From OBJ’s national coalition to Audu Ogbeh’s cattle colonies

WHEN I wrote last week that the Season of scorecard is here last week, little did I know that the “boss of all bosses,” former President Olusegun Obasanjo (apologies to former President Goodluck Jonathan), was already prepared to make public his version of the score card. He did so in style on Tuesday, January 23 and that was a comprehensive submission.

Obasanjo’s appraisal of Buhari gave details of the failings of the incumbent government but did not stop at that. The former leader also told Buhari to perish his second term thoughts and not seek re-election in 2019. Just like the former President said, it is left to Buhari to yield to or reject the advice, the decision really lies with the people.

Obasanjo identified ills such as nepotism, gross dereliction of duty, condonation of alleged crimes within the power loop and incompetence as some of the key factors that have combined to wreak havoc on Buhari’s myriad of campaign promises, which are now reduced to mere paper talk.

One of the ways out Obasanjo suggested is the emergence of a national coalition to chart the way forward ahead of 2019. He said he was ready to participate in nurturing the national coalition that would emphasise national unity and cohesion.

In response to Obasanjo, some groups have started emerging. Some 30 political parties announced last week they were forming a coalition against the ruling party. There is also the NIM coalition, which was announced at the end of 2017. That group has already announced steering committees with some big names in the politics and civil society.

Added to Obasanjo’s admonitions on the emergence of the Third Force, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili has spoken of the red card to the ruling APC and the main opposition PDP.

But will a Third Force work, especially as we have exactly a year to the next elections?

My take is quite different. A Third Force that would metamorphose into a political party of its own at this stage is going to be a difficult task. If the APC field is seen to have been colonised by the incumbent President, why should the other interests not coalesce in the next main opposition platform.

After the project AoBJ (Any other But Jonathan) in 2015, opponents of Buhari can only get the man out in 2019 through another project AoBB (Any other But Buhari).The opponents should however know that a man in power is already holding half of the yam. To get him off the horse, you must get your strategies right. Without a combined effort, dissipating energies into camps of coalitions can only empower the incumbent.

 

Audu Ogbeh’s cattle colonies

One other pressing issue that has been on the table for weeks now is the quest by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development under Chief Audu Ogbeh to create Cattle Colonies across the country.

The Minister had last year announced the decision of the government to establish cattle colonies in states of the federation as a way out of the perennial farmers/herdsmen clashes. One scary statistics indicate that these recurring clashes have claimed human lives every single month of the past two and a half years.

Without mentioning figures of the dead, it cannot be a palatable story to any right thinking human that lives of compatriots have been cut short on a consistent basis in the last 25 months.

According to the Minister, Cattle Colonies would pave the way for the creation of chains of cattle ranches and solve the frequent bloodletting across the land.

Ogbeh wrote letters to the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital but only 16 states have so far agreed to offer land for that purpose.

Information from the Ministry indicates that 16 states so far agreed to donate 5,000 hectares of land for the cattle colony project. The states include Adamawa, Kano, Katsina, Zamfara, Kebbi, Nasarawa, Plateau, Bauchi, Gombe, Kaduna,Katsina,  Borno, Jigawa, Niger, Kogi and Kwara.

Thus far, the breakdown of states that rejected the cattle colonisation has created a clear North/South divide to the argument. It is interesting statistics. While states of the South rejected the idea, states of the North and North central, save for Benue and Plateau have embraced the idea.

This should provide an interesting dimension for Ogbeh to deal with. And that should provide the easier way out of the logjam.

Following the emerging statistics, Ogbeh should just create a division of labour scenario in the cattle business. Since the states of the North have agreed to the cattle colony, the Minister should allow that be, while encouraging the states of the South and middle belt which have fertile lands for growth of grasses to create portions of grasslands that can supply the cattle colonies in the North with feeds.

So, with 16 Northern states providing abode for the cattle, the other states that rejected the idea will easily turn to grass merchants and export grass to the northern states where the colonies would domicile.

By that a new set of employment would be created. Women and youths could become grass merchants and some transport companies would equally emerge in the supply chain.

If that is the case, you are not likely to see cows straying across the roads or into people’s farms, or Fulani herdsmen butchering innocent lives in retaliation for some alleged criminals who might have stolen their straying cows.

It could be a win-win solution for all parties.