Taraba rejects Fed Govt. ranching scheme – TheNigerialawyer

Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba state has rejected the ranching
scheme initiated by the federal government.

The governor has stated unequivocally, that Taraba will not key
into any programme that would be carried out by the federal
government for herdsmen.

He said already, he has amicably tackled the clashes between
herdsmen and farmers in the state, through the instrumentality of a
law prohibiting open grazing.

He said he had noticed that the farmers/herders crisis, which
was often bloody, was because of three things: cows, grasses and
farm-crops. So, he tackled the menace by enacting a law called
‘Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law.’

The law, he said, admits ranching but prohibits open grazing and
cattle rustling. “What this means is that herders now have to
restrict the movement of their cattle so that they don’t stray into
farms and munch on crops. It had been practiced in Gembu, Sardauna
and it is been replicated in other councils,” he said.

Ishaku told The Nation that, using a template of peace, with the
anti-open grazing law in place, he has been able to bring the
warring cattle herders and crop farmers together to nurture a
symbiotic relationship.

The governor had earlier opposed Cattle Colony and Ruga which
were proposed but later suspended by the federal government.

“I have submitted a request to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)
for us (Taraba) to be given a loan for us to do the ranching, but
the CBN has refused to approve it, for reasons I don’t know.

“Otherwise, I would have showcased what ranching is all about in
Taraba state. It is the best form of practice in modern days, if
indeed you are talking about cattle, grasses and grazing.

“But I don’t think they (federal government) are talking about
cattle; I don’t agree that they are talking about grasses. They are
talking of something else: colonisation,” he said.

Also Speaking to The Nation, the governor’s Senior Special
Assistant on Media and Publicity, Bala Dan Abu, said “I am
surprised that the federal government is still talking about
ranching in states when Taraba is already practicing ranching.

“The constitution gives governors authority over lands in their
states. Now, Taraba does not have any land to give the federal
government for livestock project or any programme for herdsmen.

“We have a law as a solution to farmers/herders crisis, and our
ranching in the state is moving on gradually and doing successfully
well.”

The youths in Taraba state have described the federal scheme on
herders as “a threat to tribes in the state and the nation at
large,” adding that Fulani herdsmen troubling the state were aliens
tied with a ulterior motive to grab the lands of the original
inhabitants.