Igbo Improvement Union wants southeast excluded from cattle grazing reserve plans

IGBO Improvement Union (IIU) has called on the federal government to exclude Igboland from the planned grazing reserves which are being proposed across the country to address the ongoing menace of armed attacks by Fulani cattle herders.

 

Over the last few months, nomadic Fulani cattle herders have become a huge security risk in Nigeria as well armed with AK47 assault rifles, they have wrecked havoc on numerous farming communities across the country.  Whenever their livestock eat local crops, it leads to clashes with farming communities and Fulani reprisals have tended to be very brutal and bloody, sometimes, leaving hundreds dead.

 

In response, the federal government is considering establishing cattle grazing reserves across the country where livestock can feed.  However, socio-political and cultural organisation, the (IIU) wants the entire Igbo land excluded from the project. After a two-day conference held in Umuahia, the group pointed out that the entire Igboland was already grappling with ecological problem of erosion, which according to it has already claimed over 20% of the total landmass.

 

An IIU spokesman said:  “Our land can no longer sustain the disastrous effects of Fulani herdsmen’s cattle overgrazing on our ecology.”

 

It added that Igboland was already under environmental pressure as a result of over grazing and indiscriminate excavation activities by contractors. In addition, the IIU warned against any move to compound an already bad situation as further assault on the land would result to total devastation of the region with its attendant consequences on food production and the standard of living.

 

In addition, the IIU called on the governments of Igbo- speaking states to, as a matter of urgency, regulate the activities  of these land excavators and bring offenders to book. On the recent clash between herdsmen and the farmers of Ugwuleshi community in Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State, the IIU called the federal government to set up a probe panel to identify the soldiers who invaded the community and rounded up 76 farmers who were brought to Umuahia and dumped in prison.

 

It further demanded prosecution of the herdsmen and their military collaborators for their harassment, intimidation and invasion of hapless villagers, adding that herdsmen have been allowed for too long to act with impunity. It is not yet clear if a formal memorandum will be presented to the federal government.