’Evacuate all herders from South’ – Northern Coalition urges FG
Katsina State governor, Aminu Bello Masari, has backed the decision of the Southern Governors to ban open-grazing in the seventeen States of the region.
Masari described the practice which encourages herders to move from one location to another as ‘un-Islamic’.
The governor stated this while speaking with newsmen at Government House, Katsina, as part of activities to mark second year of his second-term in office.
He argued that necessary infrastructure on livestock farming should be provided in States for ranching as against open grazing.
This roaming about, for us, it is un-Islamic and is not the best. It is part of the problem we are having today. I dont support that we should continue with the way open grazing is.
This is something we have to do through development, provide necessary infrastructure that will make the herders not to move”,he declared.
In a related development, the Coalition of Northern Groups, (CNG), has called on the federal government to relocate all herdsmen currently in the South back home.
The call was made on behalf of the CNG by its spokesman, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, in a statement issued on Tuesday, saying the security of herders can no longer be guaranteed. Sulieman said the South is no more safe for the herders.
This came after the resolution of southern governors to enforce ban on open-grazing in their region. The governors had said the decision was taken as part of efforts to improve security in the region.
The CNG also called on northern governors to commence preparation to receive the returning herders and their livestock assets by identifying suitable grazing lands for them and making sufficient allowance for farmers.
The group called on President Muhammadu Buhari and northern governors to act now to protect law-abiding members of Fulani communities from the aggressive policy of the southern governors.
