Osinbajo unveils details of government's proposed cattle policy that will involve states opening private ranches

VICE president Professor Yemi Osinbajo has outlined the details of the government's proposed cattle policy aimed at ending the ongoing menace of Fulani herdsmen attacking farming communities pointing out that states will spearhead the running of private ranches.

 

Speaking during a security summit organised by the senate yesterday, Professor Osinbajo said that there were no plans by the federal government to force anyone to give his or her lands for the planned cattle ranch. He warned that on no account will any land be seized or forcefully taken to create ranches or grazing areas.

 

In addition, the vice president advised Nigerians to disregard all insinuations that the federal government wanted to force cattle ranches on them. He further stated that he was in support of the creation of state police forces to maintain security across Nigeria.

 

Professor Osinbajo said: “For a country our size, to meet the one policeman to 400 persons according to the UN prescribed ratio, we would require almost triple the number of our current police force. Also, far more funding for the military and security agencies is required as the nature of our security challenges is complex.

 

"Securing Nigeria’s over 900sq/km and its 180m people requires far more men and materials than we have at the moment. It also requires a continual re-engineering of our security architecture and strategies and this has to be a dynamic process.”

 

He also dismissed the claim that President Muhammadu Buhari was indifferent to the killings by Fulani herdsmen because he is Fulani himself. According to Professor Osinbajo, the federal government was not doing more because it lacked the powers to seize land from states for the establishment of grazing reserves or livestock production centres.

 

Professor Osinbajo also announced that herdsmen would pay for the services to be rendered by the proposed ranches or grazing reserves by the government. He pointed out that some states, especially in the north, had duly gazetted grazing reserves, although a majority of them are degraded and without pasture or water, especially during the dry season.

 

“Let me reiterate that on no account will any land be seized or forcefully taken to create ranches or grazing areas. All insinuations to that effect should be disregarded, as no one is giving land to herdsmen, as is being falsely alleged.

 

“Instead, it is in our view that states that are willing and have set aside land for development should cooperate with willing investors in commercially-viable, government-supported ranches or livestock production centres for commercial use. There is also a clear sense which I think must be appreciated, that the federal government cannot dictate to states what to do with their land because the Land Use Act of 1978 puts land under the control of governors on behalf of their states," Professor Osinbajo added.

 

He noted that grazing routes leading to these reserves must also be secured. According to Professor Osinbajo, for the grazing reserves to be effective and operate effectively, they should be operated as ranches or livestock production centres on a commercial basis.

 

Professor Osinbajo said: “The ranches will have adequate water from boreholes, salt points and pasture. The locations would serve both as forage points and centres for providing extension services to boost animal care, feeding and veterinary facilities, and even abattoirs because the ranches are commercial ventures, cattle owners will pay for their use."

 

He added that apart from states that had gazetted grazing areas, 13 states had agreed to allocate 5,000 hectares of land for ranching or livestock production. Professor Osinbajo also stated that decentralisation of the Nigeria Police Force and creation of state police were some of the ways to go in tackling the herdsmen and farmers’ violence in the country.

Share