Asaba Declaration and Open Grazing Ban

By Onikepo Braithwaite
Email: onikepo.braithwaite@thisdaylive.com Twitter: @TheAdvocatesTD

Capital Flight

Before I go into the ‘Word for Today’, I would like to comment briefly on New Telegraph newspaper’s headline of last Friday, which caught my attention (because of the large amount of money involved) while I was listening to a television anchor going through the dailies. The news story somehow denounced Nigerian Telcos for being owned/managed predominantly by foreigners, and more importantly, accused them of being responsible for a $2.16 billion annual capital flight from Nigeria, that is, the repatriation of the huge revenues which are earned here in Nigeria, to their own home countries – South Africa, Bahrain, Singapore and so on, thereby denying Nigeria/Nigerians the opportunity of seeing and enjoying the benefits of the monies generated from their own local usage of the Telcos’ services. I would like to make a qualification or clarification, by stating that this allegation must naturally and automatically exclude GLO (Globacom Telecommunications Ltd) which is 100% Nigerian owned, and is obviously not a part of the capital flight which the New Telegraph accused the other Telcos of engaging in. On the contrary, with its revenues, GLO has been able to expand its network, not just to be one of the largest in Nigeria, but enlarge its coast to a few other African countries.

Entrepreneurs like Dr Mike Adenuga GCON who have invested heavily, and are still investing in Nigeria, creating jobs for thousands directly and opportunities for millions indirectly, despite the precarious, unpalatable and indeterminate situation which we unfortunately find ourselves in, must therefore, be commended. These days, apart from capital flight, we have people ‘checking out’ like ‘Andrew ’ to Canada, UK, USA, South Africa, Ghana, Cotonou and anywhere else they can gain access to, to live a more serene, sane life, and escape from the unprecedented level of insecurity, unemployment and all the other ills that have encompassed us. As we know, Nigerians are experts at coining catchy buzz words and phrases, the latest being getting a ‘Plan B’, that is, looking for any means available to abscond from Nigeria and start a better life elsewhere.

What kind of Leadership do we have? What kind of People are we?

But, as some are building, others are pulling down. What type of country has Nigeria become? What kind of leadership do we have, not just the Presidency and the Legislature, but also those who head the various institutions and establishments? What kind of people have we ourselves become? These were some of the questions that agitated my mind last week, when I watched a videoclip of the train tracks which had been sawed off by some criminals, destroying the infrastructure being created for the betterment of Nigeria/Nigerians, as well as putting the lives of commuters in jeopardy and extreme risk, as trains running on tracks which have been tampered with, are most likely to derail and injure or kill people. I wept when I watched a videoclip of Iniobong Umoren’s funeral, and wondered about Investigative Journalist, David Hundeyin’s report that Iniobong’s murder was part of a more sinister plot of either an illegal human organ harvesting operation, or ritual murder on behalf of desperate Politicians. The videoclip of little Esther Chukwuemeka, the daughter of one of the abductees from Greenfield University kidnapped last month, weeping while appealing to the Kidnappers for her mother’s safe return, was particularly heart wrenching, as was the interview of Leah Sharibu’s mother on the occasion of Leah’s 18th birthday last week (she was kidnapped when she was just 14 years old).

Have we become so numb and insensitive, with the sole objective of hanging on to political power and/or making money no matter how? As if to rub salt on open wounds, Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji ‘Pass the Buck’ made statements about Government knowing where the Kidnappers are, but as usual, passed the buck of Government’s failure to rescue captives, on having to be careful!

Professor Yusuf v The Asaba Declaration

That Nigeria is presently going through a rough and tremendously difficult time, is not a secret. We therefore, need to be measured in our utterances, instead of aggravating an already heated and troubled polity. Unfortunately, thanks mostly to the Government and Politicians, our country has never been so divided on ethnic and religious lines as it is today; and this is why I thought perhaps, the videoclip I saw of Professor Usman Yusuf, which was trending on social media last week, must have been somewhat distorted or an incomplete part of a whole taken out of context. I watched the clip a second time, and saw that it was a stand alone comment. Prof Yusuf scornfully and insultingly chided the Southern Governors, for their unanimous decision to ban open grazing, and for making laws without consulting Fulani leaders. This kind of needless, unconscious statement only serves to rile majority of Nigerians instead of healing any wounds, especially for those who may have been brutalised for example, as a result of the Farmer/Herder crisis in places like Benue, Taraba and Ondo States. With the present mood in the country, Prof Yusuf’s statement is, at best, confrontational, condescending, arrogant and distasteful. See the case of State v Haruna Usman, where a 15 year old Fulani Herder was found guilty of culpable homicide punishable with death contrary to Section 221 of the Penal Code Act by the then Chief Judge of Kogi State, for stabbing one Happy David to death on his father’s farm, because the deceased had informed his killer that his father’s crops had been sprayed with a pesticide, likely to be harmful to the cattle if they went ahead to graze them on the farm. Usman had repeatedly stabbed Happy in the back, and then fled from the scene.

Do Southern Governors now require permission from Fulani leaders, to secure the lives and property of their citizens, which is the primary purpose of Government? (Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria)(as amended in 2018) (the Constitution)? No. Those who have not enacted their anti-open grazing laws, are required to do so forthwith as a follow up to the ban.

A pertinent question to ask at this juncture, is whether then Governor of Zamfara State, Ahmed Yerima, consulted the Christians in his State or sought their permission, and if his colleagues also consulted the Christians in their own States too, when they decided to impose the Sharia law in their States, and ban the free and open consumption of alcohol in their States? Did they even consult Section 10 of the Constitution, before they took that step? To the best of my knowledge, in all secular countries, including ours, every individual who has attained the age of 18 years, is permitted by law to consume alcohol, and therefore, placing any restriction on if or how such an adult can consume alcoholic beverages, is a breach of their fundamental human rights, that is, Sections 38(1), 39(1), 41(1) and 42(1)(a) of the Constitution.

Consultation with the people has never been that much of a habit with successive administrations; so, why should it be different for the Southern Governors now, especially when they have their work already obviously cut out for them? Even the preamble of the Constitution begins with a falsehood, that the people made certain resolutions (inferring that there was prior consultation and agreement) in making the Constitution, which they did not – the Military did.

The Constitution talks about promotion of equality and justice for all Nigerians in its preamble and Section 17(2)(a), so, if the people were not consulted when Sharia Law was adopted even though it is unconstitutional to have done so (Section 10 of the Constitution), why should they be consulted now that open grazing is being banned in order to protect the lives of Nigerians, which is not just a constitutional mandate, but the very essence of Government? Were the livelihoods of those whose occupation was the running of establishments that sell alcoholic beverages in the Sharia States, not truncated when the Sharia laws were passed?

Food for Thought

Come to think of it, is it really the welfare of the Herders that those complaining about the ban on open grazing are concerned about, or is it the interest of the wealthy cattle owners who employ the Herders, that do not want their milk cart overturned, that is the real issue? The latter is probably the case! The average Nigerian Politician or leader couldn’t care less about the welfare of the common man, aside from securing their votes during elections; so, forgive me for sounding cynical if I believe that the interest of some wealthy cattle owner elites, is what is at stake here.

Here’s a little food for thought – it is a known fact that the standard of education in the North is extremely low. The cut off mark for entry into a Unity Secondary School is 2, 3 and 4 (next to nothing) for boys in Yobe, Taraba and Zamfara States respectively, while it is 133, 138 and 139 in Lagos, Imo and Anambra States, respectively (with no distinction between the sexes). My question is, why would the elite who don’t even care about giving the children of the masses a decent education be bothered about herdsmen, unless there is some benefit that accrues to them in the matter? Why are they not as concerned about the education of the children of the common man, when we know that education is one of the keys to a brighter future?

Ban of Open Grazing

Section 1 of the Land Use Act (LUA), which has been in existence since 1978, vests the land of each State in the Governor, thereby giving them the discretion to accept or refuse to grant rights of occupancy to applicants; applying for land is the lawful way to own or occupy land in States. Prior to the enactment of the LUA, in a judgement delivered by Justice Adewale Thompson in Suit No. AB/26/66 also in 1969, he banned open grazing holding that “…it is inimical to peace and tranquillity, and the cattle owners must fence or ranch their animals for peace to reign in these communities”. This judgement has not been overturned to the best of our knowledge, and therefore, remains the precedent in this regard. How then can anyone allege that the ban on open grazing by the Southern Governors is sudden, when it had been banned since 1969? Again, the writing has been very clearly on the wall, since 2016 (five years ago) and 2017 when Ekiti and Benue States respectively, enacted their anti-open grazing laws as a result of the escalation of attacks on their people. It was only a matter of time for other States to follow suit, like the Northern Governors followed suit with Sharia law, especially as many of them had had their own fair share of attacks. The debate on this matter, has raged on on the front burner for at least the last five years; so, what stopped organisations like Miyetti Allah in five years, from making alternative arrangements for their members, in preparation for the inevitable?

A Better Way Forward

I would have expected Prof Yusuf to make more edifying and conciliatory statements instead of the divisive one he made; to encourage all the Governors, including those from the North, to have their various Houses of Assembly enact laws prohibiting open grazing, if this is a viable solution to the Farmer/Herder crisis and reducing the other security concerns that Nigeria is drowning in today, and suggest alternatives for the Herders, like organising ranches for them, starting immediately in the 24 States which the Governor of Kogi State stated are willing to provide land for same. Enough loquaciousness; more action. If there are States willing to provide ranches, why delay?

It is no longer news that even the Herders themselves are at risk, since criminals who acquire a couple of cattle and disguise themselves as Herders as their alibi, have infiltrated their ranks, also stealing their cattle and murdering them for good measure. It has been proven that ranching will not only be safer and more lucrative for the Herders, they themselves will be able to receive free adult education (Section 18(3)(c) of the Constitution) and other benefits, like learning modern methods of animal husbandry to boost their businesses if they are stationed in one place, as opposed to constantly being on the move.

Conclusion

The security situation of Nigeria, is spiralling out of control, and it is obvious that we cannot continue to do things the same way, and expect a different result. I think it is time to start telling ourselves some home truths, instead of trying to be politically correct, so as not to ruffle feathers. If we want peace to reign in one Nigeria, then the interests of all of us must be taken into consideration as a whole, well balanced and fairly. It will be difficult for a nation that is built on corruption, inequity, inequality, bias and partiality, to stand strong on such a shaky foundation. Is having meat more important than having food produce? No. They are equally important. We need them both. Then again, without security, it would be impossible to have either, let alone sit down to enjoy them.