Ishaku signs open grazing prohibition, ranche establishment bill into law

Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku of Taraba state signed into law the state’s Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Bill passed last week by the lawmakers of the state Assembly.

Performing the ceremony in Government House, Jalingo, Ishaku who underscored the importance of the bill said the introduction of this Executive bill was necessitated by what he described as dangerous trend open grazing had caused in recent times, not only in Taraba state but Nigeria in general.

The Governor said, within the past two years, Nigeria has woken up to battle with strange practice of grazing by herdsmen who are strangers to the state and the nation.
“These herdsmen have within this short period of time turned our traditional farmers-herdsmen complementary practices fatal and sorrowful”, he said.

Darius Ishaku further said that the activities of these herdsmen have not only resulted in total destruction of farmlands, but also heartless killing of framers using sophisticated AK47 automatic guns, and in most cases, destruction of settlements, rustling of cattle belonging to indigenous herdsmen and other cattle rearers.

While addressing the Speaker of the state assembly, Abel Peter Diah and his colleagues, Ishaku disclosed that the primary responsibility of any government worldwide is to ensure security, safety and well-being of its citizens, describing it as the reason behind his submission of the Executive Bill to the state assembly for consideration.

Governor Ishaku, who however, revealed that the transition period from open grazing to ranching will be six months, with effect from Monday, 24th July, 2017 added that during this period, government will set up a Sensitization Committee that will educate both cattlemen and farmers on the symbiotic relationship that will be developed between them.

“Pilot ranches will be established by government in the three senatorial zones of the state as referral centres where farmers will be organized to cultivate special grass that will be sold as feeds to cattlemen in their ranches”, he added.ad

Okerafor Athanatius, Jalingo