Again, Southern state governors, including those of Delta, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa; Benue, Samuel Ortom; Rivers, Nyesom Wike; and Ekiti, Dr Kayode Fayemi, on Friday, tackled the President Muhammadu Buhari over the order to review with dispatch 368 grazing sites in 25 states across the country.
Diverse southern groups, including Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere; Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohanaeze; and the Pan Niger Delta Forum, also launched a heavy pushback against the President’s order.
The Southern governors and groups expressed shock at the decision of the Federal Government to go ahead with the plan to review the establishment of grazing sites across the country despite the stiff opposition to it by the people of Southern Nigeria.
Seventeen southern governors, under the aegis of the Southern Governors’ Forum, had on May 11 met in Asaba, Delta State capital, to deliberate on the prevalent insecurity and other issues affecting the region.
In a 12-point communiqué after the meeting, dubbed the Asaba Declaration, the forum, chaired by Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), resolved that open grazing of cattle be banned across Southern Nigeria.
The governors said the incursion of armed herders and bandits into the southern part of the country had presented a severe security challenge such that citizens were no longer able to live their normal lives.
Hence, in their communiqué, they resolved that open grazing of cattle be banned across Southern Nigeria, decrying the increased killings and rape of women perpetrated by armed herdsmen in the region.
“Given this scenario, it becomes imperative to enforce the ban on open grazing in the South (including cattle movement to the South by foot),” the governors declared.
Southern Nigeria comprises the states of Ondo, Osun, Ekiti, Oyo, Ogun, Lagos, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Enugu, Imo, and Rivers.
Eight weeks after their meeting, the 17 state governors again met in Lagos on July 5 to reaffirm their stance on the Asaba Declaration after a wave of criticisms by the Presidency, Senate President Ahmad Lawan, and the Attorney General of the Federation/Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami.
However, unbothered by the southern governors’ opposition to the revival of old grazing routes or sites, President Buhari on Thursday approved the recommendations of a committee to review with dispatch 368 grazing sites in 25 states in the country to determine the levels of encroachment.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu, disclosed this in a statement titled, ‘President Buhari approves review of grazing reserves in 25 states.’
Buhari’s directive was after his approval of the recommendations of a committee chaired by his Chief of Staff, Prof Ibrahim Gambari.
Among others, the committee recommended the collection of field data on 368 grazing reserves across the 25 states to assess the level of encroachment and encroachers, stakeholder engagements, and sensitisation.
The committee also recommended the production of maps and geo-mapping/tagging of sites, analysis of findings and report preparation as well as the design of appropriate communication on grazing reserves and operations.
The number of the grazing reserves and states was deduced from considerations of existing security concerns and other pre-existing socioeconomic conditions.
The President directed that the assignment be undertaken with dispatch to bring more understanding to the grazing reserves and ensure their implementation.
The inaugural meeting of the committee was held on May 10.
However, the Chairman of the South-South Governors’ Forum and Delta State Governor, Okowa, resisted President Buhari’s decision and subtly reminded him that governors had the authority over the lands in their states.
Okowa, who spoke through the state Commissioner for Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu, said the state House of Assembly had already passed into law the anti-open grazing bill into law.
He said, “We are in a country of law and the law has given governors the control of land in their states. The governor is the one who gives the Certificate of Occupancy to every individual and allows them to have full ownership of the land.
“We are convinced that very soon, the Federal Government will begin to have a rethink, knowing well that it is not legal for Mr President to be the one to map out land in the states.”
Benue people ready to die than submit to cattle agenda –Ortom
Also, in a scathing remark on Friday, Benue State Governor, Ortom, stated that the Buhari regime had turned the country into a “cow republic.”
Ortom said with the latest move, it was crystal clear that President Buhari was planning to plunge the country into a crisis.
The governor, who likened the Buhari regime’s approach to security to the Taliban agenda in Afghanistan, said that the regime had placed more priority on the welfare of cattle than on the citizens.
Ortom, in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Terver Akase, said, “In a country where insecurity has reached an all-time high with hundreds being killed by armed herdsmen, bandits and other terrorists, the Presidency is only bothered about animals and their safety and is deploying all machinery and arsenals of government to impose grazing reserves and cattle routes on Nigerians. This is unacceptable!”
The governor added, “It is now clear that the Presidency wants to plunge the country into an avoidable crisis. Otherwise, what is the justification for President Buhari’s insistence that grazing reserves be established across the country when Nigerians have openly kicked against the policy and have embraced ranching in place of open grazing?”
Ortom stated that the President was only flogging a dead horse on the issue of grazing reserves, saying the people of Benue State were ready to lay down their lives to reject the programme.
He said, “What is the difference between the Buhari administration’s approach to insecurity and the Taliban agenda in Afghanistan? It is now evident that the government at the centre prioritises the welfare of cattle over human beings and is bent on taking Nigeria back to the pre-colonial era with some snippets of society.
“If President Buhari must actualise his cattle agenda in Benue State, he should be ready to kill all of us! We know that grazing reserves and cattle routes are the only projects that the President has for Nigeria, but Benue State is not interested in such a project.
“It is hypocritical for the Presidency to support and fund ranching in Katsina State and turn round to impose grazing reserves on other states,” Ortom added.
Also, Rivers State Governor, which passed the Anti-Open Grazing Bill into law on Thursday, said by the passage of the bill into law, its position on the Federal Government’s grazing sites was already clear.
“The position of the Rivers State Government is clear on this issue,” the state Commissioner for Information, Paulinus Nsirim, said.
Likewise, Ekiti State Governor, through its Commissioner for Information, Mr Akin Omole, said the state had yet to receive any official communication from the Federal Government on any subject relating to the review of grazing sites but stressed that the position of the law on who controls lands in states was clear.
“The position of the law is crucial in all things. What is the position of the law under the Land Use Act? What is the position of the Federal Government? We have to reconcile all these things,” Omole said.
Bayelsa State Governor, Mr Douye Diri, had also recently declared that there was no grazing route in the state and the entire Ijawland, describing cattle grazing route as a strange practice in the state.
“I personally do not know any cattle grazing route in Bayelsa State. I am not countering Mr President; maybe they have cattle grazing routes in the North, but here in Bayelsa State, we do not have cattle grazing routes,” he said, adding that the state House of Assembly already had in place anti-open grazing law, which had been assented to by him.
“So, the issue of cattle grazing route is strange to us in this part of Nigeria. Even when they started bringing cattle, they were bringing it for sale, not to graze. We were made to understand when we were young that cattle cannot survive in our area because of a particular insect called tsetse fly and our terrain,” Diri stated.
Meanwhile, the Ondo State Governor said he would await the details of the recommendations on the review of the grazing sites before reacting.
“We won’t react until details of the recommendations and other ancillary issues around the subject are made public. For now, it’s rather premature to react; it’s still fluid,” the state Commissioner for Information, Mr Donald Ojogo, who spoke on behalf of the governor, stated.
Majority of Nigerians against grazing sites, govt should backtrack –Afenifere
The Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, said it was shocked by the antics of the Federal Government regarding the issue of cattle rearing and open grazing, wondering why the Buhari regime had always been bent on giving privileges to herders.
Punch