***Senate Stops Fresh Moves To Create New Grazing Routes For Herders
 

The President of the 9th senate Ahmad lawan representing Yobe North in the 10th senate recently clashed with Senator Titus Tartengar Zam representing Benue North West (APC) and Victor Umeh (LP) Anambra Central at plenary on Tuesday over farmers/herders clash.

The trio disagreed over the vexed issue of farmers/herders clash that has become a reoccurring decimal

While Lawan made case for the herders saying government has not been fair to them by protecting their livestock business that is worth N30tr they are left to their fate, to face rustling of their cows and the danger of being attacked while they go about their business across the country, the the Benue and Anambra senators said a ban on open grazing is long overdue, as they move for ranching to be made mandatory.

This was coming just as the Senate opposed the move to reintroduce grazing roots as panacea for the menace.

The red chamber had rejected fresh moves to create new grazing routes for herders in Nigeria in response to an amendment to prayers in a motion on matter of urgent national importance raised by the Senator representing Kogi East Senatorial District, Isah Jibrin, on the recent killings carried out by herdsmen in some communities within his constituency.
Rather, the red chamber unanimously passed a resolution to set up an adhoc committee that would convoke a national summit to find lasting solutions to the constant farmers-herders clashes across the country.
Jibrin informed his colleagues that  Omala Local Government Area has been under recurring attacks by gunmen, leading to killings and destruction of properties and farmlands.

He said that the development had rendered many of his constituents, homeless with no means of sustenance.

He expressed worry that Agojeju Odo, Ajokpachi Odo, Bagaji, and Bagana communities had been ravaged by recent gunmen, rendering over 30,000 inhabitants of the communities homeless.

The herders action he added, had led to  exodus of the inhabitants to other parts of Kogi State.

He specifically noted that on 5th April 2024, armed herders invaded Agojeju Odo, Ajokpachi Odo, Bagaji and Bagana communities, killing 21 innocent citizens, including women and children, in addition to unprecedented destruction of their farm produce.

He also said that on 30th April 2024, gunmen attacked Ajokpachi Odo community in Omala LGA, killing no fewer than three persons and rendered the entire community desolate, with no health facility to cater for the deteriorating health conditions of the survivors.

He said the attacks on the communities in Omala LGA had resulted in the killing of over 500 citizens, in addition to wanton destruction of public and private properties worth hundreds of millions of naira.

The Senate observed  a minute silence for the departed souls in Omala LGA of Kogi State.

It urged the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to assist the affected communities in Omala LGA of Kogi State, with relief materials and other forms of support necessary for their rehabilitation.

Senator Umeh while contributing to the motion on the vexed issue recalled that in the 8th Senate, “We saw a lot of these in Nasarawa, Taraba, Parts of the North the same headers are still ravaging, they are now in Kogi

“So I think that an action should be taken to ban this type of migrant grazing across Nigeria. We must have to do things the way they are done in civilized nations. 

“Ranching has been proposed to put our cattle in confined settlement and nature them, breed them and produce meat. If all the cattle they consume in the United Kingdom you see them on the streets of the United Kingdom. 

“In England, nobody sees these things on the road. It is only here that every morning headers will invade a community and kill persons, torch their house, displace them and we have no solution to it. 

“Nigerians should find how to put an end to this score of headers displacing people in their ancestral home because they bring their cattle down move into people’s ancestral lands while they are sleeping, they kill them, burn their houses and we get this report continuously and these herders are still moving around. 

“Let us find a way of putting an end to it. By legislation we should ban migrant grazing.  If we put a law and ban it anybody who is moving around with cattle, will be running foul of the law on the road, how much more into people’s farms. They destroy their means of livelihood, burn down their school facilities and they go away, nobody is talking on how to apprehend them. 

“Our inability to reign in headers activities in Nigeria has been responsible for this destruction of lives and properties, by making it illegal for anybody to move cattle round the country but should create ranches.

“About 500 people have so lost their lives in Omala as reported in this motion, who will bring these people back to life. Are we saying that people can be killed for us to eat the meat, who will eat the meat, when those that will eat the meat are being killed on daily basis. This is a barbaric type of farming, we should be courageous to put an end to it.

Senator Lawan on his part admitted that the clashes between the herdsmen and farmers is a very long standing phenomenon adding that there is no section of the country that has not suffered from the menace “! Most of it is happening in the North. So for Me, the issue is security issue as much as it is economic issue. When we discuss this we should have no hold barred. We should say it as it is because we are looking for solution. “Things I may say may not be pleasant. I am convinced that they will help us get lasting and enduring solution we must continue to protect the lives and property of our citizens 

The things I may say may not be pleasant. I’m convinced that they will help us.

This is the most important essence of government that we all know but like one of our colleagues said, Mr. President the history of how the herdsmen particularly the Fulani 

From real herdsmen genuine herdsmen, postoralists, into some of them, the bandits today, killing across the country, will give us an idea of what happened. Here you have a people who don’t have any means of livelihood but rare animals.

“And like we all know, certain things happened. Animal or livestock or cattle rustling  many of them lost their cattle. And of course we know that they don’t know any other thing. “The livestock industry is worth 30 trillion naira, that from authority, I will tell you it’s 30 trillion naira in Nigeria. So this is a very important industry. And we cannot neglect it while we deal with those who kill our people.

“We must be looking at the possibility, the necessity and imperative of making government, the federal government particularly, to see how to resuscitate the lives and livelihood of those who are willing to remain within the boundaries of the rule.

Somebody will tell you, well, it’s business. What can be more business than banking?

“The government, we gave banks the opportunity some of them will steal money and today we are neck deep in AMCON. Tons stolen by major people in this country. So the government of Nigeria is in debt

He also kicked against the Discos whom government gave money after they bought over the enterprises

“All 11, even after they were sold, privatized, the government was still giving them money, up to 1.4 trillion. Why should we do that? 

“This industry, the livestock industry, it’s a major industry. We have to have a way and a life-line to be able to conduct a regional summit.

He urged Akpabio to lead the Senate to have a national summit on livestock development and then the subsequent insecurity that we face. 

“I don’t know when those who know better will sit and come out with something. But let me conclude, I believe that we have to be very decisive in funding our security agencies to protect our people and their property. But I also believe that government should have a responsibility. The government should take the gauntlet, provide something to protect the lives of the people who didn’t do anything but try to carr for their animals.

Senator Titus Tartengar Zam representing Benue North West (APC), said, “If you listen to me from the tone of my voice, you will know that I am bleeding internally as a result of some of the reactions that have accompanied this motion from my brother, Senator Echocho.

“All over the world. What guides human behavior is enabling laws. The law can determine whether our behavior is right or wrong. The Senate is the highest law-making institution in this country.

“The issue of farmers, herders crises has defied all security efforts. The only option that is yet explored is that of having a law prohibiting open grazing in a country. Once you have that law in place, those who engage in animal husbandry We now know that it is unlawful to carry animals from Zanfara to Makurdi. And along the way, you kill everybody on the route, leading to wherever you want. 

“Once that law is not there, then everybody becomes free to now carry arms and move freely into other people’s communities. Because some people have advantage of being in power in this country, they have advantage of developing themselves economically so that they are able to amass weapons which they now use to terrorize other parts of this country. 

“And we will begin to justify that by saying, other institutions, other people have misconduct themselves, begone when has supported them in one word order, then we are inherently justifying the killing of innocent people by those who engage in such acts. 

“I therefore suggest that open, grazing prohibiting law must be enacted by this Senate so that those who engage in animal husbandry will be compelled to go by way of ranching, so that the animals will be kept in one place. 

“There is no reason whatsoever. If we have laws governing other aspects of our life’s what is diffifficult in this senate to stop this movement of animals and then the killing of people that accompany those who carry these animals in this country. 

“I want to say here that by tomorrow I will bring a bill that will control animal husbandry in this country by way of going towards ranching. We don’t have as much cows in Nigeria as we have in the US and other parts of the country. But the animals are ranched and so people don’t have this problem. 

“So how comes we have got few animals in this country and then we them going around killing people and real all kinds of things.”