Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika has explained that cattle colony which the federal government is proposing for Fulani herdsmen had always been in existence in different names.
“The question of cattle colony or grazing land or whatever name they are called is about the same thing really.”
The minister, who answered reporters’ questions in Abuja today, Wednesday recalled how he grew up in the hinterlands to meet what was then called cattle routes.
“We call them “burtali” in local language. This was established by the federal government in 1914. It was a designated routes where they (cattle) follow, feed, graze, drink water.
“When that one was available, there was no farmer/herdsmen clash because the routes were specific, identified and mapped and compensation was paid over time.”
Hadi Sirika said that because of development and increase in population, such routes were either captured or converted to farms.
He said that in mapping out cattle colonies, government will definitely have recourse to owners of farm lands and laws of the land. [myad]
