•Useni, Tsav, tribal leaders: It is victory for Ortom, natives, Nigerians
• Governor: Law came from the people themselves

By Peter Duru, Makurdi

Alas, the Federal Government has succumbed to the demand that ranching of cattle is the panacea to the orgy of killings in parts of the country and Benue State in particular.

Benue has since the beginning of the year witnessed outrageous killings by suspected militant herdsmen in what many have described as genocide in the quest to take over the state valley for grazing.

The killings followed alleged threat by the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore which vowed to resist the Open Grazing Prohibition Law enacted by the state administration last May but came into effect on November 1.

The group was alleged to have vowed to mobilize its members to converge in Benue to resist the law.

It was held in several quarters that the serial massacres and the sacking of several communities and displacement of close to 200,000 persons with close to 130,000 of the victims being children were in fulfilment of that threat.

It therefore came as a huge relief to the people of Benue when, last week, the National Economic Council, NEC, recommended a ban on open grazing in the country.

The decision, to forestall further violence and killings associated with farmers and herdsman crisis in the country, also banned free movement of cattle across the borders of Nigeria from other Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) member-states.

That decision has continued to elicit positive reactions from Nigerians who have had sleepless nights over the killings by suspected herdsmen.

One of those who hailed Governor Samuel Ortom for leading the popular movement to redefine cattle breeding in the country was Gen. Jeremiah Useni (ret.) when he visited Benue for the burial of Brig. Gen. Stephen Ikya at Tse-Ikya, Mbagbera in Vandeikya Local Government Area of the state.

The former army chief, who is the senator representing Plateau South, lauded Ortom’s foresight for championing the cause for Nigeria to adopt ranching which he said was the global best practice in animal husbandry.

He described the governor as “a courageous person who sees ahead and the kind we crave for in Nigeria”.

Useni also commended Ortom for always bringing to the public domain the issues of killings and attacks on his people, stressing that Benue was lucky to have him in leadership at this time. The senator implored the people to support his efforts because they are “the hallmarks of a visionary, vibrant and selfless leader”.

“The National Assembly is behind the governor in the struggle because he has shown uncommon leadership qualities that should be emulated”, he added.

While condemning the killings in Benue, Useni expressed hope that with the dogged determination of the government and people of the state, a permanent solution would be found soon. On his part, a former Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav, lauded the NEC decision.

Tsav said, “It is a victory for Benue people because the governor championed it and the Federal Government has embraced it. So Ortom should be credited for coming out with it. It’s indeed a victory for the government and people of Benue and Nigerians in general.

“No doubt if they ban open grazing and provide land for ranching, that would solve the problem. It will check the killings occasioned by farmers/herders crisis. It will also put a check to cattle rustling.”

The Chairman of the Benue tribal leaders, Chief Edward Ujege, said, “The NEC decision is a welcome development, it is what we have repeatedly said. It is good that they have seen reason in our agitation.

“But the only thing is that the acquisition of land for ranching should follow the wish of the people. It should not be that government would just come in and forcefully take land from the locals. “It has to be according to the laws made by the various Houses of Assembly in order to avoid friction.”

Also speaking on the development, Benue State Deputy Governor, Mr. Benson Abounu, who attended the NEC meeting where the decision was taken, described it as “a vindication of the position of Benue that crop production and animal husbandry cannot co-exist and that the best way of guaranteeing peace between farmers and herdsmen is ranching of animals.

Abounu added, “Benue has been in the fore-front of the campaign for ranching in this country, standing its ground in the face of intimidation and threats; realising that it offers more benefit to herdsmen, crop farmers and the entire country.

“I am happy that NEC finally accepted the position. I am optimistic that the decision would put a halt to persistent farmers/herdsmen clashes in the country.”

A former House of Representatives member and Chairperson of the Benue Women’s Forum, Mrs. Rebecca Apedzan, also spoke. She said, “Government by the decision wants to go for ranching in some states, but on the list, Nasarawa and Kogi were not included. If they want to be sincere, Kogi and Nasarawa should be on the list of states where they want to start the ranching.

“They said ranching will be introduced in five states, and that they would provide amenities for them just like the colony they talked about. So perhaps they just want to introduce the colony thing through the back door.

“I don’t think Benue has such land for that. What business has government to do with ranching for herdsmen who are into private business. They should allow those who rear cows to go and do their ranching.

“Why is the Federal Government taking tax payers’ money to build ranches? Are they also going to do farms for farmers or piggery for us? Whereas the ban is a welcome development, it shouldn’t be government’s business to build ranches.”

In his reaction to the cheering news, Governor Ortom said, “You know that Nigeria is a federation comprising 36 states and Abuja. And of course, the 36 states are federating units and these units are independent of each other. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria mandates each federating unit to make laws for good governance.

“This is what we did as far as the grazing law is concerned. You’re aware that this challenge between herdsmen and farmers in Benue and other parts of the country preceded the current administration whether at the federal level or Benue.

“The steps we took were to finally forestall the unending crisis between farmers and herdsmen and we remain committed to this in Benue.

“I must congratulate the Benue people and Nigerians in general. I must congratulate the media for standing with us in defence of this law.

“You must appreciate the fact that from May 22, 2017 when we signed the bill into law, it became so contentious. There were several agitations from several quarters. So for the National Economic Council, NEC, to adopt that, truly, ranching is the right way to go, it is congratulations to all of us and we appreciate God.

“We’ve always said that the prohibition of open grazing in Benue State is a product of the people themselves. You were all here and you saw that in the process of making this law, the people were in a hurry to the extent that Benue State House of Assembly was occupied more than three times. And you had people coming, old women, young men and so on coming in to protest and to ensure that the law was enacted.

“Even as I speak to you today, before I went on vacation, I had cause to tour the IDPs camps.

“I visited the eight of them and in spite of the hardship and the pains that the IDPs were going through, I did pose a question, ‘Do we find a way of repealing this law?’ They unanimously they said no, they believe that it is the way to go.

“I commend the wisdom of the Vice President in setting up that committee that went out to assess the situation and the entire members of NEC for coming out to adopt this.

“Like the northern governors, some weeks ago, they met in Kaduna and adopted that ranching was the only way to stop the challenge of herdsmen/farmers crisis.

“By 2050, the population of Nigeria, by projection, would be 415 million and, if we have approximately 200 million people and this challenge, by the time we double that population, where are we going to be? Where would you have the land for open grazing?

“So I commend NEC for taking this bold decision. Individual states are at liberty to decide what is good for them. I’m aware that sometime ago, my colleague in Kano State called on all herdsmen to go to Kano as they have enough land for them to do open grazing. That is the kind of thing I’m talking about.

“For us here, it is impossible because we don’t have the land; our land is for crop production, which is the main occupation of our people. Even within our population here, the land is not enough for farming.

“So I appreciate God because it has been agreed that ranching remains the best global practice.

In fact, it may interest you to know that the total herd of cattle we have in Nigeria is estimated to be less than 20 million. But you have over 200 million in India; you have over 250 million in Brazil; you have over 300 million in America and they all ranch and you don’t hear about farmers/herdsmen clashing.

“So, ranching is the right way to go. I commend NEC and I believe that with this position of NEC, we will finally have peace. Those insurgents that are still going about killing our people are not out for cattle business or cattle rearing. They are out for a different agenda and we are not going to allow that agenda to manifest”.