A bill seeking to create grazing reserves and routes for Fulani nomads throughout the country was recently reported to have generated a lot of controversy when it was tabled for discussion in the Senate. The bill also has a provision for the establishment of a National Grazing Reserves Commission (NGRC) which will have the power to acquire and designate land as reserves and routes for Fulani herdsmen. The bill was said to have generated a sharp division along ethnic and geo-political lines. Senators from the North West and the North East were reported to be in support while their colleagues from the South West, South East, South-South and the Middle Belt were vigorously opposed to it. Senate President, David Mark subsequently referred the bill to a joint committee on Judiciary and Legal Matters and Agriculture and Rural Development. The major argument of supporters of the bill was that the creation of grazing reserves and routes would greatly reduce the incidence of clashes between farmers and Fulani cattle rearers. The opponents on their part contended that such a legislation would aggravate the constant conflicts between the herdsmen and the farming communities on their routes. They further argued that it would negate a cardinal principle of federalism and the Land Use Act. It is apparent that the position of senators opposed to the bill was informed by the past experience of their constituents who, they know, will be at the receiving end if the bill is passed into law. Along the entire route they traverse from the far north to the deep south, the activities of Fulani nomads have over the years been a source of serious conflicts. There have been countless reports of cattle destroying their host communities' means of livelihood - farmlands - and the herdsmen stabbing protesting farmers to death. This is why the bill before the Senate should be subjected to a critical examination'Some have argued that there is nothing novel in the entire idea because there were grazing reserves in the old Northern Region. The relevant questions then are: Why was the arrangement abandoned if it worked' Is the Middle Belt, whose representatives in the Senate are opposed to the bill not part of the old north' When there are no designated routes and grazing reserves, the herdsmen do not give a hoot about the interests of the communities along their paths. What will happen when their hands are strengthened by such a law' The atrocities of the herdsmen in the northern parts of Oyo State, Nsukka area of Anambra State and some parts of Benue State have caught the attention of the media in recent times. Many other parts of the country must have suffered in silence because their agonizing experiences have gone unreported. How feasible will it be to establish routes within which the Fulani herdsmen must drive and graze their cattle' How are these routes to be demarcated' Who will monitor the herdsmen and ensure that they confine their cattle to such routes and reserves (if they can be demarcated)' What will be the sanction and who will enforce it when they go beyond designated areas'Nigerians in different parts of the country have their different traditional occupations - farming, fishing, palm wine tapping, cattle rearing, hunting, among others. It will be rank injustice and morally unjustifiable to acquire and designate parts of the farmlands of certain farmers as grazing reserves and routes for the cattle of certain herdsmen. Will there also be a law reserving certain bodies of water for the Fulani cattle if they have to be driven through fishing communities'The occupation or interest of one group should not be elevated above that of another. There are no laws creating special rights for Delta fishermen or Oyo farmers in the arid north. Why should such a right exist for Fulani herdsmen in every part of the country' Cattle breeding or rearing is the private business of individuals. The people engaged in it should therefore not be aided with any special legislation.the ultimate control over land is vested in the states and not in the Federal Government. Those behind the bill before the Senate are just trying to create a needless crisis. The solution to the problem of the herdsmen does not lie in the wrong-headed bill before the Senate. It lies in the total abandonment of the current anachronistic approach to animal husbandry. The cattle should be bred and reared in enclosures where all the requirements for their sustenance will be provided. Animal husbandry is being practiced even in more arid climes. Anybody or group of people in need of land for any venture should be advised and encouraged to follow established process of land acquisition. The Senate cannot provide a short cut.The constant clashes between herdsmen and farmers in different parts of the country should serve as sufficient lesson for state governments to invest in animal husbandry so that they can meet their people's needs in animal protein. The farm settlement established by the government of the old Western Region at Fashola near Oyo town was a huge success in animal husbandry, providing not just beef but fresh milk. Interested state governments and individual cattle breeders can take a cue from that experiment.
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