How North-Central govs can optimize open grazing ban in South – APC leader

Every human being has right to actions and  opinions. But the most important thing is that once you take your action, you should be aware of the consequences.  You should be able to consider the advantages and disadvantages.

As open grazing controversy trends in the public domain, with Southern governors slamming a ban on it during their meeting in Asaba, the president, Farmers Empowerment Association in Nigeria (FEAN), and Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC) North-Central Forum in FCT, Honourable Obaje David, examines how the North-Central governors could respond to the ban.

 

Recently, the Southern states governors met in Asaba, Delta State, and banned open grazing to stem farmers-herders crisis and other forms of criminalities. What is your take on the heated controversy generated by this decision?

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Every human being has right to actions and  opinions. But the most important thing is that once you take your action, you should be aware of the consequences.  You should be able to consider the advantages and disadvantages.

I am not one of those that say it is good or bad. As a Nigerian, you have the right and liberty to live anywhere in the country in good faith and enjoy the freedom of association. On  this basis, I will not say that it is a good thing.

But as a leader in the North Central, I will say that it is a good thing, especially for the North Central Zone, due to the potential economic benefits for us and the nation.

The ban is an advantage for us.  We need to tap into it and see how we can make it a real venture and make money from it. Luckily for us, we have a landmass that is enough to accommodate the herders, no matter the number that may troop from the South into the North Central.

What then is your position on open grazing?

I am not one of the propagators of open grazing. I believe more in ranching, which I practise as an individual. I believe that if we take to ranching, it  will work out for us.

The North Central governors should accommodate the national programme on ranching. Such move could make the North Central a cattle hub where people could always have access to cattle and all the allied products and then it becomes a means of economic empowerment for the North Central people. We have the land, which the southern states may not have. Look at Kogi, Niger, Kwara and others. We can conveniently accommodate the herders and ranching policy to our advantage. The challenges that the Fulani herders pose are not because they don’t want to adopt ranching. The problem is that they are not being educated on its advantages. They have a nomadic culture. As a result, they have to be well educated to embrace ranching.

We can also adopt the Kenya method, where nearly all the families have ranches and you don’t see open grazing despite the large number of the cattle they have.

But that is what the southern governors were making case for?

The governors were not categorical in this regard. They were not calling for ranching and for the federal government to come in. What they were simply saying was that the herders have become problems to us and should go away.

They said the herders should apply for land with a claim that herding is a private business. But have they asked their indigenes to apply for land like the herders?

As one of those involved in youth empowerment programmes, especially in the agricultural sector  and its value chains, why are some government policies failing to realise their objectives and what is the way out?

Firstly, there is no administration that has been able to touch the lives of individuals like President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration whereby you can conveniently sit in your house and apply for facilities and you get them.

There is also the targeted credit facility which is also known as COVID-19 loan. Many Nigerians have conveniently gotten the loan in hundreds of thousands of naira from the comfort of their homes without even going to offices.

Also, with SMEs being expanded such as the Bank of Industry (BOI), Bank of Agriculture (BOA) and others.

The challenge is that we have two sides of those that would believe in you and those that would criticise you. So, for those who don’t believe in Buhari’s administration, there is nothing beneficial. But for us that believe in Buhari, we are benefiting and we thank God for it.