National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has urged state governments to convert unoccupied public lands to ranche
National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has urged state governments to convert unoccupied public lands to ranches for herdsmen.
He also enjoined the Federal Government to convene a meeting of all state governors, security officials, traditional and religious leaders, including representatives of herders and farmers, to find solutions to the lingering conflict.
In recent times, nomadic herders have been accused of trespassing on farms and destroying crops with their cows in several parts of the country, particularly in the South-West. Some herdsmen have also been accused of raping, kidnapping, and killing in host communities.
Many leaders in Yorubaland, including a chieftain of the socio-political group, Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, had criticised Tinubu for failing to speak on the crisis due to political reasons.
However, Tinubu broke his prolonged silence on Saturday on the issue by canvassing the conversion of unoccupied public land to ranches to solve the lingering conflict
“Unoccupied public land can be fenced into grazing areas or ranches and leased to herders on a very low-cost, nominal basis,” Tinubu said in a statement he signed and titled, Statement on the herders crisis.
It was not the first time, though, that the APC leader would make such a call.
He had in October 2018, while addressing a National Summit jointly organised by The Nation Newspapers and Television Continental, called for the conversion of unoccupied land to grazing reserves as a way of resolving the herdsmen violence.
He reiterated his position on Saturday saying, “Help the herders’ transition to more sedentary but more profitable methods of cattle-rearing. Unoccupied public land can be fenced into grazing areas or ranches and leased to herders on a very low-cost, nominal basis.
“The leasing is not intended to penalise herders. Rather, the nominal fee is intended to ensure the herders are invested in the project and incentivised (by reason of their investment) to use the land provided. This aspect will also mitigate any resentment over herders being given land for free.
“Government, in turn, being a responsible lessor, must help with supplemental feed and water in these areas. This will enable herders to better maintain and care for their livestock, thus enhancing their incomes. Herders can augment income by becoming suppliers to the leather goods industry. Additionally, herders can also develop a more symbiotic relationship with farmers by, for example, trading animal compost to the farmer in exchange for animal feed.”
