•Why herdsmen defy order in FCT
From Idu Jude, Abuja
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT), since its creation in 1976, has grappled with the resettlement policy executed without due process, vis-a-vis consent of the indigenous people before relocating them from their ancestral homes within the city centre.
•Herdsmen at Paiko Kore
Past efforts to carve out a grazing reserve by previous FCT administrations and stop cattle grazing within the city centre hit the rocks due to lack of relevant laws to implement the idea and to prosecute offenders.
The proposed FCT grazing reserve was originally sitting over 8,500 hectares of land that share boundaries with about four villages of Paikon-Bassa, Paikon-Kore, Dobi and Kace, all within Gwagwalada Area Council. “That was before it lost some of its territories to land grabbers,” an official familiar with the terrain told Daily Sun.
To address cattle herders within the FCT, government set up two nomadic primary schools. One model school by the Federal government, the other by the Gwagwalada Area Council.
A former director, Department of Animal Services, Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), Dr Zayyanu Garba, said Paikon-Kore Grazing Reserve was created in 1991 by the General Ibrahim Babangida government: “He directed then FCT minister, General Muhammad Gado Nasko, to allocate some lands and even forests for the project.”
Garba, now Magajin Garin Malumfashi, Katsina State, said it was unfortunate that although the decision was taken and expected to take effect immediately, the issue of settlements and compensation to the affected farmers was yet to be realised.
He added farmers lived peacefully with the herders through shifting cultivation: “Both the natives and herders were assisted through various interventions by the Agriculture Secretariat of the FCTA, mandated to supervise the project.
“Farmers were assisted with inputs like fertiliser, seed and chemicals. The herders got veterinary health services. There was also a nomadic primary education facility, as well as a milk collection centre.”
He said the most important thing was to pay compensations, which, he added, had since been documented by the Department of Resettlement and Compensation under the FCDA. He called for the actualisation of the master plan initiated by the Babangida government by paying the compensations and allocating lands to the farming community.
In Dobi, there have been several conflicts between the community and herdsmen who insisted they must graze their cows especially during rainy reasons. Isa Usam, leader of vigilance group in the community, said his men had been attacked, with some sustaining several wounds while one died in one of the attacks.
He said Iliya Shuaibu Kolo responded to a distress call after one Usman Muhammad was injured trying to prevent a herder from encroaching on his farmland. Hassan Jameel, another farmer, was badly injured and still in the hospital as at the time of this report.
Another victim, Mustafa, who had stayed in the community for 23 years, also had cuts on his head and back during a raid. Animals were also killed. Mustafa told our reporter:
“The first incident happened around a cattle route. They held the herder and in an attempt to escape, he cut a farmer on his arm. They went back to his community to inform them and they mobilised. However, nothing happened at the time.
“In the second incident, a herder grazed on a maize farm. The farmer’s brother, who might not be aware of what transpired, confronted the herder, accusing him of encroachment. He went back and mobilised his people. On arrival, since the herder could be traced, they proceeded to the nearby settlement and set it ablaze, killing animals on sight.
“Security men tried in vain to confront them. Our members, who were at the nearby weekly market that day, responded quickly and confronted them. During the clash, a member of the vigilance group from the farmer’s side lost his life.”
Jibril Jaafar Paiko, secretary of the Paikon-Kore community, described the location of a grazing reserve in their community without the input of the locals as very contentious: “It is an afront, mindless and could be regarded as putting the cart before the horse, which is a bad approach.
“The affected community just woke up to hear that there was a grazing reserve in the community. No one was reached by the authority. Farmers were not consulted and there was no compensation.
“Whether it is relocation or integration, they ought to have a comprehensive discussion and plan with the affected community. That was not done and pronouncement was made.
“And herders have been trooping to this area from every part of the country, with the mind set that the place has been curved out for grazing. This has created crises as farmers still lay claim to the land, which they said they inherited from their forefathers, wondering why the Federal Government would suddenly chase them away and give the land to herders. This is where the disagreement comes from.
“The most disheartening is that some of the herders came without cattle and started farming on the land. They convert the so-called cattle route to farmland.
“There is a local committee put in place to ensure peaceful coexistence between the farmers and herders. But there are issues that only the government can resolve. Talks are on going with the FCTA to intervene and find amicable solution to it.”
Minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike, on assumption of office, vowed to get rid of cows at the city centre. The Miyetti Allah responded: “We are looking forward to meeting the minister to table our side before him some of our challenges, which among them are the large dysfunctional grazing reserve.
“Or, is it the sight of cows that people don’t want to see? Are cows not the beauty of the northern geography? You want to eat cows but you don’t want to see them, is it not contradictory?
“If there are no cows in the northern geography what you will be seeing is a crisis caused by the spirits of the land. The land won’t be stable because the cows need to move for the spirits to be happy. It is their environment.
“He can’t chase the cows away. Who will chase the cows away in the northern territory? Nobody can chase them. We’re going nowhere.
“Let him revoke the lands in the FCT, why is giving them more time? I thought he would just revoke them at once.
“In the Abuja development plan, there’s no grazing area in the FCT or AMAC area council. Let him handle the issues of insecurity in Abuja. We’re not and will never be his problem.”
Tanko Umar, a taxi driver, believes government cannot implement the no-grazing policy: “What are they even saying? The FCTA knows the owners of these cows. They are the high and mighty.
“I know they cannot be pushed out of the city centre since the grazing reserve is not ready yet. Just arrest one of the cows and in the next two minutes you see them back. Just wait till the rain is here, they will be back.”
A senior director, Animal Husbandry Services, FCT Agricultural and Rural Development, who declined to be named, said grazing reserve is not only aimed at resettling the Fulani pastoralists, but also to provide the enabling environment for them to engage in livestock activities comparable to the best anywhere in the world:
“Plans are already in place to not only develop the four grazing reserves in Abuja but turn them into economic hubs for both the herders and their communities.
“To address the issues of compensation and bringing an end to the incessant clashes between the Fulani and the local communities, the secretariat embarked on a comprehensive enumeration exercise to identify the genuine inhabitants that will be compensated to ensure that no member of the community is left out.
“The plan of the FCT Administration in development of the grazing reserves will no doubt be complimented by the Special Agricultural Processing Zone (SAPZ) Project which the Africa Development Bank (AfDB & the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) are co-funding.
“I can assure you that the SAPZ Project is going to address the issue of open grazing because one of its components which is called Agriculture Transformation Centres (ATC) focuses on building the capacities of all the groups in different aspect of the Livestock value chains, such as production of quality feeds, milk processing etc.
“Water will also be provided at the centres to ensure that they are able to conveniently fatten their animals without them moving outside the reserves. The profiling we are conducting on a regular basis is to help us identify new and old Fulani herdsmen.”
Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) national president, Baba Othman Ngelzarma, said they are eager to meet with Wike: “The minister has promised to consult the ranchers before making any final decisions. He wouldn’t do anything that would cause someone to later claim they were ignored.
“This is the ideal state of affairs, then. We are aware that Abuja is a city and that cows are not permitted to freely roam the streets. This is a huge embarrassment. Everyone here is a civilised adult.
“We had several conversations on this during the time of the previous minister. There was an understanding that no cows would be allowed to roam the downtown area. They are unable to relocate centrally because farmers have occupied all of the available grazing lands, but they are free to do so in the Sahel.
“Here in Abuja, farmers have occupied grazing reserves. We need someone with Wike’s demeanour to step in and finally resolve this.
“Before you can stop these guys from roaming freely, you need to develop the roughly four grazing reserves we have here in Abuja.
“Since the Federal Capital was relocated there, the city of Abuja was turned into a grazing reserve. However, this does not give them the legal right to leave the city proper, which is the Federal Capital Territory and the source of every Nigerian’s pride.”
A senior director in the Agriculture Secretary, FCTA, who also declined to be named as he was not authorised to speak on the matter, said: “We are working with security agencies, as well as the communities who know those engaged in genuine activities without constituting any form of threat to the society.”
On the issue of continued resistance from some host communities who are against the establishment of the grazing reserves, the director added: “We are working closely with the host communities on the need for peaceful co-existence.
“We equally have been engaging the groups to sensitize them on what they all stand to benefit from the development of the reserves.
“Livestock activities do not only involve the Fulani. Even crop farmers can engage in numerous production activities such as livestock feed while they can equally benefit from the by-products of the cattle as manures.
“The plan by the FCT minister to meet with all the stakeholders will give an impetus to achieving the desired objective.
“In the same vein, the Minister of State for FCT has assured that she will provide the necessary support in making sure that the development plans for the four grazing reserves in Abuja are improved upon.”