We won’t force anybody to surrender land for Fulani herdsmen - FG

Federal Government, yesterday, said it would not force anybody or state governments to surrender grazing land for Fulani cattle rearers in any part of the country.

The Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Chief Audu Ogbe, disclosed this at the 9th National Development Summit of Traditional Rulers in Abuja. He said rather than approve crazing reserves, government had concluded plans to establish ranches across the country and was also encouraging farmers to do same in their localities.


He explained that people in some states had already offered to donate their lands for ranches, including some state governors in the North, adding some had given as much as 5,000 and 10,000 hectares of land. “Nobody will be forced to surrender his land for ranches. People have offered to surrender their lands. Some states are willing to give free land in some areas after negotiating with the communities. “Either way, ranches will not be established on lands extracted from communities, people have to farm in the ranches.

In some parts of the North, some governors have given as much as 5,000 hectares of land, some even 10,000 hectares,” said the minister. Chief Ogbe also informed the traditional rulers that the federal government had concluded plans to train about 50,000 youths as extension workers across the country to assist government educate farmers on the proper way to apply new crop seedlings and fertilizer to achieve optimal yields. The minister bemoaned what he described as unwarranted neglect of agriculture by successive governments in Nigeria and urged the traditional rulers to partner with government in the mobilization of the youth in their domain. He said: “For many years, we neglected agriculture as a society and we are paying for it now.

But this is not the time for lamentation. We have to get back to business. We are a very strong, rich and powerful country. “If we involve the traditional rulers, we will achieve results because they are with the people. What they say will be believed by their subjects. We feel that with this kind of contacts, they can organise people in the communities to talk to them.” “We are going to do some land clearing for some communities, we are sending in extension officers very soon under the Vice President’s office and introducing new crops and teaching them how to use fertilizer and old crops to get result and we believe this is very good opportunity to discuss.

“Our job is to bring the right kind of crops, do the right kind of water source and provide vetenary services because some of these cows have some disease issues. We cannot afford to allow cows and human beings mix the way they are doing now. ‘’The essence is to stop the crisis.

Too many people have died, there is too much violence in the land, we can’t go on like that. We can’t boast to the rest of the world that we thrive in killing each other. It is not right.” On the security plans, the minister said talks were ongoing at the ministry level between him and the Ministry of Interior on how to use men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, NSCDC, to guard the farm settlements across the country as obtained in other parts of the world.

“At the level of government, we are working out security between us and the ministry of internal affairs. These steps have to be taken as it is done in Brazil , Argentina, Australia, where people guide these ranches. ‘’It is better for us to use uniform men than trained individuals because, if you allow individuals to go and buy guns, they have no license to carry weapons.

The only license they can have is double barrel or pump action. These guys that invade communities have AK 47. “So, we have to train rangers to protect investments. And that will give confidence to farmers who want to go into farming on a large scale and to foreign investors who want to come in. “We are planning with the ministry of internal affairs who have a unit called civil defense, who they should train specially for this kind of assignment and the conversation is making good progress.” According to him, about 100,000 of the 500,000 youths to be hired by the federal government will be sent to the Ministry for agriculture purposes.

According to him, there will be at least 20,000 trained youths in every LGA as extension officers, teaching farmers how to farm. Earlier in his address, chairman of the council, HRM, Emmanuel Jideso, Ovie R’Uwie Kingdom, Effurun, Delta State, said the role of traditional rulers in repositioning the agriculture sector could not be over-emphasised.

On his part, Chairman, Imo State Council of traditional rulers, HRM, Eze Sam Agunwa Ohiri, Eze Imo, applauded the federal government on the ranch initiative to curb the menace of herdsmen and farmers’ clashes. On grazing reserves, he stated that the general consensus was that cattle rearers should establish their own ranches, as it was being done elsewhere. Also speaking, Eze Ijikeala 11 of Ezi Oko, Eze Prof. Laz Ekwueme, said the problem with Nigeria was not a question of grazing but a question sedimentary living. “There is nothing wrong in having ranches because the Southerners can grow cattle in their own land. There is no need for anybody to move about with cattle, ranches will provide their needs,” he said.