Extolling Open Grazing in the 21st Century

Ring True BY Yemi Adebowale Phone 08054699539

Email: yemi.adebowale@thisdaylive.com

There is no way that rampaging criminal herders and Fulani militias will persist in their nefarious activities against crop farmers without the tacit support of the powerful leadership in Abuja that controls all the security agencies. That has always been my position on the unending killings and abductions by lawless herders across Nigeria. President Muhammadu Buhari confirmed my conviction with his recent infamous remarks extolling cattle grazing routes. Our dear President supports this archaic and ruthless cattle rearing method in this modern era. Buhari is obsessed with this outdated animal husbandry practice and he is now looking for laws to enable him revive grazing routes for herders.

So, herders must continue moving cattle from Sokoto to Lagos, and beyond, unhindered. No wonder security agents are always lethargic in their response to SOS messages from crop farmers and communities ravaged by criminal herders. Obviously, they have no clear instructions to tame rampaging herders. This is why huge swathes of this country have become killing fields as killer herders, claiming a right to unencumbered feeding ubiquitously, are cruelly destroying lives and farms. They are never apprehended. In Benue State, the criminal herders control several local government areas.

The truth which Buhari must swallow is that nomadic cattle rearing is an aberration in modern societies. Nigerian can’t be an exception. A President in this modern era must not be seen promoting this abnormality. I often wonder if Buhari is interested in the welfare of everybody in this country. He is always struggling to rise above primordial sentiments and often pursuing parochial ethnic agenda. Open grazing is a big danger to all non-herders and must end. The way to go is ranching. Any President interested in peace, unity and prosperity in Nigeria must motivate herders to return to their base and curdle ranching.

What legal grazing routes is Buhari even talking about? Looking at the issue from a lawful angle, I can unequivocally say that there is nothing like grazing routes or grazing reserves rules in the laws of the federation of Nigeria. There is no federal regulation that Buhari can implement on such matter. The defunct Northern Nigerian grazing reserves law, promulgated in 1964, which is what Buhari is looking at, cannot apply to the entire Nigerian federation. Even in the North, with the Land Use Act, the law has become outdated. So, it is not applicable anywhere in the North.

The Land Use Act empowers governors to control land in their states. The President can only control land within Abuja. Governors of the 36 states met earlier this year, agreed to discontinue open grazing and embraced ranching. So, Buhari’s talks about reviving cattle routes are preposterous. My dear President, open grazing is no longer practicable. Not with the killings, rape, crop destruction, kidnapping, and geographical hegemony that comes with it. The culture of nomadism can be eliminated. Lee Kuan Yew proved this in Singapore. Late Muammar Gaddafi proved this in Libya.

Attacks on crop lands and farmers by criminal herders have led to astronomical hike in prices of food across Nigeria. This is a fact. Daily, farmers are deserting large fields for fear of being killed. They have every reason to be afraid. Many have been slaughtered on their farms by killer herders and Fulani militias. Buhari should be worried if indeed, he loves everybody in this country. How I wish he would spend quality time reading the World Bank report released this week, which truly reflect how rising prices of largely food, pushed close to seven million Nigerians below the poverty line in 2020.
The World Bank notes: “Prices are increasing rapidly, severely impacting Nigerian households. As of April 2021, the inflation rate was the highest in four years. Food prices accounted for over 60% of the total increase in inflation.”

The only way to stem rising prices of food is for all our farmers to return to their businesses. Herders must vacate farms for this to happen.
I also find absurd, President Buhari’s message to state governors to exclusively tackle security challenges in their states. Yes, the governors should be seen doing something pragmatic based on the security votes collected. That is why they need to fortify regional security arrangement like Amotekun and Ebubeagu. However, Constitutionally, Buhari remains the Chief Security Officer of this country. He controls all security agencies. Trying to abdicate his responsibility is laughable. Our President still can’t take responsibility. If he can’t do the security job he swore to accomplish, he should just resign.
Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State was apt when he reiterated that it is the responsibility of the federal government to ensure protection of lives and property of citizens in all nooks and crannies of this country: “When you look at the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the issue of security is under the Exclusive List. So, it is the responsibility of the Federal Government and states can only complement and that’s what we have always done and are still doing. But sincerely speaking, based on provisions of the Constitution, the blame should go to the federal government for the general state of insecurity in Nigeria.”

Governor Nyesom Wike added: “It is not only to borrow money for Nigeria that you’re in charge of. You must also be in charge of other things like security. It is not when things are going bad concerning security that you say you’re not in charge, and it becomes governors’ responsibility.”
On the flip side, the two interviews granted by Buhari to mark his 6th year in office affirm that the President is very much aware of the killings, kidnapping, suffering and economic crunch in this country and he is so much confortable just sitting down at Aso Rock Villa, and doing very little to tackle the challenges. That was what the interviews revealed; that Buhari is unperturbed by the unprecedented failings of his government in the last six years.

He is untroubled by the blood, tears, hunger, disease and pains in our land. He is cool and calm while the country burns. Families are struggling for a meal a day while millions have been thrown out of jobs. Daily, our children are abducted in their schools, families kidnapped at homes, farmers killed on their farms. As at press time, 135 Niger State Islamic school kids, some as young as eight years, were still languishing in the dungeons of their abductors. Add this to the pain of scores of pupils abducted last Thursday at Federal Government College, Yauri, Kebbi State. The 10 students seized at Nuhu Bamali Polytechnic, Zaria are still begging for freedom. The agony is becoming unbearable for all.
Our diversity mismanaged. Our unity practically destroyed. Brothers are killing brothers. Nigeria is facing a hopeless situation and Buhari is not showing any sign of raising his game; that is if he has any game plan at all. This country has never been this mismanaged. But we will survive Buhari’s incongruity. Nigeria will survive and return to that path of a peaceful, brotherly and loving country. We have less than two years to go.

Figures of Killings are Dizzying
Residents of Kadawa Village, in Zurmi Local Government Area of Zamfara State are still mourning the deaths of their loved ones murdered by bandits eight days ago. Many women have been widowed and children orphaned. In all, 93 innocent souls were butchered in this Zamfara State community. Many others were severely wounded. Security agents were nowhere to be found during the attack that lasted several hours.
Few days back, it was the turn of eight communities in Danko Wasagu Local Government Area (Zuru Emirate of Kebbi State), to bury scores of beloved ones. In all, 88 human beings were slaughtered by bandits in Koro, Kimpi, Gaya, Dimi, Zutu, Rafin, Gora and Iguenge communities. They were Hausa farmers. Last month, in this same Emirate, bandits killed nine policemen, a DPO inclusive, while they were responding to a distress call by the locals in the emirate. Few months ago, four mobile police personnel were killed at Danko Wasagu while four soldiers were also ambushed and killed in March, this year.

These are the gory figures we now regularly get in this country. Human beings slaughtered in large number like animals. These are the types of death figures from war zones. But Nigeria is not at war, yet people are regularly killed in hundreds by bandits, Fulani militias and Boko Haram. These killings often leave me in tears. How can this be happening in a country with a legitimate government?
The killings in the North-west are largely a result of the fighting between Fulani militias and Hausa farmers over land. The herders want unfettered access to farm lands. The Hausa farmers resist using their own militias called Yan-Sa-Kai. Blood has been flowing on both sides in the last six years, in Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto and Kaduna states. Kebbi State recently joined this inglorious club.
Unfortunately, governors of the affected states have been taking sides, thus prolonging the conflict. Some banned Yan-Sa-Kai and left Fulani militias roaming freely. That was why the chairman of Yan-Sa-Kai vigilante group in Zuru, Sani Usman urged government to allow it “deal” with the security challenge posed by Fulani militias.

Usman said after the latest attack in Danko Wasagu: “The world should know we are under siege and the chains on our hands did not allow us free those on our legs.” Forget about Usman’s “chain” story. Yan-Sa-Kai has evidently been fighting back.
The only way forward in the North-west is for the federal government to enforce the laws of our land. Those who kill must be apprehended and dealt with. Regrettably, this is not being done. Once justice is not served, then, the killings will continue.

Still On Twitter Suspension
Democracy is about doing the will of the people. It is about responding to the needs of the people. Nigeria is under a democracy. Regrettably, those running the show in Abuja don’t fully understand the essentials of democracy; otherwise, we won’t still be talking about lifting the suspension of Twitter’s operations in Nigeria. In the first place, the suspension was absolutely unnecessary. Those leading this country must rise above paltriness, focus on pressing issues and stop presenting Nigeria in bad light abroad.

Now, majority of Nigerians are demanding for the lifting of the suspension of Twitter. What is expected in a democracy is for the government to respond appropriately. The Buhari government must unconditionally lift the suspension. The will of the people must prevail in a democracy. Nigerians need Twitter more than Twitter needs us. So many Nigerian businesses tied to Twitter are already suffering. Buhari should let Twitter be.
The talk about Twitter and other social media registering in Nigeria to continue operation is balderdash. Any form of registration of the media is censorship and must be resisted.

Saudi Arabian Lessons for Nigerian Imams
The news was good music to the ears of those of us opposed to noise from our places of worship. It was that Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Islamic Affairs has imposed restrictions on the use of loudspeakers in mosques, allowing the use of loudspeakers only for calls to prayers – Adhan and Iqamat. A circular has been issued by Abdul Latif Al Sheikh, Saudi’s Minister of Islamic Affairs, to all mosques across the Kingdom, limiting the use of loudspeakers only to Adhan and Iqamat, and lowering the volume of loudspeakers to one-third level.

Adhan is the first call for prayer, while Iqamat is the second call for prayer, indicating the Imam has taken his place and the prayer is about to commence. The circular is based on Prophet Mohammed’s Hadith in which he said, “Lo! every one of you is calling his Lord quietly. One should not trouble the other and one should not raise the voice in recitation or in prayer over the voice of the other.”
The rule is also based on fatwas (rulings) by most senior Islamic scholars like Sheikh Mohammed bin Saleh Al Othaimeen and Saleh Al Fawzan, that loud speakers in mosques should only be used for Adhan and Iqamat. The primary objective of the ruling is to deter ulama (Imams), who speak non-stop loudly for hours, causing disturbance to neighbours.
I sincerely hope all mosques in our part of the world will emulate the Saudi Arabian initiative. Noise pollution must be reduced in the interest of the health of everybody.