Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, said on Wednesday that anti-open grazing laws in some states would be reviewed for compatibility with the Nigerian Constitution.
The
former vice president said at a town hall Wednesday night that the
Nigerian Constitution guarantees free movement of citizens, and
suggested that herders should not be an exception.
Mr Abubakar
said if the governments through extension services could educate
herders, the income the latter would generate from beef and milk would
be higher.
Mr Abubakar’s proposal could conflict with the
position of Benue, Taraba and Ekiti states, where strict anti-open
grazing routes have been in enforcement since 2016.
The states
have said they would not back down on the law, despite repeated warnings
by President Muhammadu Buhari that the law was antagonistic towards the
predominantly Fulani herders.
Mr Abubakar, a Fulani, is also widely believed to own large investment in livestock.
The
governors in Taraba and Benue States are of the same Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) as Mr Abubakar, but it is unclear how they would react to
Mr Abubakar’s position, which they had countered when Mr Buhari
suggested it.
Ekiti State’s anti-open grazing law was implemented
by Ayodele Fayose of the PDP while governor, but the state is now being
run by Kayode Fayemi of the All Progressives Congress who was elected
governor last July.
Still, Mr Abubakar said, if elected, he would implement policies geared towards establishing reserves for nomadic herdsmen.
Even
though he acknowledged that open grazing is a way of life for the
Fulani herders, the nomadic education would help reduce the culture
while increasing interest in grazing reserves for modern rearing of
livestock, he said.
Source:- Premiumtimesng
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