Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom has slammed the Buhari government’s insistence on open grazing and cattle routes, saying they are ideas that were prevalent in the 1950s and no longer tenable in the 21st century.
‘We find the move not only shocking and curious but also as a misplaced priority,‘ he said.
The Buhari Presidency on Monday queried the legality of the ban on open grazing by governors in the entire southern part of the country.
Read Also: Grazing: Buhari’s Presidency Has Hidden Agenda – Ortom
It also dismissed the move as a ‘no solution’ to the farmers and herdsmen crisis.
Instead, in the statement signed by Presidential spokesman Garba Shehu, President Buhari was disclosed to have ‘commissioned and approved an actionable plan of rehabilitating grazing reserves in the States, starting with those that are truly committed to the solution and compliant with stated requirements.’
But Ortom ruled Benue out of the plan by the Federal Government, which will commence in June.
‘As it stands, the Presidency is the lone hand pushing for the continuation of open grazing and the return of cattle routes of 1950s and 60s.
‘The Presidency has, by its endorsement of open grazing, emboldened armed herders who lay claim to all lands in Nigeria as belonging to Fulani, hence their invasion of farming communities and killing of original owners of such lands.
‘The fact must be established that grazing reserves or cattle routes are no longer tenable in the 21st century when Nigeria’s population far exceeds that of the fifties at a time these routes were contemplated.
‘At present, the routes have been taken over by airports, roads, schools, hospitals, as well as markets, houses, and other human activities.
‘The country’s land mass has also reduced to less than 923 square kilometers with the excision of Bakassi to Cameroon. Besides, the international best practice of animal husbandry is ranching; and that’s the stand of Benue State.’
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
