By Nathaniel Zacchaeus, Abuja
The Senate yesterday rejected fresh moves to create new grazing routes for herders in Nigeria.
Rather, the Red Chamber unanimously passed a resolution to set up an ad-hoc committee that would convoke a national summit to find lasting solutions to the constant farmers-herders clashes across the country.
The resolution was sequel to a motion on a matter of urgent national importance raised by the Senator representing Kogi-East Senatorial District, Isah Jibrin, on the recent killings carried out by herdsmen in some communities within his constituency.
Jibrin informed his colleagues that Omala Local Government Area has been under recurring attacks by gunmen, leading to killings and destruction of properties and farmlands.
He said that the development had rendered many of his constituents, homeless with no means of sustenance.
He expressed worry that Agojeju Odo, Ajokpachi Odo, Bagaji, and Bagana communities had been ravaged by recent gunmen, rendering over 30,000 inhabitants of the communities homeless.
The herders’ action, he added, had led to an exodus of the inhabitants to other parts of Kogi State.
He specifically noted that on 5th April 2024, armed herders invaded Agojeju Odo, Ajokpachi Odo, Bagaji, and Bagana communities, killing 21 innocent citizens, including women and children, in addition to unprecedented destruction of their farm produce.
He also said that on 30th April 2024, gunmen attacked the Ajokpachi Odo community in Omala LGA, killing no fewer than three persons and rendering the entire community desolate, with no health facility to cater for the deteriorating health conditions of the survivors.
He said the attacks on the communities in Omala LGA had resulted in the killing of over 500 citizens, in addition to the wanton destruction of public and private properties worth hundreds of millions of naira.
The Senate observed a minute silence for the departed souls in Omala LGA of Kogi State.
It urged the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to assist the affected communities in Omala LGA of Kogi State, with relief materials and other forms of support necessary for their rehabilitation.
While considering the motion, the Senate rejected an additional prayer by Senator Mohammed Tahir Monguno (APC, Borno-North) which called on the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to create new grazing routes in the country as a panacea to solve farmer/herder clashes in the country.
Jibrin in his lead debate lamented an attack on his constituents in Omala local government of Kogi state by herders where he alleged that over 500 persons were killed and their houses razed by the invading herders.
Senator Tahir Monguno in his contribution had called for the creation of grazing routes to prevent cattle from straying into farms and eating up crops, a situation which he said often brings about conflict between farmers and herders.
President of the 9th Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan said that government should provide for the sustainability of livestock business in the country which he said is worth N30trillion annually.
He added that herders who have lost their cattle to rustling should be assisted by the government to acquire livestock to keep them occupied and productive.
He said if the Federal Government in the past bailed out banks, and gave grants to DisCos and GenCos to keep them in business “there is nothing wrong for the Federal Government to provide subsidy for herders who have lost their cattle to rustlers.”
Lawan said, “This is a security issue as much as it is an economic issue. We should say it as it is because we are looking for solutions.
“We must continue to protect the lives and property of our citizens, which is the essence of governance. The livestock industry is worth over N30 trillion, we cannot ignore it. We must ensure that the federal government resuscitates the livelihoods of those (herders) who want to remain within the boundaries of the law.
“I like the idea of conducting a national summit on livestock development. We have to be decisive in funding our security agencies,” Lawan said.
Senator Adams Oshiomhole, called for a national summit to proffer lasting solutions to farmers/herders clashes in the country.
Senator Titus Zam said the only solution to the menace of farmer/herder clashes is to establish cattle ranches.
Senator Musa Garba however said that even though ranching is the way to go, average herders in the country would not have the needed financial resources to feed and sustain their livestock without help from the federal government.
He said as a ranch owner, he spends nothing less than N80m every month to feed and maintain his ranch worth N90m and wondered how an average herder can afford such a huge sum.
He lamented that out of the three military forward operation bases proposed for Kebbi state to curb banditry only one has been established.
He wondered what the military is doing with its huge appropriation annually if state governments still need to provide funds for their operations.
According to him, the Governor of Kebbi State, Dauda Lawal, reliably informed him that he allegedly funds the security operations of the military deployed to the state with N500m monthly.
Contributing to the debate on the motion, Sunday Karimi, senator representing Kogi-West, said there should be a summit that would holistically address the conflict between farmers and herders.
“The issue of farmers and herdsmen has been an occurring decimal in our nation,” he said. About two weeks ago, a very industrious woman in a community in my senatorial district – went into her place and kidnapped her.
“We had to pay a lot of money to rescue her. This is something we have to look at holistically. I suggest that we have a national summit on this.
The Labour Party senator representing Anambra Central, Victor Umeh, lamented the perennial clashes between herders and farmers in the country
He lamented that the country had yet to deal with the issue of herders-farmers clashes precisely.
He said, “Even this mover of the motion itself started by saying, gunmen, and gunmen attacked these communities. Gunmen, gunmen, gunmen.
“It was when he got to the third paragraph that he stopped that herders attacked another community and killed 21 persons. It is good to give something a good caption and begin to look for ways of addressing it.
“I’ve looked at even the prayers contained in the motion. None was directed at solving the problem of headers invading communities. We’re talking about getting the NEMA and people to supply relief to people who have been displaced.
“The herders should be told that what they’re doing is business. If you do kato reari, it’s business. That’s a type of family.
“Those who do not want to confine their business to a particular location should be told that they don’t have open latitude to move into people’s land, kill people who are living there, displace them, and ravage the community, and then elect them.
“We will continue to have this type of report in the Senate regularly. In the 8th Senate, we saw a lot of this happening in Nasarawa, Benue, Karaba, parts of the north, and up to today, the same herders. I think that action should be taken to ban this type of migrant grazing with cattle across Nigeria.
“We must have to do things the way they are done in civilized nations. Ranching has been proposed, time without number, but we should be able to put our cattle in confined settlements and nurture them, breed them, and then produce meat. So that’s the thing.
“If all the cattle you consume in the United Kingdom, you see them on the streets of the United Kingdom or England, nobody sees these things on the roads. It’s only here that we can stay and every morning, headers who invade the community kill 30 persons, touch the houses, burn their properties, displace them and we have no solution to it.
“Nigeria should be planning on how to put an end to this cord of herders, displacing people in their ancestral homes, because they bring their cattle down, moving to people’s ancestral lands when they are sleeping.
“They kill people, burn their houses, and we get this report continuously, and these herders are still moving around. So we must put a stop to it. Let us find a way of putting a stop to it, even by legislation. We should ban migrant grazing. If we put a law and ban it, anybody who is moving with cattle is running afoul of the law on the road. How much more into people’s farms?
“They destroy their crops, destroy their means of livelihood, burn down their schools, burn down their health facilities, and they go away. Nobody is talking about how to apprehend them and put a stop to this.”
