To counter herdsmen, Yoruba leaders urge indigenes to begin ranching

In what seems like a move to keep herdsmen away from their areas, Yoruba leaders have called on their people to venture into business of cattle ranching.

They also called on President Muhammadu Buhari to without any further delay declare killer herdsmen as a terrorist group.

The leaders, under the auspices of Yoruba Summit, stated this on Thursday, further rejecting the Federal Government proposal to establish cattle colonies across the country.

According to them, the proposal amounts to “violation of the sensibilities of different nationalities whose lands would be partitioned for Fulani herdsmen.”

The leaders took these positions during an extra-ordinary session in Lagos against the background of the incessant criminal activities of suspected Fulani herdsmen across Yorubaland in recent days.

The meeting was presided over by Chief Ayo Adebanjo and had in attendance, a former governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko; Prof Banji Akintoye, Dr Amos Akingba, Secretary of the Yoruba Council of Elders, Dr Kunle Olajide; Senator Femi Okurounmu, former Nigerian ambassador to The Netherlands, Dr Tokunbo Awolowo-Dosumu; former deputy governor of Lagos State, Senator Kofo Bucknor-Akerele and Mr Goke Omisore, among others.

The resolutions were contained in a communiqué reached at the end of the meeting and signed by Mr. Yinka Odumakin. They called on the Buhari-led administration “to be alive to its responsibility by enforcing the laws against the criminal activities and perpetrators of such in order to regain the confidence of the people.”

According to the communiqué, to end killings by suspected Fulani herdsmen, Buhari’s government must urgently “declare the killer herdsmen and militias as terrorists, disarm the Fulani herdsmen and militias and probe the source of their arms.”

The communiqué further read, “The meeting also took strong objections to the obnoxious and vexatious proposal by the Federal Government to establish cow colonies across Nigeria in aid of private business and in violation of the sensibilities of different nationalities whose lands would be partitioned for Fulani herdsmen reminiscent of the Berlin Conference where Africa was portioned for different colonial powers as a colony presupposes a settlement of invading power in a given community where alien laws and values prevail.

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“We resolved that no inch of Yorubaland will be available for cow colony as Yoruba are in favour of only ranching of cattle, where those in such business will acquire land according to extant rules and subject their operations to the norms and culture of their host communities.

“Meeting also called on Yoruba people to begin venturing into modern ranching for consumption and export while our state governments should evolve policies in the promotion of ranching by Yoruba people.”

 

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