Open grazing: Islamic group kicks against ban
Abimbola Abatta, Osogbo
The Vice President, Supreme Council for Sharia in Nigeria, Sheikh Abdur’rasheed Hadiyatullahi, has condemned the ban placed on open grazing in South-West region.
Sheikh Hadiyatullahi, who stated this on Thursday while addressing journalists in Osogbo, said the Southwest governors should provide an alternative such as ranches to Fulani herdsmen.
He said, “They have to give them an alternative. If you ban open grazing, how do we want them to survive? Are they not going to be constituting more problems than you are trying to solve?
“We have to forgive and forget. I am not saying what the Fulanis are doing is good, destroying the farmlands of these people, their means of livelihood. We should give them a chance to rear their cows in our midst, in ranches. The governors can re-consider the issue. Laws are made for human beings.
“The open grazing will continue to cause problems. These people have no home address. How do we go about it? The best option is to have cattle ranches where these people will be identified and registered.”
While condemning the Fulanis for also destroying farmlands and farmers’ means of livelihood, he said, “If the Fulanis are erring, apply the law on them, not that individually we will go to where they are living and burn their houses.
“Truth is bitter, but the earlier we say it, the better. Herdsmen have no right to destroy crops. This is where people have genuine grievances against herdsmen.”
In his remarks about Sunday Adeyemo, the Yoruba Rights Activist who issued an ultimatum to Hausa-Fulani in Igangan, Oke Ogun area of Oyo State which reportedly led to the destruction of properties, he said, “the stabbing at Igangan may lead to bleeding in Kano or Kaduna.”
He maintained that, as opposed to the tribal and religious label given to the crisis, “it is pure criminality that causes the perennial wrangling between the two tribes.”
The Sheikh opined that the Igangan incident must be condemned by all lovers of peace, adding that dialogue and wider consultation are the way out of the herdsman versus host community issue.
According to him, “We should note that it is trite law that Nigerian citizens can live and own properties in any part of the country without any let or hindrance as this is guaranteed under the 1999 Nigerian constitution as amended.
“To douse tension immediately, we want Federal Government to as a matter of urgency devise mechanism whereby town hall meetings between Herdsmen and the Host Community will hold and differences sorted out.
“We also suggest that Cattle Ranch should be created, this in our humble opinion, will go a long way in resolving the crisis. Because if the Ranch is created, this will prevent the herdsmen from roaming around the city and invading people’s farm and destroy their crops.
“Instead of issuing threats and counter-threats, we appeal to the various ethnicities in the country to understand the nature of the conflict. Herders and farmers crisis is not a Nigerian problem alone, it is universal,” he added.
