The division in Nigeria widens with the insistence of the passage of the bill seeking to nullify open grazing in the country. While farmers, seeing advantage of a proposed law in this direction, herders insist that such proponents should perish the thought. The legislation, titled “A Bill for an Act to Establish the National Animal Husbandry and Ranches Commission for the Regulation, Management, Preservation, and Control of Ranches throughout Nigeria; and for Connected Purposes, 2024,” aims to regulate grazing and promote the establishment of ranches.
This initiative seeks to mitigate the long-standing conflicts between farmers and herders, which have claimed over 60,000 lives, according to a report by Nextier SPD. Sponsored by Titus Zam, a senator representing Benue North-West, the bill has scaled its second reading in the Senate. It is not a surprise that a legislator from Benue State, a state where the former governor who got his assembly to pass an anti grazing law left the theatre downcast.
But to the pastoral council , which is living off Nigeria, pastoralists, however, describe the bill as a recipe for chaos, arguing that it will not address the protracted farmer-herder clashes in the country. The Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore Fulani socio-cultural association believes the bill, if enacted, will breed bad blood among Nigerians instead of resolving the challenges afflicting the livestock sector.
In contrast, farmers see the bill as a sustainable solution to the problem. Kabir Ibrahim, the president of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), expressed support in an interview with BusinessDay, stating that ranching animals yields higher economic value.
He said, “We welcome the bill,” Ibrahim said. “If you ranch animals, you will get more value from them. It is a very welcome development.” However, Ibrahim emphasised the need to make the bill more accommodating. He rejected the proposal that ranches should only be established in herders’ states of origin. The restriction of ranches to specific states has also faced stiff opposition from northern lawmakers especially the proposed provision that ranches should be established in pastoralist states without forcing it in other states that do not have pastoralist communities.
Several lawmakers, including Godswill Akpabio, the Senate president, argued against the provision which resulted in a heated Senate debate on June 5. Kawu Abdulrahman, a senator representing Kano South, declared that northern senators “will fight it to the end.”
