ACF Finally Bows to Pressure, Supports Ban on Open Grazing in Southern States
- ACF has given its full support to the ban on open grazing in Nigeria
- The governors of the southern part of the country had resolved to ban the free movement of cattle in the region
- Chief Audu Ogbeh, the chairman of ACF, made this known on Monday, May 17, via a statement
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The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), the mouthpiece of northern Nigeria, has expressed support for the call of the southern governors to ban open grazing of cattle.
The Nation reports that the ACF chairman and immediate past minister of agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbe, made this known in a statement on Monday, May 17.
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Legit.ng gathered he said the ACF does not see any reason to object to a decision taken in the best interest of all.
He said:
“The fact of the matter is that the crisis emanates from the belief by most herdsmen that they are free to enter any farm, eat up the crops or kill anyone raising objections. Nobody or society can accept that.
“The current high price of Garri is one obvious reason for this behavior. Few cassava farms cannot grow to maturity before it is harvested by the farmers. So, food security is already being threatened.”
The former minister, however, said there is the need to advise the governors in all states not to think that merely banning open grazing would end the crisis, stressing that the bulk of the violent herders are the ones marching in from neighboring African countries in large numbers.
He said the herders who show no regards to boundaries whether state or regional have to be stopped.
Ogbeh added:
“The Umar Abdullahi Ganduje formula must be adopted to stop the entry into Nigeria of cattle from West Africa. The solution is for Nigeria to seek an amendment to Article 3 of the ECOWAS protocol, especially as regards the free movement of cattle and other livestock without special permits."
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Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) reacted to the grazing ban by the Southern Governors Forum.
It was reported that the association said the north cannot afford to ignore the recent unanimous decision of southern governors to place a ban on open grazing in their states.
National secretary of MACBAN, Baba Othman Ngelzarma told The Nation that northern governors must rise up to the challenge by working out a solution of their own that will be generally acceptable.
Source: Legit.ng
