His visit to Nigeria will include other events, focusing on culture, music and fashion, among others.

Mr Arkwright added: “We want to ensure that through the Commonwealth, which is another theme of the prince’s visit, we develop links to develop relationships whether in trade, environment or in education, all of which are important to the future of the Commonwealth and to the future of Nigeria. Prince Charles will be talking about rural livelihoods, agriculture, the environment, some of the passions that he has which is so relevant to Nigeria today and to young people and the importance of getting young people into jobs.

“One of his passions as well is how do we build the skills of young people so that they will be equipped for the world. There is a whole range of interests that he has and I think Nigeria is a wonderful place to come to because it brings together all of these interests.”

His wife Princess Camilla is also to engage in literary activities with children and some Nigerian authors. Prince Charles will also meet with traditional rulers and hold peace-building meeting with Nigerian youth ambassadors.