Open grazing controversy: Nigeria at crossroads

Quite undoubtedly, the issue of open grazing has become the most controversial in Nigeria today while the activities of ‘suspected herdsmen’ have become a major threat to the security of the nation. The Federal Government, individual states and stakeholders hold different opinions on the matter. How can the country get out of this dilemma?  VICTOR GAI, examines the issues.

THE military clampdown on bandits in the North-West is recording tremendous success while Boko Haram fighters are surrendering in droves in the North-East. For the first time since the inception of the Buhari administration, Nigerians’ hopes are being rekindled with a sigh of relief.

But one issue that has left every concerned Nigerian gasping is the activities of so called ‘suspected herdsmen’. Communities across the country are being terrorized daily while policy makers and politicians have disagreed on the issue of open grazing. The issue now is for the practice to be or not to be.

The political, ethnic and social dimensions to the issue of open grazing have created lots of complications that would take a long time to deal with.

Meanwhile, herdsmen who are mainly of the Fulani ethnic group have practiced open grazing for thousands of years and so the practice is deeply entrenched in their culture. Considering the interest of farmers who co-exist with pastoral Fulani herdsmen, the colonial government created cattle routes and reserves in order to mitigate clashes between the two groups. With independence in 1960 and the resultant change in demographics and urbanization, these cattle routes were overtaken. Also, Nigeria restructured into a full-fledged federal system with the attendant change in laws.

One important legislation that emerged after independence was the Land Use Act of 1978 which vests the control and administration of lands in the state governors. This law would turn out to be crucial as the Federal Government and state governments disagree on how best to deal with the issue of open grazing by Fulani herdsmen.

Meanwhile, since the inception of the Buhari government, the major bone of contention has been the farmer/herdsmen question. The frequent clashes later gave way to attacks on communities which resulted in loss of lives and property.

Two states in Nigeria, Benue and Taraba, in trying to solve the farmer/herder problem, promulgated the anti-open grazing law in 2017 and 2018 respectively.

While opposing the Benue and Taraba laws, the Federal Government experimented with their own types of policies such as cattle colonies, Rural Grazing Areas (RUGA), and grazing reserves. All of them fell like a pack of cards. The one that finally appealed to Nigerians was the Vice President Osinbajo- inspired, National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP).

According to the Crisis Group, “The National Livestock Transformation Plan, one of a string of government initiatives to manage cattle production, is meant to foster greater prosperity through reforms that will make the livestock sector “more productive and sustainable” at the same time that it encourages peaceful coexistence between herders and farmers. Its chief aims are to curb the movement of cattle by encouraging predominantly nomadic herders to switch to sedentary, more mechanised livestock production and thereby to minimise conflict between them and crop farmers”.

NLTP plans to establish various categories of ranches (large, medium and small) in public grazing reserves and improve services around them including by securing water to irrigate pasture and grow fodder, with support from the government, private investors and foreign donors. The plan initially identified seven pilot states to develop ranches in public grazing reserves, namely Adamawa, Benue, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Plateau, Taraba and Zamfara. The federal government bears overall responsibility and provides most of the funding.

But despite the well laid out plan, full implementation was reported to have been delayed by lack of funding and the Covid-19 pandemic. Then of course, the herdsmen menace increased across the country that states had to take their destiny into their own hands.

Consequently, the 17 governors of the southern states had, in a meeting held in Lagos on July 5, 2021, urged all the states in the region to ensure that the legislation against open grazing of cattle is put in place on or before September 1.The decision came after individual attempts to address the menace of open grazing in southern states failed as the governors under the Forum of Southern Governors, in one voice, announced a ban on loose cattle in all the 17 southern states. They recommended that the Federal Government should support willing states to develop alternative and modern livestock management systems.

As it is now, A/Ibom, Osun,  Rivers, Bayelsa, Ekiti, Abia, Oyo, Ondo have banned roaming of cattle with Lagos being the latest to sign the anti-open grazing law. Legislation is still in the works in, Ogun, Delta, Enugu, Imo.

However, the decision of the 17 southern governors was received with mixed reactions. A section of the Fulani socio-cultural associations supported the decision but with conditions.

One of those in support of the 17 southern governors’ decision was Sen. Walid Jibrin, the National Patron, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN).

“As a full-blooded Fulani man, Sarkin Fulani, and Patron, Miyatti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, MACBAN, and concerned Fulani leader in Nigeria, I have a free mind on anyone recommending a ban on open grazing, free movement of herders, and cattle in Nigeria because the practice is getting outdated internationally and therefore necessary, for Nigeria, especially the Fulani race, to study critically the traditional open grazing, believing that the 21st century may never accommodate it.

“When you look at the practice of open grazing in Nigeria, compared with what is happening internationally, Nigeria can never continue with traditional open grazing practice. “In order to effect a change, Fulani elite should be bold enough to come out with alternatives to open grazing and advise the Fulanis in Nigeria accordingly.

“Federal and state governments should come to the rescue by providing grazing reserves, equipped with hospitals, nomadic schools, electricity, bore holes, cattle markets with modern slaughtering centres, open market to our Fulani women to enable them remain in one place to sell milk, instead of their house-to-house roaming about exposing our rich culture and religion.”

“I have fully observed the feeling of many groups and individuals in Nigeria about open grazing. There is so much condemnation from Nigerian governors, Northern governors, Southern governors etc.

“These groups and individuals should never be condemned and must be praised for their bold comments trying to modernize and improve cattle rearing in Nigeria. Another reason we should shy away from open grazing is the way old methods of settlements of crises between herdsmen and farmers have been abandoned.

“The role of the traditional rulers, especially the village heads, district heads are daily being neglected by both herdsmen and farmers, leaving it in the hands of the Police, courts and other law enforcement agencies agencies.

“Because of poverty and lack of full education, some children are involved in some unholy acts which will surely be remedied by provision of grazing reserves,” Jibrin stated.

But Maikudu Usman, Secretary, South-West of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, thinks differently. His recent statement is currently causing ripples and inundating the media space. He was reacting to the latest passage of the law by Lagos State.

“We can’t rear our cattle in one place, because what the cattle will eat and consume will be very very expensive if I can’t move them around.

“I can assure you that if we are made to graze on a secluded area, the cost of breeding a cow will be very high and the cost to sell one cow will be nothing less than N2 million.

“There is so much attachment between herders and herds to the extent that any inconveniences on the herds is considered as inconveniences on herders and by so doing this will be resisted vehemently. Passing Anti-Open cattle grazing into law can create tension in the state because of the inconveniences it would bring along with it.

“Also, because the herders are migrating to South West that’s why we are having damages to farmlands. And now the bad eggs among the Fulani herders have turned into bandits. Therefore, we are suggesting a deal whereby, when I’m bringing herds, I inform and notify the local government chairman or Baale of the community that i am coming with my cows so that they will know that i am there and be registered.

“But, we have discovered that some strangers called  herders have infiltrated the ranks of Miyetti-Allah. We are taking steps already to weed them out of our group. Miyetti-Allah is a peaceful, and peace loving group. These Fulani herders come from nowhere and damage some people’s farm and that is why we are having problems.

“We are having a national conference of MACBAN to be held in Abuja, next year in January where all issues concerning the Fulani invasion into Miyetti-Allah will be addressed inorder to fish them out of our group.

“That’s why we are urging the state House of Assembly and the Lagos State Government to give us more time so that we can go back and sensitize our members on the bill and how to breed our cows henceforth without resorting to violence among residents,” Usman said.

Also, unlike some Fulani groups that are in the habit of issuing threats when matters like this arise, others have chosen the path of dialogue. For them a blanket ban on open grazing is unworkable without an alternative.

According to the Spokesman of MACBAN, Saleh Alhassan, “The Federal Government should create a ministry for livestock and fisheries as obtainable in many African countries. Nigerians should adopt strategies in responding to changes of climate change as it affects livestock production not negative laws.

”Alhassan noted that anti-open grazing laws would destroy livestock production and send millions who depend on the livestock value chain into poverty. The Miyetti Allah leader also called on the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to take an inventory of grazing reserves in the country and fully develop at least one grazing reserve in each senatorial zone. He appealed to the National Assembly to rescue the pastoralists by resuscitating and passing the Grazing Reserves Commission Bill and other livestock management bills initiated by the previous assembly.

“When you ban it, you need to tell them how they should graze their cows…If there is an alternative, there is no problem, and that is the only thing we are begging for,” Gidado Siddiki, South East Chairman, MACBAN, added.

He complained that ranching has not been provided for them as an alternative in conducting their business.

Meanwhile, as the anti-open grazing saga was heating the polity, Nigerians were perplexed when President Buhari, out of the blues, hinted about resuscitating the old grazing routes. Won’t the old grazing routes rubbish the already articulated NLTP which the same government is trying to implement? That is the question on the lips of observers.

“What I did was ask him (Malami) to go and dig the gazette of the First Republic when people were obeying laws. There were cattle routes and grazing areas. Cattle routes were for when they (herdsmen) are moving up country, north to south or east to west, they had to go through there.

“If you allow your cattle to stray into any farm, you are arrested. The farmer is invited to submit his claims. The Khadi or the judge will say pay this amount and if you can’t the cattle is sold. And if there is any benefit, you are given and people were behaving themselves and in the grazing areas, they built dams, put windmills in some places there were even veterinary departments so that the herders are limited. Their route is known; their grazing area is known. So, I asked for the gazette to make sure that those who encroached on these cattle routes and grazing areas will be dispossessed in law and try to bring some order back into the cattle grazing,” the President said during a chat onArise TV.

He also tasked state governors to rise up to the challenges facing their states. “These governors campaigned and won elections, they should be able to sort out issues arising in their localities, not running to the presidency. You know these people more than I do, and you are democratically elected to protect your people. Don’t sit idly expecting me to do everything, take action,” Buhari said. But in a statement by Chief Press Secretary to Gov. Ortom, Terver Akase, the governor said, “We find the move not only shocking and curious but also a misplaced priority. At a time, the country is worried about the worsening security situation and many Nigerians are calling for national dialogue to address the fundamental issues that have led to the present state of affairs, the Federal Government considers the reopening of cattle grazing routes as the only solution available to it.

The regions of the country have accepted the fact that open grazing of animals is no longer fashionable and should be banned to pave way for ranching, yet, the government at the centre is insistent that grazing reserves/cattle routes must be created across the country.”