Open grazing: Can Wike tame herders within FCT city centre?
By Haruna Salami
The new Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesome Wike did not just hit the ground running, but flying, according to some reports after ministerial inauguration by President Bola Tinubu last Monday.
During a press conference a few hours after inauguration, the former Rivers state governor vowed to get rid of vows on Abuja roads, demolish buildings without government approval, etc.
However, looking at the task of keeping cattle off Abuja roads, will Wike have the political will to accomplish this very important task?
The global best practice in cattle breeding is ranching, but this has met stiff resistance from herdsmen in Nigeria.
The last 8 years of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration saw a phenomenal rise in the impunity of the herdsmen, ignoring every call from various quarters to embrace ranching as they preferred their nomadic method of rearing animals.
The anti open grazing law in some states, particularly Benue state, was met with stiff resistance from the Fulani herdsmen under the aegis of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), which led to violent confrontations between crop farmers and herders with resultant heavy loss of lives.
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What even rendered the anti open grazing law in most states ineffective was lack of political will from the centre when former President Buhari, the grand patron of MACBAN held sway.
Buhari, a cattle farmer himself elected to be on the side of his people or at best looked the other way when Fulani herdsmen wreaked havoc in many parts of the country, conspicuously displaying their AK 47 riffles unperturbed.
It is a well known fact that the real owners of the cattle you see roaming Abuja roads are powerful Nigerians in and out of power and not the boys following the cattle with sticks.
Therein lies the onerous task Wike has set for himself to accomplish and the political will and support he requires from President Bola Tinubu to succeed.
Luckily for the former governor of Rivers state, (MACBAN) has expressed its full support for the Minister in his resolve to deal with herders that are allowing their cows to graze in the city centre.
However, the body raised concerns that the areas mapped out for the herders to graze their cows in the outskirts of Abuja have been taken over by farmers.
Mr. Baba Ngelzarma, MACBAN President, stated this after Wike’s press conference where he expressed his determination to stop cattle grazing and restore the Abuja master plan.
Wike raised concerns that the grass planted to beautify the FCT has been converted by herders to grazing fields, adding that cows were not allowed inside the city, but they could graze in the outskirts like Gwagwalada, Abaji and neighbouring areas of the city.
He promised to consult with the herdsmen to work out an amicable way of stopping open grazing, insisting “we cannot allow cows inside the city”.
With this determination, all eyes are watching to see if the new minister will muster the needed political will to accomplish this task with other well intended programmes for the FCT, which he has classified as the short term goal of his administration.
