We Don’t Have Lands to Accommodate Both Farmers, Herders – Ortom
The Benue State governor, Dr. Samuel Ortom, has in an exclusive interview with Daily Trust on Sunday, maintained that the recently enacted anti-open grazing law of the state is neither targeted at any particular tribe nor meant to chase Fulani herders awa
Precisely, two weeks ago, you signed into law the anti-open grazing bill which was earlier passed by the Benue State House of Assembly. The law has, however, been received with excitement in some quarters, while it is being viewed with resentment in other quarters. Are you confident that this new law would bring conclusion to the perennial farmers and herders clashes in the state?
Yes. But let me correct the erroneous impression. I agree that many people have received the law with excitement and enthusiasm and hope that at last, peace will return to Benue State between farmers and herdsmen. Only very few people have received the law with resentment, the law is even applauded amongst the herdsmen. I mean those Fulani men who mean well for Benue State; they appreciated me and some have even called me to express their willingness to support the action we have taken. Like I have always said, this law is not targeted at Fulani herdsmen in Benue rather it is meant to restore peace. Everyone knows that we have had security challenges arising from herdsmen and farmers clashes in the past and there was need as a government that is responsive to the plight of the people whether herdsmen, Fulani men or farmers to act. The responsibility to provide peace and security for lives and property rest on us and that is what we have done. This bill did not come from the blues; it was an executive bill by me. After prayerfully analyzing the situation and after due consultation with several stakeholders, including Fulani people and herders, we resolved to go forward. And looking at the global perspective, we decided for the way forward which is ranching as the best way of rearing livestock. Like I keep saying, I’m challenging anyone with another position that can restore peace other than ranching in Benue State to bring it forward. Not only that we have done our research, we are talking from the point of authority on what is on ground and what is practised globally. Today, ranching is the best method world over of rearing livestock.
People are asking a lot of questions about this law...
By the way, this law talks about livestock generally which includes cattle, pigs, lamb and sheep, among others. It is not just restricted to cattle, so no one should think that we are targeting herders or Fulani people for whatever reason. The indigenous people here, my own people, also rear cattle. They have their own livestock which they rear such as goats, pigs and constantly, those who let them lose have crisis with their neighbours and this is what we are seeking to curtail. So the erroneous impression that we are targeting herdsmen is not correct. All this is because we want peace for our state. The reason is that there is no more land for grazing and farming to go together. The idea was basically for us to have a win-win situation where farmers can do their farming, those rearing cattle can rear them and those rearing other livestock can now go about them without necessarily having conflict because each time, conflicts happens, it is government that suffers; all security men and we have to work to ensure that we provide relief for refugees and, of course, that is affecting the economy of the state.
Don’t you think that ranching should have come first in terms of piloting the idea before the restriction of movement considering the fact that ranching is not affordable for everybody?
The ranching is there. If you go to my farm, you will see ranch and several other farms in the state are like that. The only thing is that people are not prepared to begin to do it. But there must be a law indicating what the people need to do and in this case we are saying, ranching. It doesn’t cost anything to own a ranch. First acquire land, put a fence around it, restrict your cattle within that area even if you don’t put a fence around it, you restrict them within that specified land so that the animals don’t encroach into anybody’s farms. Our people practise ranching; they ranch their pigs, goats and sheep locally here. Even the herdsmen here, some of them around North Bank in Makurdi do. You will see a ranch and people bring feeds to feed the animals. So it is not a matter of providing ranch, it is not the responsibility of government. Cattle-rearing is a form of business, a form of agriculture which we encourage and it is usually done for profit. All over this part of the land, people patronize cattle markets for several ceremonies like birthdays, Christmas, New Year, Sallah, Ramadan and for domestic use. We eat a lot of meat and so people make money, so they should be willing to invest it and not create problems for other people, especially farmers because as I said earlier the land is no longer there.
I keep telling people who argued that grazing should continue and cattle route should be designated that the land is no longer there. In the 1950s, people were talking about land grazing and cattle rearing. Of course in Benue State, there was no land designated as grazing areas. I hear about cattle routes, when we were growing up, we saw them move through the routes but the problem
now is due to the upsurge of population. Today, there are no more lands. Federal roads, hospitals, clinics, settlements and several other human activities have increased and you see that there are encroachments on some of these routes. What you see standing on these routes today are federal roads that are constructed by government. In the 1950s, the total population of Nigeria was less than 40 million but by 2012 projection, we have over 170 million people and today as at 2017, we should be talking about over 200 million. So this is the challenge we have as a country today. Meanwhile, the land is still 90023 square metres, just the way we met it but even less now because of the ceding away of Bakassi to the Cameroon. The land is less, more so that we are talking about diversifying the economy from oil revenue to especially agriculture and other areas. But the first thing that comes to mind is always agriculture and here we are known as the Food Basket of the Nation and our people are farmers. For this government in particular, we are encouraging agriculture, we are encouraging everybody as well as civil servants to return to farm. Since we cannot pay salaries, we have told them to go back to farm because what is important is food on the table. When salaries don’t come as and when due, they would at least have something to eat until when money comes in.
So it was, therefore, not a deliberate attempt to target some particular people. We are looking at lasting peace for our people. We have ranches globally in Europe, Germany, Asia and even on African soil where we are the giant of Africa. In South Africa, they ranch; in some tiny country that has a population less than two million, they ranch and their major export earning is beef; in Kenya, they ranch; and in Egypt, they ranch. So, why can’t we ranch in Nigeria?
What are implementation?
the modalities for
We must take the step to do this. I know that the herdsmen would need help and that is why we have not even started enforcing the law. We have given a transition period. After which, we are going to face the enforcement; we are going to get the security agencies and all its departments that are responsible to ensure that they (those rearing livestock) comply with the provisions of the law and we will enforce the law so that no impunity is committed against the law.
How long will the transition period last?
That will span through the next season which is around November/December. We expect that those who would want to ranch their cattle would return because right now, it is cropping period so everybody is planting and we don’t expect the herdsmen to begin to move with their cattle to disrupt the farmers. They (herders) would not be permitted to come back in that manner. They should be returning back with the aim of ranching.
Can the herders be able to acquire the needed land and build it for ranching within the transition space?
Why not? That is the idea. Those who want to ranch can do all these processes within the timeframe. They will be able to acquire the land and do it to specification. They may not necessarily need to construct but they can ranch without a fence, provided the livestock are not allowed to stray or move about to disrupt people’s crops and provided they brought feeds from outside to feed them. If you want grass, you can go about and get the grass to come and feed them and not necessarily move them.
In any case, if you go around Benue State today, there is no single place where you see an empty one hectare land that is not being cultivated. So this is a big challenge. Internally, we are having problems with the local people fighting themselves over land matters, concerning who to farm and who not to farm. This is because everybody is going back to agriculture and they all know about the economy of the state that it is driven by civil service. The money coming from the federation account, internally generated revenue is not enough to pay salaries as and when due. So it is a big challenge that requires one to think objectively because people must live together. But people are free to acquire land. Of course, this would provide opportunity for people who can be providing feeds and grass. The circle goes on and the farmers on the other hand can also benefit, for every other person can get money.
What is the fate of other Fulani people and those who own cows, who were born here and who have lived all their lives in Benue State? By this law, will they have to leave the state?
I have said it before and will continue to say it. That is the misinterpretation of the law. I’m a governor for all. I’m a governor for the Tiv people, for the Idoma, the Igede, the Fulani, the Yoruba, Hausa and for the Igbo, who are living in Benue State. I’m a governor for every tribe resident in the state, including the white men and I owe them a duty to provide security for their lives and property. The law guarantees free movement for everybody. Those who are born here are here, we accept them; we say, they are indigenous Fulani and they are free to live here but they must obey the law. You cannot be disobedient to the laws of the land. As long as they obey the law, they are free to live, even when you disobey, we are not going to kill you but we will prosecute you and if convicted, you will be fined or jailed.
The law is not particular for a certain group of people. It is not just for the Fulani people. It is for the Tiv man as well. Any man who allows his livestock to stray and destroy another’s farm would be liable to be prosecuted. I have a Yoruba friend here, Mr. Akinkunmi of Titogate, who has lived in Makurdi for a long time now, he also has cattle just like I do but he ranches them. They produce a lot of milk and he sells his yoghurt. So it is not the prerogative of the Fulani men to just be breeding cattle in Nigeria or in Benue. In any case, some Fulani men are in my cabinet, I appointed them as my assistants. So, it is not anything new because they are free to live here. In fact, some of them speak Tiv fluently such that you can’t even differentiate them. How do you say those people should go away? We are not sending any Fulani away from here. That is the emphasis: that they are free to be here but they must obey the laws of the land. One thing that I will not accept is impunity. The law should catch up with people who don’t obey it. Everybody living here must be law abiding.
What is your take on on Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore group’s claim about the Benue valley?
That claim is laughable. There is nothing like that. There is no historical backing to those claims. There are no signs to the fact that Fulani are the owners of this land. We were born here and our fathers told us that they are the owners of this land. We have been here and that claim is their imagination. In any case, all of us in this country are guided by the laws of Nigeria. We have a constitution that is guiding us. The Land Use Act indicates that the governor has the authority. We are not even talking about the past, we are talking about the present. We are talking about how we can solve the contemporary problems and how we can proffer solutions to overcome them. Today, it shouldn’t be that we are talking about the 1950s. That claim has no basis and I don’t think I should be commenting on such assertion. As far as I’m concerned, as a governor today, I have the responsibility to allocate lands, sign the C of O and give ownership to anyone that comes for it. That is how it is applicable in all the 36 states of the federation.
Is the state government planning a massive publicity to educate everybody about the new law and ranching?
We are planning a stakeholders meeting and we expect all herdsmen rearing cattle or whatever livestock to be in attendance so that we will continue to address them. We are going to do a stakeholders meeting, town hall meetings to enlighten them. We will also engage the media to enlighten people. And now that the law is out, people are free to get copies instead of talking about things that they do not understand. I can assure that this law guarantees security for everybody, including herdsmen. The bill protects herdsmen, it discourages cattle rustling. Anyone caught rustling cattle would be jailed. There are penalties that if you allow your cattle to stray into somebody’s farm, you will also be liable. You will be taken to court and convicted upon the evidence produced against you. It is not a one-way matter; it is a two-way thing that should help all. I think that because this is a new innovation coming into this part of the land, people do not understand. I want to encourage people to have this law, it has been gazetted and I expect people to read the content. By the time they read it, they will appreciate that the laws are truly patriotic and it is a way of finding a lasting solution to the perennial problems we have on this matter.
Why does it appears like the entire security situation in the state has been blamed on the herders, farmers crisis despite other acts of insecurity, particularly by a militia group said to be headed by one Ghana which has allegedly been killing people in the rural areas?
Those conversant with security situation in Benue, especially before we came in will appreciate that we have reduced insecurity in the state to its barest minimum. Since we came in, we have placed it top on our priority list, such that the killings we witnessed, the kidnapping, armed robbery and assassination which used to exist in those days have reduced drastically. Before now, it was normal for things like that to take place but today, the active strategy that the state security council under my administration has put in place in all the local governments has resulted in the reduction of crimes. We have also signed into law, the bill against cultism, hostage taking, kidnapping and other associated crimes that have no law before now. The two bills (including the anti-open grazing bill) were executive bills that we took to the House of Assembly and there are very stiff penalties for cultists who were creating insecurity, stiff penalties for kidnappers. In fact, if you kidnap or take someone hostage, you will die by hanging.
So, for all associated crimes against humanity, we have enacted a law and assented to it so that anyone caught will be dealt with. We took our time for these two bills - antiopen grazing and anti-cultism, kidnapping, hostage taking and associated crimes - to be subjected to scrutiny by stakeholders, public and then the House of Assembly went through it and called for public hearing, so that people made inputs. On the anti-open grazing bill, Fulani men were also invited for the hearing. And we are not stopping at this, we want to make sure that we make Benue insecurity free because that is the only way we can make progress. Without security, there is no way the state will develop. For us, we are looking at the alternative sector that can develop the economy. We want to encourage micro and small industry development; we want to encourage industrialization so that we can process our primary products, to add value in order to encourage commercial and trading activities in the state. We want to encourage visitors to come into the state. All these things cannot develop unless we provide security. This is paramount to us and that is why we have taken it up to enact and sign these laws.