PART VII called the Miscellaneous Provisions restricts any legal action or suit against the commission. A written notice shall first be given to the commission of the intention to sue it or any member of the council; “No execution or attachment of process shall be issued against the commission without the consent of the Attorney General of the Federation”. The Commission is indemnified out of the assets of the commission against any proceeding whether civil or criminal in which judgment is given….”

The idea of this bill is to take farming land belonging to communities, all over the country, make it Federal land permanently held for any class of persons it may fancy or please, and in this case it is for the economic, social, and religious benefit of the cattle rearers, whom we know as Fulani Herdsmen.

In the views of the proponents of this bill, it may well be their answer to resolving the communal clash between the Fulani Herds men, and rural farming communities across this nation, but the bill is laden with potentially explosive provisions.The Bill omitted and underestimated the role of the Ministry of Information and the National Orientation Agency in the execution and implementation of important national policies, especially new one that are potentially controversial like in this case, by not including them as part of the membership of the Grazing Commission.

Part II, (7) (f) says “… Fostering  the mind of general public particularly the pastoral transhumance population, the necessity for the establishment and development  of National Grazing Reserves and Stock Routes with the object of developing a greater appreciation of the value of lifestock and environmental conservation”.

Transhumance means the movement of livestock to different grazing lands according to the season,for example when flocks are taken up to the mountain pastures in the summertime in Europe.

Transhumance is a method of grazing practiced in the early 20th century, which the world has since abandoned, and moved beyond in life stock production. Transhumance in itself, cannot cope with the demands of increasing populations in the modern day society. And with civilisation and modernisation, it cannot supply adequate protein requirements from cattle to any society in these times, why then do we in Nigeria insist on it ?

The world of today cannot be satisfied with the early 20th century methods be it in agriculture, health, commerce, industry, you name it, and same applies to transhumance in livestock production.

Nigeria and more directly, our Fulani brethren, should accept to change their method of trade and doing the business of cattle production, because times have moved on, and waits for no one, not even Nigeria.

Transhumance in life stock production died several decades ago, but our agricultural policy formulators did not see it, and they did failed woefully to accept that fact, and change and which now accounts for the restiveness in the cattle grazing cultures of our country today.

The solution is neither in encouraging, AK 47 wielding Fulani cattle men across the nation, because others with time, can also carry modern and even more deadly fighting equipment to check them, nor is it in trying to sponsor laws that will allow medieval agricultural practices in modern day society, as that will make and leave us as a nation with poor protein supply plan, and thereby dependent on imports for our animal protein requirements.

The solution lies in doing what other nations did to succeed in feeding their increasing populations;Change how we practice agriculture and more particularly life stock production. Federal Government should encourage and sponsor laws that will transform our primitive agriculture to modern day practices.

Cattle, Sheep and Goats ,Poultry, and Pigs production should be  supported by laws that will enable those interested in such businesses to buy or acquire their land legitimately, obtain funding from financial institutions under very liberal terms, with their business implements and equipment supplied possibly under a special scheme, to enable them succeed in the farming and livestock production business.

Cattle production should not be the sole preserve for Fulani men, the space should be opened up for investors so as to attract foreigners into livestock production in Nigeria. A close look at the fishing industry will reveal that it is only foreigners that are plucking the gains, because our governments have failed to encourage local fishing and trawling magnates to develop.

However, it is better late than never as the saying goes. Let Nigeria start now to see cattle production business as one any person or investor can do, and not for Fulanis  alone, let our laws support commercial cattle, sheep and goats ranching, along with piggery, poultry, fish production, etc.

The taking of lands and alienating them permanently is a stone age, medieval, primitive, and very harsh method of land acquisition.

The present pretended silence with the  “I am not aware” body language of the Federal Government is only a good invitation to conflict and chaos in our rural communities.

Sections 20,21, and 22 of the bill, empowers the Grazing Commission to only give Notice to a Governor of a state whose land is intended to be acquired etc. There is no provision in the bill for the consent of such a targeted Governor. Consent of the state concerned ought to be obtained to avoid conflicts, disputes and trouble. Consent should be in a written form with the signatures of the Community heads, traditional rulers, the State House, and the Governor. An aggrieved community must have the right to seek redress in court. Any law like this bill, that seeks dexterously to kill or muffle the right of redress in court is unconstitutional, and must not be allowed. The omission of consent from ancestral or traditional land owners betrays the manipulative intensions of this bill.

Section 24, of the bill empowers the Grazing Commission to enter into negotiations with holders of either statutory or customary rights of occupancy for the assignment or alienation of the unexpired residue and terms to the Commission. This provision is ambiguous, and can be used by the Commission to deny or refuse discussions with ancestral and traditional land owners who have no written titles to their lands.

Farmers in the villages own their lands by inheritance through family, community and clan history. This section can be used to take their land without compensation! The treachery and mischief intended by the proponents of this bill is the shutting of the door of negotiation with traditional and ancestral land owners.

Section 25, gives the Commission power to regulate and restrict persons and activities on grazing land, while Section 26 excludes right and power to alienate the Commissions land. This perhaps is most controversial section, as it requires the consent of the Attorney General of the Federation to incident any actions or court processes against the Commission. Where the Attorney General refuses or seats on the consent, the mouth, hands, and legs of aggrieved communities and individuals are tied, which is an insult on the sensibilities of land owning communities across Nigeria, especially in the South East of Nigeria where land is scarce. It was a subtle way to oust the role of courts in Commission matters, It is tyranny !

Mr  Clement Udegbe, a lawyer, can be reached at  ceeaai@yahoo.com.