We, Truly, Ought to Have Banned Open Grazing Nationwide !! By Otunba Eric Ayoola

We, Truly, Ought to Have Banned Open Grazing Nationwide !! By Otunba Eric Ayoola.

We truly ought to ban open grazing nation wide.

That outdated practice has cost is far far far much more than it is worth.

There was a time at which it was sustainable because it was tolerated and accommodated across the nation. Farmers even invited herders onto their fallowed lands to graze on the grass and there were more open and unfarmed lands for the cattle to be herded and grazed on.

Now, with less open lands, environmental changes in the North necessitating more and more cows herded down south and for longer, Boko Haram displacing herders from their usual lush area in the NW- open grazing has led to more political upheavals and greater and increasing bloody conflicts.

The practice of herding cattle up and down has far less proponents amd far much more opponents in current day Nigeria. And it is time to stop it for good.

Ranching by either Southerners or Northerners in any part of Nigeria is the way forward . Properly fenced and managed and led by the private sector.

The Fulani herders can be employed whether up North or down south. And if they must be nomadic, then they can work in various ranches up and down the country…minus the cows following them around.

It will surely come to pass when we have a government ready to take the bull by the horn. And this is not just the President but the entire government and political leadership .

What I totally disagree with though is an immediate and outright ban by fiat as we have seen in many Southern states without any consultation and without any time frame within which the herders can make alternative plans.

Civilised nations and civilised people do not operate like that. You cannot ban a centuries old culture and business practice at one siting and with immediate effect.

That is wrong.

And that’s why I agreee entirely with El Rufau, the Kaduna state government who is looking at establishing ranches and then banning open grazing. That is the sensible, reasonable and civilised thing to do. And it doesn’t have to be governments setting up ranches but create an enabling environment and get private investors up and running with setting up ranches. And then the ban to come into effect within say 6 months of at least a few ranches being established.

These ranches will be to accommodate the nomadic cattle already within each state. And the herder would pay to ranch their cattle there until sold or returned back , on vehicles, to wherever they want to take them to. And if the herders would rather not ranch his cattle, then he has 6 months to get them away from the state in which ever way he choses .

Other ranches would be for those who want to go into the cattle rearing business afresh as well.

That’s the way that I would do it.