The Nigerian Senate has made it known that the controversial grazing bill, has not yet been brought forward to the house. The bill has so far generated negative reactions, especially from political observers in the Southern divide of the country

Senator representing Abia South Senatorial District, Enyinnaya Abaribe stated this on Tuesday, at the resumption of the week plenary.

Senator Abaribe while raising a point of order on personal explanation that he received more than 1000 phone calls on the 'phantom Grazing Bill maintained that there is no such bill before the 8th Senate and tasks the Rules and Business Committee Chairman Senator Jide Omoworare to clarify on the issue.

Also, his counterpart in Abia North Senatorial District, Mao Ohuabunwa joined in emphasising that bill matters should be addressed as matter of urgent importance, before being interrupted by Senate President Bukola Saraki, who refers the matter to the next legislative day.

Things to note about the grazing bill:

The bill is titled: ‘An Act To Provide For The Establishment Of The National Grazing Reserve (Establishment And Development) Commission For The Preservation And Control Of National Grazing Reserves And Stock Routes And Other Matters Connected Therewith’.

It was sponsored by Hajiya Zainab Kure, who represents Niger South constituency of Niger State.

The bill was first brought before the 8th assembly but was rejected by the former House of Representatives.

In its second outing, the bill has so far scaled through the first and second reading in both House of Representatives and the National Assembly and will soon be passed into law if it survives a third reading and is assented to by the President.

While Nigeria already has a pre-existing Land Tenure Act that has been used for several years, public commentators, such as Reno Omokri, have questioned the rationale behind the bill, describing it as an “an insult to all the victims of the herdsmen” and calling on Southern legislators to reject the bill.

Here are 5 things to know about the contentious bill.

1) The bill seeks to institutionalize pastoral farming

Although contemporary agricultural practices are moving towards more modernized forms of animal husbandry like ranching, the bill seeks to further the practice of pastoral farming by introducing grazing reserves and stock routes around the country.

The bill reads: “Fostering in the mind of the general public, particularly the Pastoral and transhumance population the necessity for the establishment and development of National Grazing Reserves and Stock Routes with the object of developing a greater appreciation of the value of livestock and environmental conservation.”

2) Under the Act, a national commission for grazing reserve will be established

The bill reads: “There is hereby established a body corporate to be known as the National Grazing Reserve Establishment and Development Commission (hereinafter referred to as “the Commission”).

“The Commission shall be a body Corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal and may sue and be sued in its corporate name.”

Furthermore the commission will have a chairman appointed by the president and confirmed by the senate.

It will also have a secretary, three representatives of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources; a representative of the Federal Ministry of Health; a representative of the National Commission for Nomadic Education; three other persons with cognate experience representing variety of interests.

3) The commission will have the legal right to take any piece of land it wants, in any part of the country

Pursuant to a notice to the state governor, the commission can acquire and gazette any piece of land after paying compensation to the owner.

However, the bill makes no room for refusal on the part of the land owner and failed to specify how much a land owner is entitled to and the parameters for deciding a land is worthy for acquisition.

The bill reads: “The following lands may be subject to the provisions of the Act to be constituted as National Grazing Reserves and Stock Routes:

(a) Lands at the disposal of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

(b) Any lands in respect of which it appears to the Commission that grazing in such land should be practiced.

(c) Any land acquired by the Commission through purchase, assignment, gift or otherwise howsoever.”

4) The attorney general of the federation must approve any decision taken in relation to possession of lands by the commission

“No Court of law shall carry out execution of its judgment or attachment of court process issued against the Commission in any action or suit without obtaining the prior consent of the Attorney General of the Federation.”

5) The duties of the commission includes:

(a) Designating, acquiring, controlling, managing and maintaining the National Grazing Reserves and Stock Routes established under this Act.

(b) Constructing dams, roads, bridges fences and such other infrastructures the Commission may consider necessary for the purpose of the National Grazing Reserves and Stock Routes.

(c) Identification, retracing, demarcating, monumenting, and surveying of primary, secondary and tertiary stock routes.

(d) Conserving and preserving in its natural state the National Grazing Reserves and Stock Routes.

Source: https://olumoonline.com/2016/04/19/grazingbill-yet-to-be-brought-forward-to-the-house-senate/

this is totally unfair. Why should they be offered such treatment.
In mimiko's statement," they consist of the well to do."
Are we buying cows for free?
Why would they get the land to feed there cows for free?
Why not allow them liase with the state government of each state they are, fits graving site and they pay for it. Supervised, monitored and developed by the state government, it would even increase each states IGR since cows ain't been sold for free.

Beware of cows

Free grazing land is a criminal attempt by buhari to foist his fulani agenda on us. if u need grazing land, buy one for urself or graze in ur fathers house. shikena

As i have consistently mentioned, the SR team are playing with fire. In the previous administration they were assumed to have been the watchdog and defender of the public and 99% who could not speak for themselves. They were very essential in putting the previous administration on their toes. But flashforward to the current day, and they have turned themselves to the mouthpiece of some certain top shots in the APC. They should retraced their steps now, before it is too late

This bill must be rejected