Why We Won’t Obey South-West Govs’ Ban On Open Grazing — Miyetti Allah

The Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore has insisted that it is opposed to
the ban imposed on open grazing of cattle by South-West governors
because the enforcement of the ban was tantamount to an eviction
notice.

The governors had in Akure, the Ondo State capital, on January
25, declared the ban.

The meeting in Akure was attended by the Chairman of the Nigeria
Governors’ Forum and Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi;
Governors Adegboyega Oyetola of Osun State, Muhammad Badaru of
Jigawa State, Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State and Atiku Bagudu of
Kebbi State.

Apart from South-West governors, governors in the South-East had
previously banned open grazing and movement of cows on foot into
the South-East.

But speaking with the Punch, the Secretary General of Miyetti
Allah Kautal Hore, Saleh Alhassan, said the ban on open grazing was
targeted to destroy the means of livelihood of the herdsmen and
radicalise the herders.

He said, “They can’t put an end to open grazing by fiat because
grazing is not motorcycle business; there must be an alternative.
Secondly, if they say they are going to end open grazing, what is
the timeline for it?

“They want to displace herders from where they earn their
livelihood. It is not different from an eviction notice – it is
just putting the eviction notice into effect. This is very
unfortunate because they cannot come out to say they are embracing
peaceful herders and then say they are ending open grazing. What do
they mean by that? Is there closed grazing?

“From history, right from the time of Moses, grazing is open. By
now, they should realise that they will not get the result they are
looking for. We are in total support of the National Livestock
Transformation Plan. I was part of the committee that reviewed the
final document. The programme has a lot of components, and if
implemented, it will address a lot of challenges.

“Look at Benue State and how the approach has created a militia.
You can’t end open grazing by fiat as if someone is looking for a
crisis, and these crises have a way of reverberating.”

Alhassan argued that asking herdsmen to stop open grazing and
begin ranching was tantamount to asking farmers to begin
mechanisation, without which they wouldn’t be able to do their
farming activities.

He added, “If they say herders must begin ranching today, where
is the ranch? For someone to develop a ranch, they need at least
three to five years for it to mature. The facts are there. Ranches
cannot be created overnight but they are just playing
politics.”

On the issue of insecurity, he said herders had been victims of
rustling and kidnapping and that if insecurity was to be addressed,
it was not by making it an ethnic issue, because according to him,
there are criminals in every ethnic group.

“It’s sad, because at the end of the day, we end up radicalising
the herders,” he said. “When they are radicalised, who will
benefit? The country will suffer worse insecurity. That’s why we
are against this issue of eviction or ultimatum because it doesn’t
work like that. There have not been proper laws at the national
level to address these challenges and the National Assembly is just
playing to the gallery. Let there be proper laws.”

He said if there had been an increase in the herders moving from
the North to the South, it could be due to climate change,
insecurity in the North-East, drought caused by environmental
factors or Boko Haram.

The Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore has insisted that it is opposed to
the ban imposed on open grazing of cattle by South-West governors
because the enforcement of the ban was tantamount to an eviction
notice.

The governors had in Akure, the Ondo State capital, on January
25, declared the ban.

The meeting in Akure was attended by the Chairman of the Nigeria
Governors’ Forum and Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi;
Governors Adegboyega Oyetola of Osun State, Muhammad Badaru of
Jigawa State, Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State and Atiku Bagudu of
Kebbi State.

Apart from South-West governors, governors in the South-East had
previously banned open grazing and movement of cows on foot into
the South-East.

But speaking with the Punch, the Secretary General of Miyetti
Allah Kautal Hore, Saleh Alhassan, said the ban on open grazing was
targeted to destroy the means of livelihood of the herdsmen and
radicalise the herders.

He said, “They can’t put an end to open grazing by fiat because
grazing is not motorcycle business; there must be an alternative.
Secondly, if they say they are going to end open grazing, what is
the timeline for it?

“They want to displace herders from where they earn their
livelihood. It is not different from an eviction notice – it is
just putting the eviction notice into effect. This is very
unfortunate because they cannot come out to say they are embracing
peaceful herders and then say they are ending open grazing. What do
they mean by that? Is there closed grazing?

“From history, right from the time of Moses, grazing is open. By
now, they should realise that they will not get the result they are
looking for. We are in total support of the National Livestock
Transformation Plan. I was part of the committee that reviewed the
final document. The programme has a lot of components, and if
implemented, it will address a lot of challenges.

“Look at Benue State and how the approach has created a militia.
You can’t end open grazing by fiat as if someone is looking for a
crisis, and these crises have a way of reverberating.”

Alhassan argued that asking herdsmen to stop open grazing and
begin ranching was tantamount to asking farmers to begin
mechanisation, without which they wouldn’t be able to do their
farming activities.

He added, “If they say herders must begin ranching today, where
is the ranch? For someone to develop a ranch, they need at least
three to five years for it to mature. The facts are there. Ranches
cannot be created overnight but they are just playing
politics.”

On the issue of insecurity, he said herders had been victims of
rustling and kidnapping and that if insecurity was to be addressed,
it was not by making it an ethnic issue, because according to him,
there are criminals in every ethnic group.

“It’s sad, because at the end of the day, we end up radicalising
the herders,” he said. “When they are radicalised, who will
benefit? The country will suffer worse insecurity. That’s why we
are against this issue of eviction or ultimatum because it doesn’t
work like that. There have not been proper laws at the national
level to address these challenges and the National Assembly is just
playing to the gallery. Let there be proper laws.”

He said if there had been an increase in the herders moving from
the North to the South, it could be due to climate change,
insecurity in the North-East, drought caused by environmental
factors or Boko Haram.