INSECURITY; SHOULD OPEN GRAZING BE ABOLISHED OR CRIMINALIZED?
Open grazing should neither be abolished nor criminalized, due to the fact that it is a vocation for nomads and a way of life. Their means of livelihood depends on open grazing across the African continent. It is also part of the historic civilization of Africa.
For a lot of people in Nigeria, their family lineage originated from the nomadic traditional way of migrating from one place to another i.e. "FUTA TORO" and "FUTA JALLON" across the entire African continent...
Nomads/Herdsmen can be located in countries like "Somalia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Mali, Kenya, Senegal, Guinea Conakry, Botswana, Tanzania, Cameroon and South Africa". They are the entire same colony by establishing their offspring’s in different parts of the continent. They are also very well organized and have different means of communication. To implement policy's that will deny them of their livelihood will only agitate them, thereby, leading to more violence all across the country and some parts of the continent as well. The nomads in Nigeria and Africa as a whole have been co-existing with people from all walks of life, and there is no doubt that most of the citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria have made friends and neighbors-amongst them for more than a century.
As a matter of fact, we have some educated ones that we consider as friends and relatives, whom we have lived with in peace with for a very long time, which is why we have to ask our selves, what went wrong? States and communities have been interacting with them for decades, only to wake up one day and find out that we have decided to turn against each other despite our integration since pre independence. To even think of abolishing or criminalizing open grazing makes no sense whatsoever. It indirectly means we will be changing the history and culture of all our traditional political dynasties e.g.; "Sokoto Caliphate, Gwandu Empire, Kano Emirate, Daura Emirate, Katsina Emirate, Zaria Emirate, Muri Emirate, Dukku Emirate, Tula Emirate, Adamawa Emirate, Gombe Emirate, Mubi Emirate, Etsu Nupe", and the entire northern way of life due to the fact that our ancestors are all descendants of the Fulani tribe that migrated to Nigeria from different parts of the African continent. There are even Christian Kingdoms that are descendants of the Fulani culture and way of life.
Religiously, the nomads are among the tribes that are responsible for propagating religion, both "ISLAMIC AND CHRISTIANITY" alike. They can also be considered as an intermediary culture for spreading knowledge across the African continent. Their way of sustaining their livelihood is also beneficial to the fertility of every soil they graze on, due to the supply of local fertilizer (MANURE). They also produce new crops that enhance the level of productivity for optimal harvest during farming periods. Other opportunities provided by the nomads are food supply, milk and different types of animal meat for consumption, their skin for clothing and other accessories.
Nigerians should thread with caution, because discriminating against the nomads will yield nothing for them, but put them in the receiving end in the long run, because they will be cut off from products they desperately need to sustain their livelihood and are used to getting in abundance, or they might end up importing their products at a higher price, due to the scarcity of the benefits they are taking for granted, which can only be domestically provided by the Fulani herdsmen they are trying to get rid of.
We dream of a united Africa. We have managed to achieve a United West Africa (ECOWAS). How can we achieve the greater goal of a United Africa by discriminating against bonafide citizens within a sovereign nation like Nigeria, where section 42 of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria protects the rights of its citizenry in the country, including the "HERDSMEN". The AU charter and other articles of the United Nations also provide such rights and privileges for the protection of world citizens against discrimination.
Therefore, abolishing or criminalizing open grazing reserves without any alternative and incentives will only lead to more crime rate, poverty, conflicts, disunity and consequently, another form of insurgency within the West African sub region and Africa as a whole.
To this effect, open grazing should not be abolished and neither should it be criminalized. Rather, it should be regulated and given full attention/support from both the government and private citizens, in order to avoid abusing the rights of the "NOMADS/HERDSMEN.
The government should consider establishing ranches that herdsmen can graze, which will have a positive impact in order to enhance the productivity of the commodities that they provide in the society, instead of trespassing peoples farms in both urban and rural areas. The government should also consider enlightening the Nomads/Herdsmen about the consequences of open grazing in a disorderly manner, and its advantages when it is controlled in a more strategic and organized manner, which will lead to optimal utilization and growth of the economy to a certain ex Including the implementation of policies like, the establishment of task force that will enforce the laws of grazing across the country.tent.
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Having said all that, and as history has depicted in the past, it is evidently clear that the "NOMADS/HERDSMEN all over Africa will fight to the death in order to protect their livelihood through channels of networks available to them across the continent. By ignoring the growing danger that lurks underneath the surface, all six regions in the country are at risk of an internal conflict between their indigenes and will only lead to retaliation and wide scale violence because of the amendments that deprive the nomads from sustaining their way of life.
May God almighty continue to bless, guide and protect us with his infinite mercy and wisdom. Amin
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