The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has given approval to the return of the open grazing practised during the 1st Republic where herdsmen used designated grazing routes to move their cattle to several parts of the country.

To this end, the President said he had asked the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, to begin the process of recovering land from persons who have converted cattle grazing routes for their personal use.Buhari said this during an interview with Arise Television which was aired on Thursday.

The President said the grazing routes were designated in the 1st Republic when “Nigerians use to obey laws” but those routes had been converted.

Buhari was reacting to a question on the decision by 17 southern governors to ban open grazing.

The AGF had kicked against the declaration by the governors, adding that it was like northern governors banning spare part trading, a job that is synonymous with southerners.When asked if he agreed with the AGF’s position, Buhari laughingly responded, “You want me to contradict my attorney-general?”

Explaining further, he said, “What I did was ask him to go and dig the gazette of the 1st Republic when people were obeying laws. There were cattle routes and grazing areas. Cattle routes were for when they (herdsmen) are moving up country, north to south or east to west, they had to go through there.If you allow your cattle to stray into any farm, you are arrested. The farmer is invited to submit his claims. The khadi or the judge will say pay this amount and if you can’t the cattle is sold. And if there is any benefit, you are given and people were behaving themselves and in the grazing areas, they built dams, put windmills in some places there were even veterinary departments so that the herders are limited. Their route is known, their grazing area is known.

“But I am telling you, this rushing to the centre (sic) so I asked for the gazette to make sure that those who encroached on these cattle routes and grazing areas will be dispossessed in law and try to bring some order back into the cattle grazing.”He also lamented the style and utterances of Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, who had not only implemented an aggressive anti-open grazing law but had accused Buhari of failing to take actions against herdsmen because he is also a member of the Fulani herders.

Buhari said indeed, he is a Fulani man but Ortom was being unfair to him. He said he had told Ortom that the herdsmen perpetrating the attacks are not the Nigerian ones.

The President further explained that the Tivs, which form the majority in Benue, and the Fulanis had been engaged in cultural conflicts for a long time.He added, “The problem is trying to understand the culture of the cattle rearers. There is a cultural difference between the Tivs and the Fulanis. So, the governor of Benue said I am not disciplining the cattle rearers because I am one of them.

“I cannot say I am not one of them but he is being very unfair to me and I told him that the Nigerian cattle rearer was not carrying anything more than a stick sometime with a machete to cut some trees and feed his cattle but those sophisticated ones move with AK 47.

“So, from other areas, people rush to Nigeria you know and Fulanis from Mauritania and Central Africa look the same so they feel they are the Nigerian ones and I assure you that we are trying to resuscitate these cattle routes, grazing areas and make them accountable.”



https://punchng.com/buhari-backs-open-grazing-asks-agf-to-recover-land-for-herdsmen/

He is a Joker ..recover land to give to killer Herdsmen he says are from Muritania? Buhari you lie

Did he actually said this

See the attention he is paying to tins concerning his own people?

Of course, that is where his interest is.

Yes, it is the right thing to do for peace to reign. You don't build houses or farms along Grazing routes. It's been there since time immemorial. Let's get back our Grazing routes. Where do you expect us to rear our cows, when you destroy these routes?

Let's wait and see how it goes.

I don't believe this is coming from Buhari

okooo

The bandit presido

Damn. I watched the interview. So naso una dey chuk words inside this old man mouth? No wonder him no like to dey comot. He just talked about grazing in the first republic. He never said he approved it

You dey deceive yourself. Trying to be wise by half. Review Land use act and let me see how you will reclaim the lands from 1st republic gazette. Aketi get your dose sha. I trust him.

Any person still advocating for cattle routes in this 21st century is not only mad but a modern day barbarian. Buhari and his fulani jihadist brothers can never be able to win this war even if they succeeds in using the law courts to enact laws in their favor.

He would recover the "grazing route" same way he fulfilled his other promises.

this is the reason why if fulani herdsmen kill villagers the fulanian army will do eyes right.

But if they retaliate they'll come to dance with python.

at this point any southerner or middle belt that still supports this man deserves to be killed in gruesome manner.

Buhari is a terrorist 100%
he's on conquest mission

One chance president

Lets see if Southern Governors were just ranting

The President said the grazing routes were designated in the 1st Republic when “Nigerians use to obey laws” but those routes had been converted.

The President should be reminded that the gazette he refered to has long been overtaken by Land Use Act.

mad man, murderer.

Lets see how pre-independence law overtake our land use act.

Nothing is above Ahmed Lawan led senate sha. Reason why I don't blame buhari alone.

Is it only fulanis we have in the senate? Why are our own people not fighting back?

Of course we all know the answer, they have all soiled their hands.

This still makes me wonder anyone will think the police and army is the right people to target as UGM when the real culprits are over there enjoying their lives.

buhari is still leaving in the past

Cant someone macron this foolish man

Let's just go back to the regional system we practised in the first republic while we are at it. I know Ol' Bonehead and his band of braindead brutes will not like that.

Smh

Bring back the 1st republic constitution then.

Are we a joke to this man, recover which land?
I usually do not support the break up of this country, but I'm sincerely having a change of mind.
I wish all South can unite and form a common front, Southern Nigeria will not be a bad idea.

Other countries are busy researching on how to get to d sun

Zoogeria is busy discussing abt open grazing or not

Why dis govt carry hersmen Matter for head like this even though say hersmen no dey pay taxs

Yet some idiots still support this man. What a joke!
It shall be not be well with anybody who voted and still support this so called president. Shame! Shame!

What a heck! A president is still talking cattle issue in a 21st century world where food security, ICT innovations, scientific discoveries, technological advancements, space exploration, alternate renewable energy sources and sophisticated approach are being used in crime fighting are the top issues.

The world is busy trying to attain the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) while this president is only obsessed with reactivating archaic cattle rearing practice.What cursed Nigeria with these imbeciles? The fulanization and RUGArization agenda is still in top gear.Hear what a stupid president is telling people in a 21st century civilisation or world.