Miyetti Allah, farmers, residents speak as Lagos awaits implementation of anti-open grazing law

FROM the Island to the Mainland and to the remotest parts of Lagos communities, herds of cattle without herders roaming major highways and inner roads, obstructing free flow of traffic and businesses and distracting pedestrians are common sights.

To curb this ecological nuisance constituted by itinerant cattle and herdsmen and avert possible clash with farmers, the Lagos State House of Assembly passed the anti-open grazing bill and transmitted same to the governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, for his assent. However, weeks into the passage of the bill by the assembly, Lagosians are puzzled as to why Governor Sanwo-Olu is yet to append his signature to the bill to officially disallow herds of cattle from grazing outdoors.

There are 415 grazing reserves in 21 states of the country, according to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Of this number, only two are in the South – Ogun and Oyo states. Owing to the absence of a grazing reserve in the state, the South West zonal secretary of the Miyyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Alhaji Uthman Mai Kudi, in a telephone chat with Saturday Tribune, said Lagos State had only three wild vegetations, located in Ibeju-Lekki, Epe and Badagry, where members of the association graze their cattle.

 

Lagos anti-open grazing law

Speaking on the significance of the anti-open grazing bill, the chairman of the House of Assembly Committee on Agriculture and Cooperative, Honourable Kehinde Joseph, said the assembly would proscribe open grazing, regulate activities of herders and enhance the economy of the state. Describing the bill as sensitive, Joseph said it was meant to ensure that herders were duly registered and impose stiff punishment on arm-bearing herders.

The proposed anti-open grazing law is aimed at tackling the menace of herders whose cattle invade and destroy farms and cause disturbance to residents in the state. The bill proffers 21 years imprisonment and N250,000 fine or both for erring herders. On enforcement, it allows for the establishment of a joint task force comprising law enforcement agents and officials from the state Ministry of Agriculture who are to enforce anti-open grazing law while also prohibiting cattle grazing in residential areas and enclosed land without approval from the Ministry of Agriculture.

Section 2 (1) of the law states that grazing on any land that does not belong to the owner of the cattle attracts N50,000 penalty per head of cattle while Section 4 (1) and (2) spells out 21 years imprisonment for arms-bearing herdsmen.

 

Proposed law will have economic consequences for herders, Lagosians – Miyetti Allah

Speaking on the consequence of the proposed law on its members, Mai-Kudi said the anti-open grazing bill would further inflict economic hardship on herders as many of them would be forced out of business. He urged the Lagos State government to explore alternative means of regulating cattle grazing and avoiding farmers/herders clash in the state, while suggesting mandatory registration of herders with local government authorities and traditional rulers as a way of monitoring their operation.

He said: “The state government should make compulsory registration of herders operating in a community with local government and traditional rulers. With this, they will be able to monitor our activities and any herder found culpable can easily be arrested and made to face the wrath of the law. In the case of any damage done or offence committed, such person can easily be traced and held responsible. But if this is not done, anybody or group of persons can invade a community in the middle of the night, wreak havoc and go free and residents would attribute such crime to herders.

“I am therefore appealing to the Lagos State government to allow our members to stay and rear their cattle within their boundary of residence. If a herder is breeding his cattle in Ogun, he should be allowed to rear and graze in Ogun and same goes for other parts of the South West.

“We recognise the fact that there is not enough wild vegetation in Lagos for cattle grazing but the state government can adopt such approach too. We have just a few places along Ibeju Lekki, Epe and Badagry.

“But if open grazing is prohibited and cattle breeding is enclosed in a land, the cost of breeding and feeding cattle will be unbearable for herders. That means they will have to be buying animal feed and incurring additional cost which will jack up prices of cattle.

“This is one of the reasons we are opposed to ranching but if it is what the Lagos State government opts for, they can train us on the system of ranching and we are open to learning. There are lots of things to be considered before going for ranching but nothing has been done. This is why we are saying let us register with local authorities and traditional rulers to identify those that are grazing in a particular communities. The community leaders can monitor our activities. With this new law, many cattle herders will be forced out of Lagos and those that can cope with the heat will end up selling at very high prices.”

 

‘Govt officials employ Fulani herders to graze cattle’

Owing to the presence of wild vegetation for cattle’s consumption, Badagry Local Government in Lagos is a hotbed for open cattle grazing.

According to a resident and former chairman of the Community Development Association in the district, Mr Sekonu Ebenezer, many of the cattle grazing and roaming around Badagry are owned by some government officials who employed Fulani herders to rear them.

He said: “The reason for the long silence of the state government is clear to some of us. This is because many of the cattle are owned by those in the employ of the state government. They buy cattle and employ Fulani herders to tend to them. And this is why it is difficult for them to make pronouncement against cattle rearing business and herders in the state. Apart from that, some Fulanis are trooping into our community with herds of cattle. They come from nowhere and establish themselves in Idale community. We heard that the cattle in Idale are owned by some prominent people and not the Fulani herders.

“These are the people we know but there is nothing we can do to check their excesses. Herders are found in Toriko, Ibereko, opposite Limca, along Seme, opposite Iyana Iyafin and Agbovipe in the Ajara area. But we are making effort to make any herder that destroys our farm or property pay for his action.”

 

We see bountiful economic gains in anti-open grazing law –Farmers

While MACBAN in the South West is groaning over harsh consequences of the anti-open grazing law, an umbrella body of farmers in the state, the Farmers Advancement and Youth Empowerment Association of Nigeria (FAYEAN), sees abundant opportunities for farmers in the state.

Speaking on the benefits of the law, the national president of the association, Mr Abiola Gbolahan, said it would avail farmers the opportunity of venturing into animal feed production.

Gholahan, a farmer and agriculture consultant, criticised what he termed mild punishment for erring herders.

He said: “The anti-open grazing law will not only regulate the operations of herders, it will be advantageous to farmers in the state. How do I mean? One of the reasons herders roam the street with their cattle is to feed them because they cannot afford the cost of animal feed. But now that open grazing is prohibited, they will be forced to adhere to the new law which confines them to an enclosed space from where they must feed their cattle.

“Again, Lagos being an industrialised state, wild vegetation from where cattle feed is rare to come by. This is where farmers will come in. We will grow animal feed on our farm, sell it to the herders and make money from it.

“We keep tagging every herder as Fulani, but let me say this: Fulani are not the only tribe rearing cattle in Lagos State. In fact, I can tell you that residents in the state own many of the cattle that roam the streets of Lagos. The Fulani, being a tribe known mainly for cattle rearing, are employed to tend to the cattle for their Yoruba owners.

“It is therefore hypocritical to label every herder on the street of Lagos as a Fulani. Many of us have cattle we rear and graze as well because we have cattle farmers among us, too.”

He criticised the proposed penalty of N250,000 and 21 years imprisonment for violators of the law, saying it is too mild, compared to the magnitude of loss farmers incur from attacks on their farms by herders.

He said: “In Oje-Owode, Oyo State, some herdsmen grazed their cattle on a person’s farm and in the process destroyed the entire crops on the farmland. When the owner of the farm calculated his loss, it amounted to over N1 million and the herders were made to pay.

“Considering the enormity of efforts a farmer put into his farm, proposing a fine of N250,000 or 21 years or six months imprisonment as penalty does not correspond to the offence committed.

“It is too little when compared to the amount of labour lost and the damage done. So, I want to appeal to the Speaker and members of the Lagos State House of Assembly to review the punishment before it is appended to by the governor. They need to make the punishment stiffer and increase the fine to serve as deterrent to violators of the law.

“For instance, I borrowed N3 million from a bank to finance my rice farm in Gombe State. But my farm was invaded and wrecked by herdsmen. They slaughtered 40 farmers during the invasion, including one of my workers on the farm. I was left with nothing and up till now, I am still paying the debt I owe the bank, whereas the perpetrators are walking the streets as freemen.

“I was almost impoverished by that terrible act but if there was a law in place to protect farmers against attacks from marauding herders, it would have been better.

“Farmers and herders are so important to the survival of the 22 million people living in Lagos State. And if farmers have no access to their farms or have their farm destroyed, people will not be able to feed and there will be food scarcity. Similarly, if herders do not supply cattle to the state, many people, except vegans, will feel the heat.

“So, we must be prepared for the hike in prices of cattle that would follow such law because the cost of buying animal feed for the cattle, when added to the actual cost of breeding and transporting the cattle down South, take cattle out of the reach of the common man.”

 

‘Why we chased Fulani herders from our community’

Located in Kosofe Local Government, Mile 12 is one of the breeding grounds for cattle in Lagos. Mile 12 houses largely people from the northern part of the country with a good number of them engaging in alms begging and cattle rearing.

But this, according to the coordinating chairman of the seven community development associations in Agiliti, Haruna Omolajumo, has changed as herders were sacked from Mile 12 before the passage of the anti-open grazing bill by the state House of Assembly.

He said: “When the herders were sacked from Kara, they sought refuge in Agiliti, Mile-12. They operate in stages. When they arrived in Agiliti, they reared and grazed their herds peacefully. While at this, they monitored the entire environment. Once they discovered that it was safe for them to operate, they invited others to come and settle down.

“But when they discovered that people have gotten wind of their camping in Agiliti and Mile 12, they left the community two or three months ago. They had left before the passage of the bill into law. But it was not all about Fulani herders; after all, some residents too are making efforts to bring them back to the community. After the herdsmen were gone, we heard that some of the residents have taken up the business of cattle rearing. They now approach residents with offers to rear their cattle for them. And most of them buy cattle for them and they add theirs to the herd.

“The anti-open grazing law will go a long way in checking the activities of herders. But the Lagos State government must do everything within its powers to enforce the law and ensure that local residents who are into cattle rearing do so within the ambit of the law.”

 

Police, other security agencies to enforce anti-open grazing law –Govt

The Lagos State government said the enforcement of the anti-open grazing law recently passed by the State House of Assembly would be carried out by the security agencies in the state.

The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotoso, said this while speaking to Saturday Tribune on how the state planned to enforce the law in the absence of Amotekun, the regional security outfit which has become operational in other South-West states.

Omotoso said the anti-open grazing law would, like every other law made by the state House of Assembly, be enforced by law enforcement agencies, including the police.

Lagos State has local security outfits like Taskforce and Neighborhood Security Watch.

“Like every other law now, there are law enforcement agencies that enforce every law that is made by the House of Assembly. There is not going to be an exception in this one. We don’t have the kind of problems other states have with cattle in Lagos State. We have our law enforcement agencies that will enforce that,” the commissioner added.

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