I read with utter dismay, the suspicious rejection and condemnation of the Ruga Settlement project proposed by the Buhari administration. Sadly, some of the states that have witnessed severe carnage arising from violent fallouts between pastoralists and farmers were among those at the forefront of negatively projecting a well-thought-out solution to farmers/herders clashes.

No doubt, ranching had been proposed without sentiment by all stakeholders to address the perennial issue of encroachment on farmlands and ensuing fracas that often leads to killings and destruction of properties. The system has been proposed at National conferences. It has also been put forward by religious and traditional leaders across divides. Even politicians that are not favorably disposed to the current administration including Governors Tambuwal, Samuel Ortom, Umahi, Wike and Fayose among others had also campaigned for same, with some of them enacting laws to ban open grazing while expressing preference for ranching.

More interestingly, the PDP presidential candidate in the last election while fielding questions at the presidential debate also canvassed for the confinement of livestock as part of efforts towards promoting feeding laws. He had, to the admiration of his supporters mapped out strategies that could culminate in the establishment of settlements across the country for herdsmen.

The question now is what is the difference between what Atiku and PDP proposed and Buhari's Ruga system? What is the difference between ranching and Ruga? Ruga just like ranching simply seeks to confine the rampaging Fulani herdsmen in a place. By so doing, their actual data (names, families and aliases) could be obtained.

This week I had the opportunity of visiting Botswana and visited Rudi Lemcke whom I had read about. Lemcke and his wife maintain 5,000 animals in a ranch he established several years ago. Today, apart from devising a workable system to manage his farm, Lemcke has become so established that he is giving back to the society in the form of construction of roads, hospitals, schools and even runways for aircraft. Botswana today is one of the leading exporters of beef without incidents of farmer/herders clash.

The sentimental rejection of Ruga, especially by the South smacks of innate and sheer hatred for Buhari and his government. The script may have been clinically executed in cohort with Obasanjo, TY Danjuma and co to continually fuel insecurity and ultimately project the administration in a negative light. It demonstrates in clear terms resolve by opposition elements to oppose the government despite its lofty idea, primarily because it is yet to recover from the hangover of the defeat at the polls.

Nigerians of good conscience must, however, speak out. The world over, ranching is the way forward. It would drive the economy by stimulating interest in farming. Jobs will be created. Clashes would be avoided. The Ruga program articulated by the Federal Government is the smartest way of forcing nomadic Fulanis to commence ranching without them even knowing it.




OAM4J, Mynd44
@OAM4J, @Mynd44

Please take ruga to your village if the thing pain you well well, no time for terrorists, terrorist lovers and their rubbish.

If you like, put Ojukwu an Gej picture there, your evil plans and prayers will never work, try sambisa forest

The above is all balderdash!
I wonder how somebody can sit down comfortably to write nonsense for public consumption? What on earth gives you the impression that people reject ruga because they hate Buhari? You even tag Obasanjo,TY Danjuma and others as the ones who instigate Nigerians against the 'good' policies of Buhari. What an arrant misconception! For your education, Ruga was outrighly rejected because the Fulani people have lately turned themselves to be a disaster upon any community they visit with their herds. Farmers who have encountered fulani heardsmen on their farms have continued to share stories of rape, kidnap or murder. Delta, Benue, Ekiti and nearly all the states in the South have had their shares of the sad tale of Fulani invasion on farmlands with trails of bloodshed.
If you go back to history, Ilorin was originally a Yoruba town until Fulani warriors were invited as mercenaries to conquer the Oba. After the battle, the fulani fighters went ahead and killed the one that hired them and made Ilorin their town. Till now, Ilorin install Emir, not Oba anymore. This is an important eye opener for the Yoruba race. Same fate may befall any community that host Fulani. Moreover, if Ruga is permitted, the Fulanis will gradually dominate expand and subdue the host, impose their culture, religion, set up a caliphate and treat as alien any group of people that are different from Fulani. Moreso, the generation to come will not forgive this present generation for transferring their heritage to strangers and make them become fugitive on their own soil.
Please be guided.

RZArecta2:
Please take ruga to your village if the thing pain you well well, no time for terrorists, terrorist lovers and their rubbish.

If you like, put Ojukwu an Gej picture there, your evil plans and prayers will never work, try sambisa forest

This one didn’t read. One of the problems we have today.

Since reading has become a problem, nobody seeks solutions embedded in letters. Cut and join rules. Dogmatism reigns supreme.

When opposition leaders condemn. Policy for political gains, they join in condemnation irrespective of the meaningfulness of the idea. I weep for our youths.

Who established the ranches in Botswana? Government or private individuals? Op should and sleep!

We don't want RUGA..... RUGA is a plot to take over our ancestral land .....they want to use RUGA to hand over our land to the fulani

RUGA will never materialise in JESUS Name

[s]

Idokojimmy:


This one didn’t read. One of the problems we have today.

Since reading has become a problem, nobody seeks solutions embedded in letters. Cut and join rules. Dogmatism reigns supreme.

When opposition leaders condemn. Policy for political gains, they join in condemnation irrespective of the meaningfulness of the idea. I weep for our youths.

[/s]

Who won read rubbish?