Plateau: Group accuses Lalong of mapping out our land for Ruga
By Kingsley Chukwuka, Jos
A group under the aegis of Concerned Youth of Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau state has alleged that Governor Simon Lalong has mapped out a large space of land for the proposed RUGA activities.
The group which spoke at a press briefing in Jos on Tuesday accused Lalong of not consulting any chief or elder of Bokkos before donating land for the project.
Spokesman for the youth group, Macham Makut, addressing journalists said that “we heard from a very reliable source that some large portion of our land has been mapped out by the Lalong- led government for the Ruga settlement, this is unfortunate and as a people, we will resist the move by government to cede our ancestral lands to strangers to rear cattle.”
Makut also said the suspension of the Ruga policy by the federal government is a gimmick, saying that the Presidency is planning to reintroduce the policy in another brand.
“We are aware that only the unilateral implementation of the Ruga programme was suspended. This was not even because Nigerians opposed it, but because it was not in accordance with the design approved by the national executive council and national economic council.
“Any attempt to force the policy on our farming communities in Bokkos Local Government Area, now or later, under whatever name will be firmly resisted through all available legal means. The best option is for every livestock farmer to cage his animals and raise them privately without constituting a nuisance,” he added.
The group said the policy is not in the interest of the natives, adding that the policy was drawn without the consent and inputs of the farmers whose lands are expected to be converted to Ruga and as such the scheme is highly questionable and is tantamount to land-grabbing.
Makut said the nine communities that were sacked by suspected herdsmen in Bokkos in the attack which took place in 2018, where over 7, 000 persons who were displaced and have not been resettled even after the Presidency has made promises. Instead, the federal government is making efforts to resettle herdsmen in other people’s land.
“Farmers who were violently evicted from their homes remain in IDP camps and other uninhabitable shelter while the federal government is making efforts to resettle herdsmen in our communities,” Makut enthused.
