Tribune / Nigeria: The Pan Yoruba Socio- Political group, Afenifere, on Thursday rejected the Fulani National Grazing Reserves bill pending before the National Assembly, describing the bill as obnoxious and provocative.
The leader of the group, Chief Rueben Fasonranti, who stated this in Akure, Ondo State capital, said passing the bill into law will violate the Land Use Act, which would forcefully take land from government and individual owners.
Afenifere warned the lawmakers against passing the controversial bill it into law in the interest of the country saying it is high time to cry out against the obnoxious bill.
He said “the bill seeks to turn private cattle rearing into a national affair by setting up a federal body to take care of the interest of herdsmen against the interest of the occupations.
“The bill, if passed into law would forcefully take land from the state government and individual owners in violation to the Land Use Act and all legal and traditional means of land holding for the purpose of grazing reserves.”
Fasonranti recalled that similar steps were taken in the past around 1940s but was resisted by the general public and the bill was laid to rest in the interest of the people and the country.
He however said that the group rejected any law targeted in robbing the people of their possession and said “We reject any law that would rob a set of citizens of their possessions and award to another set of citizens as this offensive bill attempts to do. That is against the principle of natural justice.”
The group noted that the passing of the bill will further aggravate the danger of making national, the indigenes – settler problem that has remained intractable in the Middle Belt area of the country for a very long time.
“It is against the federal principle for the government of the federation to want to violate the rights of other sections of the country to please a group from an ethnic unit over and above the interest of other over 400 ethnic groups.
“The British knew we are different people with varied occupations and gave us a federal constitution so that each component unit can manage its space in accordance with the demands of their occupation.”
The group however appealed President Muhammadu Buhari to dust the report of the 2014 national conference, which contains solutions to the frequent faceoff between the Fulani herdsmen and farmers.
“We therefore stand with the decision of the 2014 National Conference, which recommended the scrapping of grazing route for the establishment of ranches
“The world has become too civilised and far beyond roaming animals all over the country as if we are in the medieval period.
Afenifere however called on the National Assembly to throw the bill into the waste bin in the interest of the country saying the bill is capable of generating unnecessary crisis in the country if passed into law.
