President Bola Tinubu has called for a fundamental shift in the approach to Nigeria’s longstanding farmer-herder conflicts, saying the challenge can be re-imagined as an opportunity to drive structured economic development, social stability and food security.

However, former presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP) in 2023, Peter Obi, drew a direct line between the country’s deepening security crisis and the entrenched poverty that afflicts millions of citizens, blaming successive governments for prioritising vanity projects over human development.

Speaking at the State House, yesterday, during a visit by Queen Mary of Denmark, Tinubu said the conflicts, often rooted in resource competition and traditional practices, could be transformed through targeted investment, modern agricultural practices and education.

“We can convert that friction into structured economic opportunity and provide education pathways, even for farmers and herders,” the President said. “We can stabilise communities, grow our food systems and lift millions out of poverty.”

He emphasised the role of the livestock and dairy economy in unlocking rural prosperity, adding that as Nigeria’s population continues to grow, the sector offers enormous potential for job creation, nutrition security and community development.

Queen Mary expressed sympathy over the humanitarian crisis in Nigeria’s North-East and said her visit aimed to deepen Denmark-Nigeria relations, particularly in sustainable development, child health, green technology and women-led business initiatives.

She also commended the First Lady’s Renewed Hope Initiative and announced plans to visit the A.P. Moller–Maersk terminal in Lagos. Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, while writing on his X handle, declared that security could not be achieved by force alone, but through intentional investments in education, healthcare, agriculture and poverty eradication, areas he described as “national security imperatives.”

He stated: “Every naira we invest in people today is one less bullet we need to fire tomorrow. That is the real meaning of security.” Citing shocking statistics, Obi reminded the nation that over 100 million Nigerians live in extreme poverty, with more than 140 million trapped in multidimensional poverty, a crisis he described as a “ticking time bomb” that no amount of military might could defuse.

He backed his argument by quoting the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen Christopher Musa, who recently admitted: “You cannot fight insecurity with bullets alone. You must address the root: poverty, unemployment, lack of education and injustice.”