The editorial column of this paper, published on June 27, 2021, cautioned the federal government to jettison the idea of open grazing which has brought so much sorrow and misery in the country, especially in the Middle Belt, where the farmers and herders are at daggers drawn almost on daily basis. Aside from that, we went further and alluded to the fact that, it’s oldfashioned under whatever cultural belief for a people to still engage in trekking through the bush, from the North to the South in the 21st century. We are not alone on this, even the leaders of thought from the Northern region, many times have lent their voices on the danger of open grazing if the federal government fails to heed to the voice of the people, more so now that the country appears to be deeply divided owing to the anti-people policies noticeable under this administration.
The latest development that the federal government would revive old existing grazing routes in the 25 states in the federation unfortunately confirms the fear of the people across the country, that there is more to this open grazing programme which the present administration, under president Muhammadu Buhari is bent on executing since 2015, when this government came on board. That the President also rejected the recommendation of the 36 Governors who are in support of the establishment of National livestock programme that encourages ranching, leaves much to be desired under the present circumstances. Nigeria had grazing routes in the so called states when the population of the country was less than fifty million people, compared to now the population of the country has skyrocketed to over two hundred million and still counting, who are living on the same land mass fixed by nature that will not increase by an inch till eternity.
Seeing the challenge of open grazing, almost all the Governors are saying ‘No’ to open grazing. Those who are not speaking out cannot deny the fact that open grazing has become unpopular because if allowed under whatever guise, will make nonsense of the much touted food sufficiency programme the party in power says it’s pursuing, since farmers/ herders clash often time is as a result of destruction of food crops by the latter without anyone being punished in the last six years. The clashes have become a daily issue mostly in the Middle Belt region of the country. The question has always remained where the federal government will get land to enforce the open grazing policy since the states exercise more power on the control of land. In a progressive system, cows are not reared and slaughtered everywhere also. Those who are basing their argument on ECOWAS protocols should realize that society evolves, and so no one should be encouraged in the name of trade or culture to allow his children to move from place to place.
Nomadic lifestyle in Nigeria is no longer the way to go. Alternative to open grazing should be encouraged and that is the only permanent way to solve the problem of farmers/ herders clash. Interestingly, the Executive Governor of Sokoto state, Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, recently cautioned the federal government to desist from forcing states to embrace open grazing, especially states that have signed anti grazing law to allow peace reign in the country. The move also made by the Governor of Kano state, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje who also allocated large expanse of land for ranching in all intent is the way to go and no other. That is the only way to boost agriculture in Nigeria. For a listening government, there is no basis for discussing the issue of open grazing in Nigeria, seeing what the country has gone through in terms of insecurity and the number of lives lost as a result of farmers/ herders clashes since the advent of this administration.
The mood of the nation now does not encourage diversionary issues like open grazing but instead attention should be shifted to real governance to ameliorate the sufferings of the Nigerian people. We therefore call on the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), and all those that are close to the President, to tell him what the law says on Land Use Act and where the power of the federal government begins and ends on matters concerning lands to avoid throwing the country into a turmoil since Nigerians are opposed to the so called open grazing which many see as a ploy either to resettle foreigners or to grab ancestral lands of the indigenous people of Nigeria.
