*Pose Deep Questions That Border On Alleged Ulterior Motive Of Policy
*’This Experiment Is Being Concentrated Almost Entirely In Middle Belt, Despite Vast Expanses Of Sparsely Populated, Unused Land In Many Parts Of Far North, Where Fulani Emirs Dominate Most Of The Lands’
*Suspect Scheme Is Targeted At Officially Settling Violent Religious Terrorists In Indigenous Communities As Alleged Prelude To Sinister Motives
By Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna
More opposition to the Federal Government’s (FG’s) planned pilot ranching policy has come as, with one voice, Southern and Middle Belt leaders have risen in rejection of the scheme.
They said the plan, which has been rejected too by Christian leaders in Benue State, was an audacious attempt by the FG to take over lands belonging to ethnic communities in the Middle Belt under what they described as a spurious “pilot scheme” being introduced in the name of a New National Livestock Policy.
Under the policy, the proposed target areas for the pilot implementation include Nasarawa, Plateau, Benue, Southern Kaduna, Taraba and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) — most of these located in the geographical part of Nigeria known as the Middle Belt, with Taraba (North East) and Southern Kaduna being demographically identified as predominantly Christian-dominated areas.
The development is coming amid persistent outcry by the Middle Belt, and warnings by the United States (US), against a perceived ongoing Christian genocide by religious fundamentalist terrorists.
According to a statement issued today (Wednesday) by the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders’ Forum (SMBLF) and made available to newsmen in Kaduna, leaders of four of Nigeria’s major ethnic nationalities, HRM Oba Oladipo Olaitan, Leader of Afenifere and Chairman of SMBLF; Dr. Bitrus Pogu, President of Middle Belt Forum (MBF); Senator John Azuta-Mbata, President-General (PG) of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide; and Ambassador Godknows Igali, National Chairman, Pan-Niger Delta Elders Forum (PANDEF), the South and Middle Belt will not accept the planned ranching programme.
Geographically, the Middle Belt and South constitute three-quarters of Nigeria.
SMBLF noted with dismay that “this experiment is being concentrated almost entirely in the Middle Belt, despite the vast expanses of sparsely populated and unused land available in many parts of the far North, where Fulani Emirs dominate most of the lands.”
They stressed: “The scheme is being presented as a pilot, but if it is not firmly opposed by the communities whose lands are being short-changed, it will inevitably be expanded to other parts of the country, including the Southern States.
“Let us be clear: The SMBLF is not opposed to modern livestock production, ranching or the development of the livestock value chain. What we reject is the opaque, coercive and discriminatory manner in which this policy is being pursued to the exclusive advantage of nomadic Fulani herdsmen.
“The SMBLF stands firmly with the MBF, which has already rejected the scheme. We also call on communities and governments of the Southern States to stand ready to reject the policy.
“The Federal Government must be reminded that the Land Use Act of 1978 is not a licence for arbitrary land grabbing. It vests rural land in Local Governments, recognises customary rights of occupancy, and allows revocation only for overriding public interest.
“The Act also protects agricultural land, including fallow land, as continuing community property.”
Rejecting the alleged motive behind the policy, SMBLF emphasized that “ranching is an economic enterprise that is privately driven. Government cannot disguise compulsory land acquisition for specific economic actors as public interest.”
It added: “SMBLF deeply suspects that the true aim of this policy is the creation of permanent settlement zones for nomadic Fulani herdsmen, whose violent activities over the years have contributed to the capture and occupation of thousands of square kilometres of land across the Middle Belt and even parts of Southern states.
“Apart from the genocide they have been accused of carrying out in the Middle Belt, they have rendered millions homeless. They cannot be handed the lands of their victims as a reward for their heinous crimes.
“It is also a matter of record that some of these nomadic pastoralists are not Nigerian citizens. Any policy that ignores these realities while allocating vast ancestral lands to them under state protection is unacceptable to the indigenous people of the Middle Belt and the South.”
Going down memory lane, the leaders pointed to similar failed attempts at land takeover for same reason by the Muhammadu Buhari administration, saying “we have seen similar attempts before under different names, including the rejected RUGA and Cattle Colony proposals, which Nigerians resisted because of their implications for land ownership and demographic restructuring.”
Putting its foot down, the group stated: “SMBLF will not accept such a policy”, warning the FG that Middle Belt and the South are not dumping grounds for controversial land policies.
“Our lands belong to our communities that depend on them for farming, homes, livelihoods and survival,” the leaders stressed.
The Forum, however, stated that “if this policy must stand, we demand full disclosure of the proposed ranching sites, the legal instruments for their acquisition, the ownership structure, security concerns, the beneficiaries, the size of the lands involved and the source of funding
“Until these questions are answered transparently and the rights of affected communities are fully protected, the SMBLF rejects the proposed ranching scheme in the Middle Belt and the South.
“We will resist every attempt to seize community lands under the guise of livestock development.”
