National Economic Council (NEC) recently adopted ranching in four states as panacea for incessant herders/farmers clashes, however, there are indications that the report is short on specifics as ABDULRAHMAN ZAKARI’YAU highlights in this report
From grazing reserves to cattle colonies as well as ranching, all panaceas being canvassed to end the farmers/herders’ conflicts with their attendant fatalities. First, Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state, through the House of Assembly introduced the ban on open grazing, by enacting the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law last year. The law was stoutly resisted by Miyeti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACABAN) and since it came into being, Benue state has been reduced to a killing field.
On January 17, 2018, the National Economic Council (NEC) had set up a committee to proffer solutions to the incessant killings, especially in Benue and Taraba states. But before the committee even commenced sitting, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, said that NEC had recommended cattle colonies and that work on them will commence immediately.
Four months later, nothing has been heard of cattle colonies, even as NEC committee submitted its report last week.
NEC committee
On January 17, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo had set up a 10-man committee to address the widespread farmers/herders’ clashes across the country. The committee had nine governors as members and they include: Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano state; AbdulAzeez Yari of Zamfara state; Nasir El Rufai of Kaduna state as well as Jibrilla Bindow, the Adamawa state. Others are: Samuel Ortom of Benue state; Arch Darius Ishaku of state as well as Godwin Obaseki of Edo state; Simon Lalong of Plateau state, David Umahi of Ebonyi state and Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo state.
After the NEC meeting, Ganduje addressed the press and said that, ‘’the committee is expected to work in accordance with commensurate commitment to ensure that all perpetrators of violence are brought to book.’’ Specifically, Governor Umahi headed the committee.
Last week, NEC committee submitted its report and it recommended the adoption of ranching in some of the states that are most affected by farmers/herders’ clashes. The expressed hope that a sustainable solution to the conflicts will be found.
In particular, the states where ranching was recommended are Zamfara; Nasarawa; Adamawa; Taraba; and Benue. Specifically, the committee recommended that the state governments should allocate land for this purpose.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Publicity, Mr Laolu Akande, had clarified that the committee, however, neither discussed nor banned the movement of herdsmen.
In addition, Governor Umahi said that his committee visited five out of seven of the affected states: Zamfara; Nasarawa; Adamawa; Taraba; and Benue; in the course of their assignment. According to their findings, the root cause of the conflict is the struggle for scarce land and resources.
He further said that most of the killings, especially in Benue state, are being carried out by herdsmen from outside the country.
Cattle colonies
Before NEC’s recommendation, the federal government had mooted the idea of establishing cattle colonies as solutions to the incessant farmers/herders’ attacks but it was shot down by various stakeholders. Without consultation, Chief Ogbe had voiced government’s plans a day after the January 17 NEC meeting, to set up cattle colonies across the country.
The minister, who was on a working visit, spoke at the agriculture and veterinary complex of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Ogbe, without mincing words, had said work on cattle colonies will commence that week and that NEC had recommended their establishment.
According to him, “one of the most topical issues we have today is that of farmers and herdsmen clashes. If we do not deal with it quickly, we run the risk of damaging the harmony and the co-existence of Nigeria as a country. The killings are getting too many.’’
Before now, government had proffered certain solutions which didn’t take into cognizance the nature of Nigeria’s fragile sensitivities and suspicions, he confessed.
“When we spoke of colonies, we were immediately greeted with reactions that this was an attempt to seize Nigeria’s land and give to the Fulanis to colonise,’’ the minister recalled. Ogbeh reassured that the intention of creating colonies is not for Fulanis or anyone to colonise any territory in Nigeria.
According to him, the suggestion was aimed at providing ‘’a haven for cattle to graze in peace under controlled environments to prevent the conflicts between farmers and herdsmen.’’
Opposition against colonies
Significantly, mixed reactions greeted the idea of establishing cattle colonies. Significantly, most northern states welcomed the idea while states in the south rejected colonies in their domains. In the North-central zone, Taraba and Benue states were also against it but mixed reactions trailed the proposal in Kogi and plateau states. In particular, Governor Simeon Lalong of plateau state had welcomed the idea but a cross section of the people didn’t embrace it.
The colonies, according to Lalong, would check the clashes between herdsmen and farmers as the cattle would be restricted to particular areas which would reduce the chances of straying into farmlands. Specifically, he said that Plateau state will implement the programme instead of banning open grazing like Ortom did.
However, immediate past Governor of the state, Senator Jonah Jang, on the other hand, said that his constituents are opposed to the creation of the colonies. Jang in a press statement said that he had met with his people to gauge their feelings on the proposal. According to him, ‘’my people are against cattle colonies; they have said that they would not relinquish their ancestral lands for the purpose of grazing reserves or colonies.” In addition, the senator lamented the attacks on his people by gunmen suspected to be herdsmen over the years. For this reason, victims of such attacks were “not ready to accept the confiscation of their land by government,” Senator Jang further said.
According to him, Gov Lalong was speaking for himself when he promised to establish the cattle colonies. “We have already suffered too much loss in the hands of attackers believed to be herdsmen; creating colonies for them will only worsen the situation,” Jang had said.
Similarly, the Igalas from Kogi-east petitioned President Muhammadu Buhari kicking against Governor Bello’s decision to establish colonies in the state. Kogi-east comprising Ankpa; Bassa; Dekina; Ibaji; Idah; Igalamela/Odolu; Ofu; Olamaboro; and Omala; said they will not give land for cattle colonies.
In the petition, the President of the Igala Project, Mr Atayi Babs, and the Secretary-General, Malam Musa Haruna, said that such a move would lead to the breakdown of law and order, killings and wanton destruction of property.
According to the petitioners, Igalas who “are largely farmers, are not prepared to host Fulani herdsmen or cattle colony masters in our land.” They recalled that between June 2015 and December 2017, Igala land has witnessed several incidences of killings as a result of herdsmen’s violence in several areas, including Ebeje, where eight people were killed and farms set ablaze, at Agbada/Agojeju where 19 people were slaughtered and in Edede, two persons were killed.
A hollow policy
Apart from mere announcement, the federal government has not put anything on ground to suggest that it was ready for the colonies to take off. In fact, the policy had raised more questions than answers but it was high on good intentions. In a retreat organised for staff of his ministry, Ogbe, had lamented that the culture of pastoral nomadism is still being practised. According to him, “a culture must not be left because it is a culture. If it is harmful, we reform it. We are talking of cattle colonies, not ranches.”
However, the minister didn’t explain what the cattle colonies will entail, apart from bunching the animals and herders in one place. At that time, it was not clear if the proposed cattle colonies will have facilities such as schools, hospitals and markets. But Ogbeh promised that the programme was going to be cheap, revealing that 16 states had already given federal government land for the pilot scheme. Still, the minister didn’t mention the states. The minister also told the retreat that herders had warmed up to ranching as according to him, “in our interactions with the herdsmen, they always say that if we have water and grass, we will not move anywhere.”
Significantly, Ogbe’s claim flies in the face of realities on the ground as various Fulani associations had kicked against the idea.
Herders kick against ranching
In addition, Fulani herdsmen under the auspices of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore vowed not to accept cattle ranching. Precisely, the association had hinged its opposition on the fact that the country’s geographical location is not suitable for ranching. According to the herders, the anti-open grazing laws being established by state governments would die a natural death like ‘political sharia law’ in Zamfara.
Addressing journalists in Abuja on November 19, 2017, the Fulanis insisted that events in history showed that ranching is not practicable in Nigeria. The association’s National Secretary, Alhaji Sale Alhassan, called on the federal government to stop Benue and Taraba states from implementing anti-grazing laws.
According to him, the laws ‘’are nothing but populist agenda designed by visionless and desperate politicians to destroy our means of livelihood.” Alhaji Alhassan warned that “this dangerous gambit must be nipped in the bud by the federal government through the security agencies as it portends great danger to the cooperate existence of the country.’’
Miyetti Allah had also argued that the anti-grazing laws “are oppressive and negative and are fundamentally against our culture as Fulani pastoralists, against our economic interest and against the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The national secretary also went down memory lane, arguing that “the whole experiment of ranching in Nigeria has been a total failure,” adding that you can google it, it’s there on the Internet for everyone to see.’’
He recalled that, “right from the 70s, the old Gongola state had experimented on ranching, the same with Kaduna state and even the old Plateau state. All the ranches collapsed because the geographical location of this country is not suitable for ranching.’’
Alhassan further said that, “in places where there is successful ranching in the world, the volume of rain per annum in those areas is at least four to seven months, that’s why you have grasses that can naturally be sustained.’’ He revealed that the cattle breed in Nigeria ‘’cannot be supported by ranching.’’
He argued that the nation’s cattle breed will consume the entire pasture in a given area if restricted for two weeks, prompting an ecological disaster. The national scribe pointed out that Governors Ortom and Ishaku have over stepped their bounds as “inter-state movement of pastoralists is similar to inter-state commerce and it is only the National Assembly that can legislate on that aspect as captured in item 62 of the exclusive legislative list.”
On the whole, the group rubbished the entire anti grazing law for not taking “into cognisance our sociology, our economic interest, our production patterns, climate variations and factors that pushed pastoralists into these migrations. These migrations are not picnics, they are dictated by ecological needs.”
According to the group, designing a policy that will exclude herders is completely is wrong, as “what they should have done is to have restricted areas for the herders and then give them access to grazing corridors and watering points during those peak periods of dry season.’’
Not yet eureka
Like Ogbe’s brainwave on cattle colonies, the report of NEC which recommended ranching for Zamfara, Nasarawa, Adamawa, Taraba and Benue states, is short on how the proposed animal husbandry will be implemented. Will the ranching be a purely private enterprise like what obtains in Benue state, where cattle owners apply for land, mobilize resources and set up a ranch, or will the pilot states provide free land for herders and help them set up ranches? The devil is in these details.
