Herdsmen vs Farmers clashes

Members of the Benue Parliamentary Caucus at the House of Representatives on Monday again opposed calls for the creation of grazing routes across the federation as a solution to the unceasing clashes between herdsmen and farmers.

They said population explosion over time had made grazing routes a useless option in the face of the limited land available to farmers.

Lives and valuable property are being lost in parts of the country owing to frequent clashes between armed Fulani herdsmen and farmers.

In the latest attacks in Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State, over 500 lives were reportedly lost, while thousands of villagers were displaced from their homes and turned to refugees in tents and community school premises.

The leader of the caucus, Mr. Orker Jev, told The PUNCH in Abuja that some 50 and 60 years ago, it was possible to create grazing routes for cows because the country’s population was small, adding that people did not consider such routes an issue.

He noted that in 2016, with Nigeria’s population estimated to be “over 170 million,” there were more people occupying limited land for agricultural purposes.

The caucus argued that the grazing routes would only be a “time bomb” as the question would arise as to who would give up his land for the cattle routes.

Orker, who is also the Chairman, House Committee on Rules/Business, added, “The population explosion that we have here has not expanded the land that people are living on.

“Population has been growing, but the land remains the same; no addition.

“Grazing routes were conceivable 50 or 60 years back, but you cannot talk the same way today because we have more people and less land today. Now, where will the grazing routes be?”

The caucus called on the federal and state governments to introduce a “policy on ranching,” whereby every cattle owner must have a ranch for his or her cows.

It stated that with ranches, the cows would be restricted to a particular location where grazing facilities could be provided for them all year round against the current practice of allowing them to stray into farms and destroy crops.

“The best solution is that cattle owners should build ranches; ranch your cows so that they will not go about destroying other people’s means of livelihood,” Orker said.

He also urged the Federal Government to beef up security at Nigeria’s porous borders to prevent strangers from moving in and out of the country at will.

Orker explained that this had become imperative as there were suspicions that some of the attackers might be “hired mercenaries,” who could easily blend with the local Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria.

He said, “Several resolutions were reached at meetings between Benue and neighbouring states, but the herdsmen will always deny that they know the attackers. If what they are saying is true, my thinking is that perhaps, we have foreigners in our midst.

“They are taking advantage of the porous borders to cross in and out of the country to cause damage. So, we must address the issue of our borders. For now, most of these killers may not be Nigerian Fulani and it is dangerous to have such people in your domain.”

Meanwhile, a traditional ruler in Ogun State, the Onijoun of Ijoun in the Yewa North Local Government Area, Oba Razaq Adewusi, has appealed to the federal and state governments, to, as a matter of urgency, rescue his people from the menace of Fulani herdsmen, who have been wreaking havoc on the residents of the area.

He said the herdsmen had not only destroyed farms and stored farm produce such as yam, maize, cocoa, cashew and coffee plantations, they had resorted to armed robbery and raping women.