Nigeria’ grazing reserve law was established in 1965. This created an area, mainly in the north, for exclusive use of the Fulani nomads to graze their animals. It was the first attempt at incorporating the interest of the grazers into national development. The law protected herders against intimidation and deprivation by sedentary cultivators, cattle ranchers and commercial intruders. In the same year, the northern Nigerian government, as it were, domesticated the law in the region by incorporating a Fulani amenities proposal into the grazing reserve law to protect herdsmen who lived and carried out grazing activities at the mercies of farmers that made themselves lordliness of occupied and unoccupied land.
The Fulani amenities proposal was the article that suggested the establishment of grazing reserves. It had also called for the improvement of Fulani welfare and the transformation of their herd management system. Over 6.5 million hectares of forest reserve and 98 percent in the savannah was gazetted for that purpose. The area spanned from Sokoto, in the west, through to Bauchi, in the east, and then south to Ilorin, present day Kwara State. But an increasing population and development within the areas that were earlier marked as grazing reserves led to changes in grazing; from surpluses to subsistence and survival methods that brought to fore our unthinkable experiences of this day.
The reason, when we hear about Fulani attacks against farming communities in parts of Nigeria or other innocent citizens, it is not a battle of hate but that of survival, for their cattle over insufficient pasture. This scarcity means the Fulani’s now increasingly take their herd to forage further south, through towns and large villages as they traverse from north to south, roaming cattle, goats and sheep, sometimes scavenging playgrounds, school compounds, residential areas and national highways. In doing this, they intrude and cause traffic obstructions and in extreme cases, bring violence on farming communities when confronted in remote villages for trespassing on farm lands. There have been recurring clashes between herdsmen and farmers in the central Benue, Plateau, Nassarawa states and further south in Delta. It was reported that the late Obi of Ubuluku Akaeze Edward Ofulue III was kidnapped by Fulani herdsmen in Delta state. The suspects were said to have been traced to Fulani settlements in Adamawa and Sokoto states. Only last week, there were more attacks in the Agatu communities of Benue State where at least 300 villagers including women and children were savagely mowed down by assailants suspected to be Fulani herdsmen.
His pain and anguish was palpable as Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state spoke to journalists at the Aso Rock presidential villa after his talks on the carnage with President Muhammadu Buhari. Clashes and casualties could have been avoided if government had taken time to review and repeal laws in line with new boundary adjustments and demarcations in the 51 years since the grazing reserve law were established. When the law was established in 1965, Nigeria was a country with only four regions comprising the north, east, west and the mid-west. The population was also about 52 million. Few roads had been constructed at the time with less infrastructures and absence of new towns and settlements. There were also no plans to even relocate civil servants from Lagos to a new capital in the central region or present day Abuja. And I believe Abuja was probably part of that grazing belt region.
That is how far gone things have been. Of note is the role played by successive military governments in over 30 years of our development in downplaying and not visualizing the problems posed by herdsmen, whose lands in the north have become bare due to the encroaching Sahara desert, migrating further south. In their desperation to feed their livestock, herdsmen continue to encroach on farmlands, hence the clashes with farmers and their communities. Democracy didn’t bring much relief to the situation. Instead, politicians have taken advantage of the perennial clashes as a political tool to entrench their interests.
Politicians would be better served working with herdsmen to help organize them into groups or even cooperatives in the various regions and create grazing ranches instead of wooing them through their associations for selfish agendas. This is a major reason various administrations are now arm twisted and unable to wield the big stick in instances where lives have been lost due to savage attacks on farming communities. Without mapping out modern cattle rearing routes or grazing areas to curb these clashes that have now taken on a national face and increasingly polarizing the country along ethnic, regional and religious divide, the farmer – herdsmen clashes is keg of gunpowder waiting to be ignited..
President Buhari is trying to douse the tension, especially after the Agatu incident, and also work to reduce the casualties because of these clashes. Agriculture Minister Audu Ogbeh announced the government’s plans to import grasses from Brazil for use to produce hectares of grassplots for grazing. But he did not say where they will be planted, even though the imported forage will arrive in three months. He did not disclose at how much it will cost task payers to import these grasses or when the bidding for the procurements was done in line with the change agenda of the administration.
Apart from laws establishing grazing reserves, the scheme has been a drain pipe on tax payers over the years. Billions of naira has been appropriated at different intervals to develop grazing routes and reserves whenever these clashes between herdsmen and farmers threaten to bubble over. In 2008 and 2009, 415 reserves were said to have been revived with additional 15, 000 cattle route of 4000 kilometers to curb incursions into farmlands. It was the same period that 57 billion naira was also appropriated for an agricultural land mapping project. Maybe the Fulani herdsmen can tell us how they benefitted from these projects. But I doubt they did.
However, except for politics these people need not to be spoon fed in this age and time instead their excesses should be treated and curtailed according to the law. A country that is in need of investors in the agricultural sector and wants to add value to its produce should not be breeding or pampering cold blooded assassins who kill in the course of providing for their cattle. It should instead introduce them to ranching and encourage them to build ranches. After all their ventures are private and commercial initiatives. Nigeria is not a communist neither a socialist country where the state owns and supervise the production circle be it agriculture or industrial.
The federal government needs to also punish those perpetrating heinous crimes against their own people. The government also needs to further investigate and fish out the aliens amongst them, directing appropriate government agencies to arrest and detain for the purpose of repatriating those who are not Nigerians as alleged by Ogbeh and at other time the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase. Though, the Fulanis could be good brides at election seasons they should not be seen to be above the law. If it is a crime for an average Nigerian citizen to move around publicly with weapons-arms and ammunition, then the Fulani nomads should not be allowed to roam about in our towns, villages and hamlets with weapons especially the unregistered. Nigeria signed the charter on the non-proliferation of small arms at various times even at the AU, we have to abide by its protocol in the West African sub region. There have been enough carnage already it is therefore time to halt these bloodbaths to allow our country grow in all aspects of human endeavors with the arrival of change.
The inaugural lecture of Centre for Financial Journalism has been scheduled to hold on March 17 by 11am at The Civic Centre, Ozumba Mbadiwe Road, Victoria Island, Lagos.
According to Mr. Ray Echebiri, founder and CEO of the Centre, the inaugural lecture marks the formal commencement of activities of the Centre, which will focus on training of journalists in the country on financial journalism, and research.
The inaugural lecture which will be delivered by erudite Economist, Professor, Akpan Hogan Ekpo, Director-General of West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management and former Vice-Chancellor of University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, is entitled Steering Nigeria Out of Economic Turbulence – Policy Choices for Buhari’s Administration. The lecture will be chaired by Professor Pat Utomi, Director, Lagos Business School, while the Executive Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, will be the Special Guest of Honour.
Prof. Ekpo’s lecture will be discussed by Mr. Femi Awoyemi, Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and CEO of Proshare Nigeria, and Mr. Tilewa Adebajo, an economic expert and CEO of The CFG Advisory.
CFJ Nigeria was established to provide specialised training programmes in financial journalism with a view to addressing the knowledge and skills gap in the practice of the trade; and to conduct research on financial journalism, business, the economy, banking and finance.
The Centre is governed at the board level by eminent Nigerians, with Mr. Ernest Ebi, former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria as Chairman. The faculty is populated by some of the best brains in Journalism, Finance and Banking, Economics, Law, Development and Politics, who will be bringing their expertise and wealth of experience to bear on the offerings of the Centre. [myad]
Riding on the success of its maiden edition held last year, Connect Marketing Services has unveiled plans for the 2016 edition of Nigeria’s biggest tech event – TechPlus.
According to the organisers, the 2016 Techplus event is billed to hold from July 21 to 23 at the Eko Hotels Conference Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria. The theme for this year is ‘A Connected World’.
In its second year, Techplus is a gathering of everything technology, providing a robust tripartite tech experience through its conference, exhibition and gaming structures whilst serving as a platform for knowledge sharing, networking and marketplace for consumers and businesses.
Convening over 6,000 techy and non-techy participants with 30 other speakers and panelists at its 2015 edition, Techplus has positioned itself as the premier and most authoritative tech gathering in Nigeria. The maiden edition of the event also saw the display of hi-tech innovations and gaming solutions, recording over 1,096 gamers.
In a statement published on the event website – www.techplus.ng- the 2016 edition of the event will provide an avenue to advance technological discourse, ideas, displays and networks in and around Nigeria.
“TechplusConference and Expo is a place where new technology comes to life, new products are launched and innovations converge, providing manufacturers, concept generators, software and hardware companies, content developers a platform to bring their products and services to life.”
The event is primed as the “main platform for innovations and new products to be introduced to consumers and businesses.”
Relating the plans for Techplus 2016, Executive Director, Connect Marketing, Kazeem Abimbola, noted that the event will capture emerging realities of global technological revolutions and how Nigeria can benefit from such.
“We are excited to announce the 2016 edition of Techplus Nigeria – the leading convergence of everything tech in Nigeria. This year, we will showcase more of Africa’s technological innovations that will advance both the human and social development of the country.Ultimately, this will yield value for both customers and businesses. This year, the event will include a Hackathon and a Pitch Event”
Techplus 2016 is billed to hold from 21st to 23rd July at the Eko Hotels Conference Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria. Interested participants can pre-register atwww.techplus.ng.
Interested brands can visit www.techplus.ngfor sponsorship and partnership opportunities.
You can also connect with the event on major social media platforms via @techplusngand join the conversation of ‘A Connected World’ via the official event hashtag #TechPlus2016. [myad]
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Muhammad Musa Bello has threatened to retrieve all government landed properties that were illegally encroached upon by individuals and corporate bodies with a view to returning same to the government.
The minister, who spoke during an unscheduled visit to the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) Dump Site in Gosa, Sewer Treatment Plant, Wupa and the proposed Waste Transfer Station at Mpape over the weekend insisted that such lands would be put for their original uses in line with the Abuja Master Plan.
“Any government property or government land encroached in Abuja will be taken back and given to the government and that is the easiest of our jobs because it’s government that gives people land.
“If somebody encroaches on government land, it’s very easy for government to take back its land because nobody can take government’s land and get away with it.”
FCT, The minister said that all the departments of the Abuja Environmental Protection Board would be strengthened to ensure that liquid and solid wastes are well managed and disposed off.
According to him, the strengthening will involve some massive staff changes so that the Board would be geared towards doing what needs to be done, adding: “it will also include the rehabilitation of existing facilities and as a matter of fact, even creation of new ones because the city is growing at a very fast pace and it is obvious that our facilities for cleaning the city have lagged very much behind.”
He said that the small office block at the proposed Waste Transfer Station is obviously not enough to serve as a sorting centre for the entire city, stressing: “this facility here can however take care of waste management in the Maitama District since its closer to the place.” [myad]
Economists have long found Nigeria to be something of a conundrum. The macro picture has always appeared compelling – large population, oil reserves, mineral reserves, endless tracts of arable land, land and sea borders for regional domination. Indeed the absurdity of our underperformance is only surpassed by our ability to accurately quantify our losses and missed opportunities.
In the short period that I have been privileged to serve as Minister of Finance, I have observed that even the most basic systems and controls over the management of our resources are in dire need of strengthening. While we are regaled with and shocked by details of amounts stolen, diverted or wasted, we must face the cold reality that such acts are facilitated by weaknesses in our systems. Even if we successfully prosecute and jail every looter, ghost worker and other economic saboteur, there is every risk that those caught will only be replaced by persons who are just as bad, or worse – unless we radically strengthen our systems and institutions.
Our President’s brave and committed fight against corruption and waste is as much an economic crusade as it is a moral one. The objective is not just to stem the corruption and loss but to execute an economic plan to channel those monies into much needed areas that will support and reposition the economy. In short, the fight against corruption is not about “retribution” and meting out punishment, it is about releasing funds for our economy. I am humbled to be part of the ongoing work on recovery and can report that the urgency in the work, especially our interface with nations where our money has been stashed, is propelled by our need for funds to invest into our economy.
Our economic plans are not about austerity and frugality; if that were the case then we would not be attempting an expansionary budget. We could have pursued fiscal consolidation and maintained 2015 budget size, and then introduced severe public spending cuts to balance the books by laying off workers and cutting projects. Had we done so, we would by now be the darling of the IMF and other multi-laterals.
Conversely, we are undertaking an ambitious counter cyclical strategy to stimulate our sluggish economy and expanding government spending with a focus on infrastructure, the true catalyst for economic growth. This will have contractors returning to site and re-engaging workers, it will see new projects commencing, arrears released and economic activity reinvigorated across the nation. We plan to take advantage of low global prices for commodities and contract prices. Existing contracts are being renegotiated downwards, with significant savings recorded and new projects priced to reflect current commercial realities. Our spending stimulus is private sector driven, supported by a robust procurement system that will see permanent local capacity built in a number of sectors including oil and gas, housing construction and agriculture. However, and this is the key differentiator, we plan to spend in a disciplined manner that will extract the maximum value for every naira spent.
The process of building the internal control framework to support this need for disciplined spending has begun in earnest. Our Efficiency Unit has reviewed four years of detailed expenditure data to identify trends and is already negotiating volume discounts that appropriately reflect the buying power of government. Personnel remains our largest cost. In addition to the BVN driven cleaning of our payrolls that has so far removed 23,000 fraudulent entries, we have initiated significantly stronger controls over our payroll. These efforts will exert a constant downward pressure on personnel costs until such a time as we have assurance that every payment is accurate and valid. A similar process is now commencing in Pensions. The N160 Billion spent monthly on personnel and pensions related costs demands this as an absolute minimum.
The revenue focus is non oil. We are revisiting historical decisions that are no longer in the best interests of the national economy. The establishment of various Boards and Parastatals to undertake the operational and revenue generating business of government was a well-intentioned attempt to provide separation from policy makers. However, as the economy has grown, so too has the revenue earned in these agencies and their financial autonomy has grown in a manner that no longer fully serves the public interest. Port charges, maritime charges, airport landing fees, visa charges, passport charges, telecoms licence fees, among many others, must be tracked and accounted for. While the Fiscal Responsibility Act was designed to provide control, actual compliance has been poor. The result has been leakage on a staggering scale, as findings from our ongoing audits suggest. This is a serious issue. The upside is a significant revenue opportunity which the TSA implementation has given us sight of, and which we are supporting with a proactive drive for improved accountability.
At the same time, our traditional revenue sources are being supported to be more effective. In Customs, we are making the necessary investments in container scanners and other equipment required to improve collection efficiency. This is combined with the results of a compensation survey which will see the introduction of performance related pay, to reduce corruption and create an alignment of interest that will enhance revenue generation. With FIRS there is a well-defined plan to enhance compliance by widening the tax net. Using data to drive tax compliance, we will ensure that the tax regime is efficiently administered and that everyone pays their fair share.
There is a need for disciplined and effective system of managing our financial resources to ensure maximum value. We will no longer measure performance by the size of our budget or the amount disbursed; we must measure by the impact of that expenditure on the lives of Nigerians. To measure and manage this we have already made some key changes in the way funds are released. We have abandoned the old system of capital releases that funnelled a proportional share of available funds released to each Ministry, Department and Agency. We have a robust system in place where funds are tied to specific outcomes as documented by each agency. This is being supported by follow up reviews to ensure implementation.
As Benjamin Disraeli once said, “We are not creatures of circumstance; we are creators of circumstance.” I am firmly convinced that Nigeria is on the right path. The path of discipline will confront some age old destructive habits. It will challenge some unwritten rules, and I personally will step on some highly placed toes on this journey. All this I am fully prepared for, and so I do not expect nor do I particularly want to be popular.
However, I will act in the best interest of all Nigerians to ensure that we build the economy that we desire and richly deserve.
Kemi Adeosun is Nigeria’s current minister of finance. [myad]
Diabetes patients in Nigeria will now have a deep sigh of relief following the production and introduction of a new vaccine that could now cure the disease. The vaccine known as Insulin Pump could be effectively used for about 40 years by any patient.
The new vaccine was produced in 2013 in the USA and is now being used by thousands of people in the USA and across Africa especially in Nigeria.
A medical expert Dr. Hassan Bashir Jibril who is the Medical Director of the newly established Pinecastle Hospital in Gwarimpa Abuja for the diabetes patients in Nigeria said he relocated not too long ago in order to help towards stemming the disease in Nigeria.
He recalled that with the over one million diabetes patients particularly in Nigeria the Pinecastle Hospital will play a major role in the control of the disease at all levels just like it was done in the USA recently when the vaccine emerged.
Analyzing the immense benefits of the Insulin Pump, Dr. Hassan recalled that it will help its users in controlling the levels of their blood no matter the type of food they eat apart from being an effective weapon to fight all the complications associated with the diabetes disease such as diabetes blindness, gangrene, impotence, kidney failure, stroke, loss of sensation, heart ailments and weakness of the body.
Others are dehydration, open wounds, excessive fats, loss of memory, excessive sweat and general body pains which he said are usually discovered after thorough medical check-ups to diagnose patients properly.
According to Dr. Hassan users of the device could control their blood sugar levels automatically it either goes up or down to about 100 which he described as a serious issue and that this situation could be rectified through the use of the Insulin Pump regularly.
The medical expert therefore advised that patients should make use of the opportunities offered at the new Pinecastle Hospital to ascertain their status as many people were yet to be diagnosed properly.
Pinecastle Hospital which is known as Pinecastle Medtronic Centre for Africa is strategically located at No. 15 Fourteen Road, First Avenue, Gwarimpa in the heart of the FCT. It is centrally located and easily accessible to both motorists and other commuters. Its charges are very moderate with a human face since its management is determined to serve the community and humanity. [myad]
Police in Lagos have arrested the contractor responsible for the collapsed building in Lagos. The state government had earlier ordered that the contractor be arrested even as it expressed its condolences over the death of construction site workers who lost their lives as a result of the collapse of a five-storey building under construction on Kushenla Road, Ikate Elegushi, Lekki. In a statement today by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Steve Ayorinde, the State Government also announced that based on preliminary reports and investigation, it was discovered that the collapsed building was served contravention notice for exceeding the approved floors and thereafter sealed by the Lagos State Building Control Agency. It added that it has also been discovered that in a brazen act of defiance and impunity, the owners of the building, Messrs Lekki Worldwide Estate Limited, the promoters of Lekki Gardens, criminally unsealed the property and continued building beyond the approved floors until the unfortunate incident of Tuesday, which has led to loss of lives. The statement added that arising from the Lagos State Executive Council meeting decision today, the State Government will no longer tolerate the action of unscrupulous owners and builders who challenge its supervisory control, thereby endangering the lives of Lagosians. The State Government has consequently directed the suspension of work at the site and ordered the Lagos State Police Command to cordon it off as it is now a crime scene. The government also directed further integrity tests be carried out on every other construction project, which has or is currently being handled by Messrs Lekki Worldwide Estate Limited in the interest of public safety. The statement quoted the Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, as saying that all directors of Lekki Worldwide Estate Limited are strongly advised to submit themselves to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police within the next 24 hours in their own interest or face immediate arrest. The statement also commended the timely response and remarkable intervention by the combined men of the Lagos State Emergency Authority, the Lagos State Fire Service, Lagos State Ambulance Service, Red Cross, National Emergency Agency, Lagos State Building Control Agency and the Rapid Response Squad. The Lagos State Government also warned that it will no longer be business as usual, stating that any developer either on existing or new building projects who fails to comply with building and construction regulations or attempts to subvert the law will henceforth face criminal prosecution.
The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) has put the death toll from the collapsed building at 34.
“As we speak, we have been able to rescue 13 people alive, and unfortunately, 34 others have been brought out dead,” said Michael Akindele, general manager of LASEMA.”
In response to the collapse, the Standard Organization (SON) inspected the site where the building collapsed in addition to other buildings in the area.
“You need to also see that the right professionals handled the building project. If you use the best materials without the right professionals handling the materials, things will still go wrong,” said Bede Obayi, the SON Director of Inspectorate and Complaint.
“If you want to build, you must look for a professional. We are going to investigate all the structures and materials in this environment,” Mr. Obayi said. [myad]
Benue state governor, Samuel Ortom has admitted that his government is overwhelmed by the hihg level of attacks launched on some communities allegedly by Fulani herdsmen. The governor, who had a close door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja today, said he was seeking for intervention of the federal government. Speaking to newsmen shortly after his meeting with the President, along with his Plateau and Bauchi state counterparts, Ortom said that it is too much for his government to contain the attacks and the high level of insecurity it generated. He commended the prompt response of the President to his cry of Save-Our-Soul by despatching extra security forces, including the army to the areas most affected by the crisis, especially, Agatu. [myad]
The federal government has offered automatic employment to the two children of the late minister of state for Labour and Employment, James Ocholi, who died in a road crash on Sunday along Kaduna-Abuja road. The government also announced a scholarship to the other two of his children up to university level.. The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal made these known today when he apoke to newsmen at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, shortly after President Muhammadu Buhari held a valedictory session of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in honour of late Ocholi. The session was attended by the members of the federal cabinet, including Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, the SGF, Head of the nation’s civil servant, the chief of staff to the President, the National Security Adviser (NSA) and ministers. Babachir, who briefed newsmen along with information minister, Lai Mohammed and finance minister, Kemi Adeosun, said that the government has undertaken to take care of his burial. According to him the remains of Ocholi would leave the National Hospital on March 17 for his hometown in Dekina, Kogi State; while the interment would be on March 18. Babachir said that the report of the accident that killed Ocholi, his wife and a son was read at the FEC meeting by the chairman of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Corps Marshall Boboye Oyeyemi. Oyeyemi said that the investigation team discovered that overspeeding led to the accident which also showed that Ocholi’s driver had no licence. He said that it was also discovered that the late minister, his wife and the son were not on safety seat belts, adding that the ill-fated vehicle had no walkie-talkie otherwise known as a handheld transceiver. The FRSC boss said that it was also found out that the tyres of the ill-fated SUV were not properly fixed and had no properly alignment. The FRSC helmsman added that all MDAs cars were not properly registered. President Buhari as well as the Ministers of Labour, Agriculture, Water Resources, State for Health, State for Niger Delta, State for Foreign Affairs paid glowing tributes to the late minister. The ministers and other cabinet members later drove in a costa bus to the residence of the late minister to condole his family. [myad]
This is coming on the heels of the political crisis rocking the State House of Assembly. Members of the House of Representatives have also nullified the impeachment of the Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Hon. Momoh Lawal, by five lawmakers. The lawmakers described the action of the five lawmakers as embarrassing to the institution of legislature. The House decision was sequel to the adoption of the report of the Hon. Pally Iriase-led Ad hoc Committee that was mandated to investigate the matter. The report was presented today to the Committee of the Whole House, chaired by the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Yussuff Lasun. [myad]
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The inaugural lecture of Centre for Financial Journalism has been scheduled to hold on March 17 by 11am at The Civic Centre, Ozumba Mbadiwe Road, Victoria Island, Lagos.![TECH+ Conference Session[2][2]](https://greenbreporters.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/TECH-Conference-Session22.jpg)
Politics Of Grazing Reserves And Imported Brazilian Grass, By Moses Okpogode
The Fulani amenities proposal was the article that suggested the establishment of grazing reserves. It had also called for the improvement of Fulani welfare and the transformation of their herd management system. Over 6.5 million hectares of forest reserve and 98 percent in the savannah was gazetted for that purpose. The area spanned from Sokoto, in the west, through to Bauchi, in the east, and then south to Ilorin, present day Kwara State. But an increasing population and development within the areas that were earlier marked as grazing reserves led to changes in grazing; from surpluses to subsistence and survival methods that brought to fore our unthinkable experiences of this day.
The reason, when we hear about Fulani attacks against farming communities in parts of Nigeria or other innocent citizens, it is not a battle of hate but that of survival, for their cattle over insufficient pasture. This scarcity means the Fulani’s now increasingly take their herd to forage further south, through towns and large villages as they traverse from north to south, roaming cattle, goats and sheep, sometimes scavenging playgrounds, school compounds, residential areas and national highways. In doing this, they intrude and cause traffic obstructions and in extreme cases, bring violence on farming communities when confronted in remote villages for trespassing on farm lands. There have been recurring clashes between herdsmen and farmers in the central Benue, Plateau, Nassarawa states and further south in Delta. It was reported that the late Obi of Ubuluku Akaeze Edward Ofulue III was kidnapped by Fulani herdsmen in Delta state. The suspects were said to have been traced to Fulani settlements in Adamawa and Sokoto states. Only last week, there were more attacks in the Agatu communities of Benue State where at least 300 villagers including women and children were savagely mowed down by assailants suspected to be Fulani herdsmen.
His pain and anguish was palpable as Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state spoke to journalists at the Aso Rock presidential villa after his talks on the carnage with President Muhammadu Buhari. Clashes and casualties could have been avoided if government had taken time to review and repeal laws in line with new boundary adjustments and demarcations in the 51 years since the grazing reserve law were established. When the law was established in 1965, Nigeria was a country with only four regions comprising the north, east, west and the mid-west. The population was also about 52 million. Few roads had been constructed at the time with less infrastructures and absence of new towns and settlements. There were also no plans to even relocate civil servants from Lagos to a new capital in the central region or present day Abuja. And I believe Abuja was probably part of that grazing belt region.
That is how far gone things have been. Of note is the role played by successive military governments in over 30 years of our development in downplaying and not visualizing the problems posed by herdsmen, whose lands in the north have become bare due to the encroaching Sahara desert, migrating further south. In their desperation to feed their livestock, herdsmen continue to encroach on farmlands, hence the clashes with farmers and their communities. Democracy didn’t bring much relief to the situation. Instead, politicians have taken advantage of the perennial clashes as a political tool to entrench their interests.
Politicians would be better served working with herdsmen to help organize them into groups or even cooperatives in the various regions and create grazing ranches instead of wooing them through their associations for selfish agendas. This is a major reason various administrations are now arm twisted and unable to wield the big stick in instances where lives have been lost due to savage attacks on farming communities. Without mapping out modern cattle rearing routes or grazing areas to curb these clashes that have now taken on a national face and increasingly polarizing the country along ethnic, regional and religious divide, the farmer – herdsmen clashes is keg of gunpowder waiting to be ignited..
President Buhari is trying to douse the tension, especially after the Agatu incident, and also work to reduce the casualties because of these clashes. Agriculture Minister Audu Ogbeh announced the government’s plans to import grasses from Brazil for use to produce hectares of grassplots for grazing. But he did not say where they will be planted, even though the imported forage will arrive in three months. He did not disclose at how much it will cost task payers to import these grasses or when the bidding for the procurements was done in line with the change agenda of the administration.
Apart from laws establishing grazing reserves, the scheme has been a drain pipe on tax payers over the years. Billions of naira has been appropriated at different intervals to develop grazing routes and reserves whenever these clashes between herdsmen and farmers threaten to bubble over. In 2008 and 2009, 415 reserves were said to have been revived with additional 15, 000 cattle route of 4000 kilometers to curb incursions into farmlands. It was the same period that 57 billion naira was also appropriated for an agricultural land mapping project. Maybe the Fulani herdsmen can tell us how they benefitted from these projects. But I doubt they did.
However, except for politics these people need not to be spoon fed in this age and time instead their excesses should be treated and curtailed according to the law. A country that is in need of investors in the agricultural sector and wants to add value to its produce should not be breeding or pampering cold blooded assassins who kill in the course of providing for their cattle. It should instead introduce them to ranching and encourage them to build ranches. After all their ventures are private and commercial initiatives. Nigeria is not a communist neither a socialist country where the state owns and supervise the production circle be it agriculture or industrial.
The federal government needs to also punish those perpetrating heinous crimes against their own people. The government also needs to further investigate and fish out the aliens amongst them, directing appropriate government agencies to arrest and detain for the purpose of repatriating those who are not Nigerians as alleged by Ogbeh and at other time the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase. Though, the Fulanis could be good brides at election seasons they should not be seen to be above the law. If it is a crime for an average Nigerian citizen to move around publicly with weapons-arms and ammunition, then the Fulani nomads should not be allowed to roam about in our towns, villages and hamlets with weapons especially the unregistered. Nigeria signed the charter on the non-proliferation of small arms at various times even at the AU, we have to abide by its protocol in the West African sub region. There have been enough carnage already it is therefore time to halt these bloodbaths to allow our country grow in all aspects of human endeavors with the arrival of change.
@Twitter: @MOkoogode. [myad]