Open grazing ban: Organise dialogue with farmers, herders, others, Southern governors urged

As the ban on open grazing continues to generate controversy in Nigeria, the Southern Governors have been urged to organise a dialogue with farmers and herders alongside communities, mostly at the border towns to encourage people, based on an established standard for ranching, to acquire lands and pay to the communities.

This advice was contained in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja by Igbo Youth Vanguard for Peace and Harmonious Living. It was jointly signed by Chairman and Secretary, Chief Ignatius Nwaobiora and Dr Mike Efobi, respectively.

According to the group, banning open grazing without a considered enabling environment for an average herder, who is used to his primitive ways of cattle rearing, would seem a policy that has taken away his means of livelihood.

The group believed there were good herders who are not involved in criminality and also very reasonable not to deliberately allow his cows to destroy the farmers’ crops.

“We think the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, was misunderstood. The deduction from his comment on open grazing is clear. It is not enough for Southern governors to ban open grazing, but they should also implement the policy in a manner that would achieve the goal and at the same time improve the economic activities of the herders and other businessmen who may wish to invest in cow ranching in that part of the country.

“With this arrangement on the ground, once the cows come in, herders should be given a place to stay with their cows. Villagers can now be provided employment by engaging them to supply grasses to these herders to feed their cows at a minimal cost. Once this is done, the problem of clashes between herders and farmers would permanently end. This arrangement would also isolate the good herders from those carrying AK47 for kidnapping and other crimes.

“Comments and sincere opinions, like that of the minister, should not be politicised or given ethnic colourations so easily, especially at this phase of our nationhood,” the group pleaded.

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