Earlier this week, 17 Governors from Southern Nigeria met in Delta State to discuss the rising insecurity in the country. They called for restructuring to enable states to have more financial autonomy and capacity to deal with threats relating to Insecurity.
“We discussed various national issues including security and restructuring. In view of the incursions of armed herders, criminals, and bandits, we resolved to ban open grazing in all of Southern Nigeria.
Nigeria needs to be restructured to reflect true federalism leading to state policing and a change in the revenue allocation formula of the nation. We also recommended the establishment of ports in other states to address the congestion of the Apapa Port,” Seyi Makinde, Oyo State Governor said.
Farmers-Herders Clashes: Nigeria Must Ban Open Grazing, Learn From Kenya, Others ASCAB
Nigerian herders must accept “modern animal husbandry” and learn from Botswana, South Africa, Mozambique, Kenya and Ethiopia that have effectively adopted ranching to end clashes.
by SaharaReporters, New York
May 14, 2021
The Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond (ASCAB) has said that the worsening insecurity in the country due to the fatal clashes between herders and farmers can only be addressed if the country adopts ranching in place of open grazing.
Interim Chairman of the group, human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, on Friday noted that the decision of the Southern governors was in line because there cannot be grazing on farmlands without the authorisation of the owners.
Insecurity: Group backs governors on open grazing ban
Mr Falana advised the governors to legalise the ban. 2 min read
The Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond (ASCAB) has backed the decision of southern governors to ban open grazing in their respective states.
The group, led by human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, in a statement to PREMIUM TIMES on Friday said the only solution to farmers-herders violence is the adoption of ranching against open grazing.
It maintained that some African countries like Botswana, South Africa, Mozambique, Kenya and Ethiopia have adopted ranching to end the crisis.
“As I had repeatedly maintained, the worsening insecurity in the country including the violent clashes between herders and farmers can only be seriously addressed if policy makers are prepared to abandon primitive ideas and embrace scientific solutions.
Ban on open grazing: AFAN, Agric stakeholder back southern governors Ban on open grazing: AFAN, Agric stakeholder back southern governors
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The National President of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Arc Kabir Ibrahim, has said the position of the Southern Governors on open grazing would help boost the livestock sector.
Arc Ibrahim said the ban on open grazing by the Southern Governors would make the implementation of the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP) achievable.
He said that open grazing reduces milk and meat production in cattle, and also reduces ovulation in female cattle difficult and male unable to mate.