₦airaland Forum

CoronaVirusPro:
For you to effective laws to stop open grazing, you need justifications for such actions. If as giver of Ogun state with such enormous land mass, if I am able to implement and extend such gestures to herders, then I believe I will be justified to confiscate and use wandering cattle’s to feed the prison inmates and schools.

Northern elders or what do you call their association cannot come for me in such instance. I will be justified to enforce strict laws with no shortcuts.

Before my government slaughters 1000 cows, you will find all in designated zones. You just need a justification to enforce such laws. That justification is what the government does not have now.

Are the frequent clashes and killings not enough justification? Whole towns being evacuated? You can give them free training and other things then you give them a deadline to sort out themselves

lawani:
Even southerners are involved too but the majority are Fulani

True, and why we cannot call all of them criminals.

The government needs a good justification to enforce laws. Miyetti Allah won’t bark with proper measures. If you need land, visit the state government, and if you need loan, head to GT bank for low interest loans.

With that, you can unleash hell and no reasonable person will stand up to protest what’s not. Such measure will give you the full backing of all Nigerians.

CoronaVirusPro:
True, and why we cannot call all of them criminals.

The government needs a good justification to enforce laws. Miyetti Allah won’t bark with proper measures. If you need land, visit the state government, and if you need loan, head to GT bank for low interest loans.

With that, you can unleash hell and no reasonable person will stand up to protest what’s not. Such measure will give you the full backing of all Nigerians.

If you are driving just one hundred heads of cattle about there is no way you will not become a criminal because you will destroy people's farms and not be able to pay for it

@OP.

Nice and interesting threads concerning an issue critical to the improvement of peace, security and agricultural success.

Some really good point many do not account for when they simplistically speak as if Nigeria is an uncomplicated nation, with homogeneity of ideas across regions plus ethnicities and religions, where announcement of open grazing is enforced immediately, fully and without exception.

Fighting banditry and terrorism is frustrated by the same compromises you highlight as preventing a robust and complete enforcement of the ban on open grazing.

If more Nigerian see issues as clearly as you do then we'd make quick progress regarding our most serious problems made far more challenging by differences in ethnicity, culture, religion and inflexible regional ways of life.

lawani:
Are the frequent clashes and killings not enough justification? Whole towns being evacuated? You can give them free training and other things then you give them a deadline to sort out themselves

You cannot use the actions of few to judge all. Let’s both imagine that my recommendation was approved. Where will you find the criminals and their cattle’s? They will disappear and probably move into other trade where their crimes can thrive of any is left.

But you have to look for measures to separate the good from the bad. Only the good ones will accept your good gesture, and then you will be able to deal with the bad ones.

You can’t offer such magnitude of assistance and be rebuked when you unleash terror on the disobeying ones and criminals.

We are Nigerians, we know how Nigerians learn. I can assure you, before you slaughter 1000 cows, all would have adhered and those that cannot would have left your state

lawani:
If you are driving just one hundred heads of cattle about there is no way you will not become a criminal because you will destroy people's farms and not be able to pay for it

You are 100% right and why you have to confine them to spaces. The moment you create that boundary, that’s where change starts.

CoronaVirusPro:
You cannot use the actions of few to judge all. Let’s both imagine that my recommendation was approved. Where will you find the criminals and their cattle’s? They will disappear and probably move into other trade where their crimes can thrive of any is left.

But you have to look for measures to separate the good from the bad. Only the good ones will accept your good gesture, and then you will be able to deal with the bad ones.

You can’t offer such magnitude of assistance and be rebuked when you unleash terror on the disobeying ones and criminals.

We are Nigerians, we know how Nigerians learn. I can assure you, before you slaughter 1000 cows, all would have adhered and those that cannot would have left your state

It is not easy for them because the system is their culture and they were born into it. They can't imagine spending money or effort to feed their cattle when that is what other livestock owners do.
They are well off people and can sort out themselves. Other people in business need low interest loans too. You have 500 cows and you are poor?
There is no other way than to give them deadline and they will sort out themselves. The government can help with free training

lawani:
It is not easy for them because the system is their culture and they were born into it. They can't imagine spending money or effort to feed their cattle when that is what other livestock owners do.
They are well off people and can sort out themselves. Other people in business need low interest loans too. You have 500 cows and you are poor?
There is no other way than to give them deadline and they will sort out themselves. The government can help with free training

If you conversant with cattle business if the truth needs to be said, it is capital intensive and why most try to cut corners.

500 cows will need a minimum of 1000 acres and that when you will have to supplement with meals. For strictly grazing, you will required Mimi in of 3000 so as to do rotational grazing. Then when you start going mechanized, that’s like death sentence.

So I know what it entails when I share these perspective as I do not want to be careless or inconsiderable.

If the government wants to curb the menace, it must make sacrifices.

CoronaVirusPro:
If you conversant with cattle business if the truth needs to be said, it is capital intensive and why most try to cut corners.

500 cows will need a minimum of 1000 acres and that when you will have to supplement with meals. For strictly grazing, you will required Mimi in of 3000 so as to do rotational grazing. Then when you start going mechanized, that’s like death sentence.

So I know what it entails when I share these perspective as I do not want to be careless or inconsiderable.

If the government wants to curb the menace, it must make sacrifices.

One thousand is big business like someone setting up a small brewery. You can do one hundred or even fifty. That number can sustain a family

lawani:
One thousand is big business like someone setting up a small brewery. You can do one hundred or even fifty. That number can sustain a family

But you quite aware how business grows? It you still made a point which will be a criteria for how much they can access to secure lands and run their farm.

This is the most balanced take I’ve read.

Banning open grazing without alternatives is like banning traffic without building roads. We need mapped corridors, licensed herds, and real prosecution for trespass and attacks.

We also need pilot ranches that actually make money.

Publish enforcement stats monthly so people can trust the process.

Precision, not propaganda.

lawani:
What is the big deal in putting cattle in one place with water and then going around to get feed for them. I think it is simple and straight forward

It is a big deal because of the Nigerian factor whereby the herders don't want to embrace modernity and change to transition away from moving cattle across grazing route from the North to South of Nigeria.

Aiding this also is the ulterior expansionist motives of their sponsors who deliberately want them present outside the North to be causing insecurity and unrest.

The unique complexity of what has created the problem of open grazing for Nigeria, being used as an excuse to commit crime and create insecurity, requires innovative solutions.

RUGA , for example, was good but scare-mongering and short-sightedness killed it.

Main reason it is good is because allowing ranches across the South for breeding cattle leads to the containment of grazing activities, within designated areas, without giving off the signal Fulanis are not wanted outside their traditional homes in the North.

If you have watched the videos online of confrontations you would have noted where Fulanis are insisting, as if rehashing indoctrinated speech, to Southerners challenging them to leave their land, that they are entilted to move around Nigeria.

In the middle belt, they make same argument with deadly violence even. Would it not make sense to ignore scaremongering of Nigerians, who think think zero presence of Fulanis in their land solves all presence of insecurity, and government forges ahead with commercial ranching that provides controlled presence of Cattle rearing in all regions of Nigeria meaning whoever engages in open grazing after that the beginning of formal ranching can be challenged and prosecuted with the support of all?

vanvik1234:
This is the most balanced take I’ve read.

Banning open grazing without alternatives is like banning traffic without building roads. We need mapped corridors, licensed herds, and real prosecution for trespass and attacks.

We also need pilot ranches that actually make money.

Publish enforcement stats monthly so people can trust the process.

Precision, not propaganda.

I agree. It is a thinking man's take on issues. You are correct that banning open grazing will not work.

Much like how banning of bikes are hard to enforce in Lagos when many cannot reach their houses from the main roads which tends to be motorable whereas the roads to their door isn't.

As a farmer, I just want my crops safe.

Anti-grazing laws help, but enforcement must be consistent and predictable. We need buffer zones, harvest calendars, and a hotline we can call the moment cattle stray into our fields—along with quick compensation and firm, fair penalties.

Protect the farms without turning it into an ethnic war. That’s the balance. That’s the sweet spot where peace and productivity can finally shake hands.

Please, publish corridor maps and monthly enforcement dashboards—showing the number of incidents, arrests, compensations, and cases concluded.

Sunlight reduces rumors. When people see lawful cases going to court, vigilante justice will fade. Transparency restores confidence in institutions and reminds citizens that justice still works when systems do their job. Accountability should not be seasonal—it should be standard.

WizardOfNG:
It is a big deal because of the Nigerian factor whereby the herders don't want to embrace modernity and change to transition away from moving cattle across grazing route from the North to South of Nigeria.

Aid this aso it the ulterior expansionist motives of their sponsors who deliberately want them present outside the North to be causing insecurity and unrest.

The unique complexity of what has created the problem of open grazing for Nigeria, being used as an excuse to commit crime and create insecurity, requires innovative solutions.

RUGA , for example, was good but scare-mongering and short-sightedness killed it.

Main reason it is good is because allowing ranches across the South for breeding cattle leads to the containment of grazing activities, within designated areas, without giving off the signal Fulanis are not wanted outside their traditional homes in the North.

If you have watched the videos online of confrontations you would have noted where Fulanis are insisting, as if rehashing indoctrinated speech, to Southerners challenging them to leave their land, that they are entilted to move around Nigeria.

In the middle belt, they make same argument with deadly violence even. Would it not make sense to ignore scaremongering of Nigerians, who think think zero presence of Fulanis in their land solves all presence of insecurity, and government forges ahead with commercial ranching that provides controlled presence of Cattle rearing in all regions of Nigeria meaning whoever engages in open grazing after that the beginning of formal ranching can be challenged and prosecuted with the support of all?

We are saying the same thing. The herders need to be trained in modern methods of animal husbandry after which they should be given a deadline. Britain is only around sixty million people and they have around ten million cattle heads. We are over 200 million with over 20 million cattle heads.