OGUN State governor Ibikunle Amosun has expressed his opposition to the idea of establishing grazing zones across the country saying that it will not address the problem of incessant clashes between herders and local farmers.
Over recent months, there has been an intensification of clashes between Fulani cattle herdsmen and local farming communities across Nigeria, leading to bloody clashes. In response, the federal government is considering introducing a grazing bill before the National Assembly that will permit herdsmen to migrate across the country with their livestock.
This has already attracted widespread condemnation as several states have made it clear they will not tolerate cattle roaming across their communities. Yesterday, Governor Amosun, a close confidant of President Muhammadu Buhari, joined the condemnation, pointing out that grazing bill will not address the problem of frequent clashes between herdsmen and farmers.
Speaking Abeokuta while receiving the technical committee on herdsmen/farmers clashes set up by the chief of defence staff General Abayomi Olonisakin, Governor Amosun, however, said the establishment of the panel was timely and a step in the right direction. He then enjoined security agencies to investigate the nationality of the killer herdsmen, if indeed they hailed from foreign countries as alleged in some quarters.
Governor Amosun said: “People have suggested a number of solutions but, for me, I would not support grazing. They should take it as a business, probably building ranches privately and we should not try to solve a problem by creating another one.”
Major General Edward Nze, the head of the technical committee, said that in order to tackle the problem, Operation Accord will soon be launched by the military authorities. He added that the technical committee had visited some affected states, including Nasarawa, Benue, Enugu, Zamfara, Ondo, Ekiti and Oyo, ahead of the planned operation.
"When we finish, we will take back the information we gathered to Abuja where we would present it to the chief of defence staff who, in turn, would use it to plan an operation that can assist us to deal with this menace once and for all. If we don’t nip that very issue in the bud, it may grow into a monster that would be more than what we are having in the northeast," Major General Nze added.
He stressed that there is need to plan a holistic operation to tackle the problem nationwide. Since President Buhari assumed office, the herdsmen have intensified their attacks significantly, with particularly brutal attacks in Benue and Enugu states recently.
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