EditorMIYETTI ALLAH, an association of Fulani cattle breeders/herders, has threatened to take governors of the Southern States of Nigeria to court for enacting anti-open grazing laws in their states.
The association has also appealed to the National Assembly to stop further passage of the anti-open grazing laws by Southern States.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelNational President of the association, Alhaji Bello Bodejo, who addressed a press conference in Abuja, on Tuesday said the law against open grazing being made by Southern Governors is against the culture of the Fulani pastoralists.
Speaking through the Secretary of the Association, Saleh Alhassan, he described the law against open grazing as ‘satanic’, and accused Southern governors of plotting to cripple the economic activities of the pastoralists, adding that the effort amounts to violation of the 1999 constitution and a threat to national security.
Bodejo expressed concerns that Fulani herders had become an endangered specie in Nigeria due to unnecessary negative profiling that had resulted in violence against the Fulani by local communities.
“The laws would undermine the relative peace and stability currently enjoyed by the local communities and threaten the social order. Additionally, it will exacerbate cattle rustling in the local communities as criminal gangs and state-sponsored vigilantes would use the opportunity to institutionalize their nefarious activities of cattle rustling.
“It would lead to serious humanitarian crisis as families would be destabilized and markets and economic livelihoods would be disrupted and the laws would lead to massive cross-border migrations that would create further security challenges.”
He called on President Buhari and the National Assembly to halt implementation of the law in the southern states, stressing that it hasn’t and will not solve the problem of herders/farmers crisis in Nigeria.
He said: “Benue State is a good example. Has there been peace in Benue state since the enactment and implementation of the law in the state? The state governor, Samuel Ortom, only succeeded in turning his people against Fulani Pastoralists and also using State sponsored militia groups to unleash terror on our people. We advise him too to withdraw the law and tender unreserved apology to our people.
“We want the National Assembly and Mr. President to intervene and stop current attempt by some state governors to criminalize our means of economic livelihood of cattle rearing through the enactment of satanic and obnoxious laws targeted at Fulani pastoralists.
“The Federal Government should, rather, create a Federal Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries as obtainable in many African countries. They should take inventory of all existing grazing reserve, traditional grazing areas, major stock routes and fully develop at least one grazing reserve in each senatorial zone in line with the recommendation of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Livestock Development in Nigeria 2015, the report of Presidential Committee on Pastoralists and Insecurity 2014 and the National Livestock Transformation Program.”
He explained that their decision to approach local and international court for a redress and justice to them was to forestall any crisis that might arise from implementation of the law.
He suggested a review of the Land Use Act to accommodate the interest of all land resource users particularly pastoralists, stating that ranching being envisaged by many as solution requires massive capital investment and difficult to sustain.
The group also demanded for resuscitation and passing into law, the Grazing Reserves Commission Bill and other livestock management bills that were initiated by the previous National Assembly sessions, and introduce livestock tracking using GPS technology and support community-based conflict resolution mechanisms.
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